What happens when you accidentally put something in the recycling that isn’t meant to be recycled? Does it contaminate the entire batch? (side note: same question for Composting)

Question

I know that composting and recycling are fundamentally and scientifically different but my curiosity is the same.

In: Other

Answer 1

* All items collected as “recycling” are sorted and cleaned if necessary.
* Recently the economics that make recycling work have shifted so that many places, while still collecting “recycling” items, still just put them in the landfill.
* They still collect things separately because it helps keep people trained to sort things properly.
* When the economics shift back again, the folks at home just keep doing the same thing and the collection people can switch where they send the recycled materials.