How does recycling work? Is it a hoax?

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I’ve always wondered how legit recycling is and if it’s worth the effort to personally do it. (I live in a high-rise and I can toss my garbage down a chute on my floor, but have to bring my recycling down to the ground floor.) In college I literally saw them dump the recycling bin and trash bin into the same truck, but I know I see dedicated recycling trunks around.

I was told “soiled” recycling can’t be used i.e. greasy used pizza boxes, is that true? Recycling dumpsters are gross, isn’t everything soiled?

When companies sell a product that’s “made from recycled products” how truthful is that? Is it their own recycled products or do they source it?

Whats the deal with the recycling triangles and numbers on a product? If I recycle a number that I shouldn’t, does it ruin everything else in that dumpster?

How does any one/machine feasibly sort recycling? It seems like a herculean task.

Recycling, fact or fiction?

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30 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I have worked in the recycling field.

Elementals(copper, aluminum, magnesium, etc) are ideal for recycling because they will always be less energy intensive than mining raw.

In terms of Recyclability paper comes next, not much to it in fact it helps to have paper waste in the new paper production. The only problems are transport and contamination. At the end of its useful lifespan the paper is compostable.

Plastics in general are recyclable but not Recyclable. They are just too light to transport efficiently, too many varieties to sort effectively, too hard to clean, too easy to contaminate, very hard to bleach. In general it is cheaper to use virgin plastic precursors than it is to recycle.

Alloys(bronze, steel, brass) are generally less Recyclable because the variety is great it also is a sorting nightmare. Effective at scale, but too heavy otherwise, an experienced recycler can differentiate alloys by touch alone but most people will not be able to to make at home sorting effective.

The same goes for bonded metals, Recyclable but needs specialized equipment that makes it infeasible.

Speaking of sorting nightmares, glass is very Recyclable BUT it is a giant PITA to handle and it must be sorted meticulously. Easier to use as aggregate for other things so it ends up being ‘upcycled’ rather than recycled.

Cloth and other fibers, recyclable, reusable or compostable if they are natural fibers. Otherwise it gets more difficult. Have not worked much with fabrics.

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