The recycling bin at my apartment is just one bin for recyclables. Cardboard, paper, plastic, glass, recyclable foam – all just goes in the same bin. All of these materials, however, have to be recycled in different ways. So does someone have to go and sort through the different recyclables to separate them after we put them all in? If that’s the case, why not have the bins win different compartments to begin with to make it all easier?
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As others have said, it does end up getting sorted. This is done at a Material Reclamation Facility, or MRF. Much of the process is automated, but there are still lots of humans involved to do the sorting. The other written descriptions here are great. To help you see the process, here’s a video tour of an MRF, showing you how it all works:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5nmNKVNCBw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5nmNKVNCBw)
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