Recycling has come a long way since the 1970s when the first newspaper recycling program launched in Maryland.
But what happens after that bin gets hauled away?
In most communities, the first stop is a recycling plant where the contents are sorted and processed.
This step is important because, let's face it, we all throw dirty, probably-not-recyclable stuff in the bin.
The more well-sorted a batch of recyclables is, the more money it fetches as raw material on the open market.
There are several stages of sorting. First, human workers remove trash, large objects, and plastic bags which can clog the machinery.
Dirty pizza boxes, cans with bits of food left in them, and certain plastics (like PVC) can't be recycled, so they're sent to the landfill.
Then, the recyclables enter a machine sorting processes that separates each reusable material into bales.
Paper...
Corrugated Cardboard...
Glass…
Aluminum...
And plastic...
Plastic containers are sorted by their resin identification code (that number in a triangle on the bottom). Then they are baled and sent to a processing plant to be shredded into flakes and melted down into a pellets. The pellets are then sent to companies that use them to make new items. Recycled #1 plastics can be made into fleece or carpeting. Recycled #2 plastics are often made into artificial lumber for outdoor furniture or decking.
So who are these magical companies, heroically buying up our recycled bottles and cans and using them to make new stuff?
Sadly, most of them are NOT American. A big chunk of our recycled material gets exported to China. But that's slowly changing for two reasons…
1. China has begun to refuse low quality recyclables. If there's too much food, trash, or even the wrong type of recyclable mixed in, they won't buy it. And they charge a fee for every load they reject. They call it the "Green Fence." 2. American-based recycling operations are becoming more sophisticated. Many of them are willing to take the extra steps necessary to clean and process the waste. And this creates eco-friendly jobs for American workers.
And what about the not-so-typical stuff that we recycle separately, like batteries?
Or printer ink cartridges?
So what's the moral of this recycling story?
Show your recyclables some TLC.
Whenever possible, return a hard-to-recycle item to the company that made it.
Buy recycled stuff.
Every day, many of us choose to toss our paper, plastic, aluminum and glass into recycling bins rather than trash cans.
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another cool aspect to these facilities is the way they ingeniously sort materials from each other. they use air gusts, lasers, mechanical means and even electron streams to separate stuff out. the electron streams for example are used to sort magnetic from non magnetic metal.