Do’s and Don’ts
We recently received new trash cans at the Lifehacker office and suddenly realized that no one knew all the rules for recycling. Can plastic bags be recycled? Do you need to empty containers? What about paper towels?
Every major recycling program includes blank paper and cardboard, metal cans, plastic jugs and bottles. Besides, things get complicated. But some general rules apply.
Check your local requirements first. Recycle by City offers simple visuals for Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Austin, Philadelphia, Flagstaff, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood. If not, find the website of your city’s sanitation department. New York andPhoenix have simple instructions on what to do and what not.
Do not recycle:
- Bubble lined envelopes
- Wax paper
- Dirty napkins, napkins, toilet paper, or paper towels.
- Glass, this is not a bottle or a can
- Photo paper: Usually not recyclable, but it depends on the brand.
- Containers with a lot of food or liquid: empty and rinse them, but do not worry about this; they are cleaned at the facility.
Dispose of:
- Pizza boxes: Suitable if they are not heavily soaked in oil and solid waste. Just discard the wax pad and place the tiny plastic table in the plastic container. When in doubt, tear off the oily portion and discard.
- Paper with transparent windows or staples
Dispose of somewhere else:
- Plastic bags:They end up in recycling machines and workers have to unplug them and take out the bags. Most cities only allow “hard plastic”. Instead, find a recycling center, store, or local program that accepts them. (There are exceptions! LA allows clean bags and other soft plastics .)
- Clothing and textiles: see the options for obtaining the service.
- Motor oil: Your city may require you to put it on the side of the road, separate from all other rubbish.
- Batteries and Electronics: Take them to a donation center or store like Best Buy . If you dispose of batteries, at least tape over the terminals to reduce the risk of fire.
- Home appliances: Best Buy accepts many of these as well .
Check your local regulations:
Including rules from the five largest cities in the United States as examples.
- Glass: Houston only accepts glass at the pick-up point.
- Plastics: All rigid plastics are allowed in New York and Los Angeles; Only bottles are allowed in Chicago. Houston has more complex rules.
- Metals: LA accepts household metal; Chicago and Houston are not. New York, Los Angeles and Chicago take aluminum foil; Houston and Phoenix don’t refer to him on the Internet.
- Paper: There is no dark paper in Houston.
- Paper cups , as long as they are clean and empty, are legal in New York, but not in Los Angeles, Houston, or Chicago.
- Hardcover books: good in Los Angeles, but not in New York, Chicago or Houston. Phoenix doesn’t even take paperbacks.
- Styrofoam: Los Angeles takes; Chicago, Houston and New York don’t.
- Shredded paper: in Chicago and Houston, you need to find the point of delivery of documents.
- Milk cartons: In New York, they come with containers other than paper.
- Garbage bags: New York recycles containers in garbage bags; In Chicago, no.
- Separation: Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix and Chicago take all residential waste disposal in one container. New York separates paper from other recyclables.
- Commercial recycling: This is often handled differently from household recycling , so there may be different rules for this. Ask your office manager or building manager.