Beginner’s Guide to Recycling: 4 Useful Recycling Tips

Recycling is the process by which used materials are converted into new products. There are many ways to recycle, from DIY repurposing old objects to sending used materials to facilities. The most common process in the United States is a community recycling program, which follows a five-step process:

1. 1. Donation: Community members gather their recyclable materials, placing them on the curb in a special recycling receptacle, similar to a trash bin.
2. 2. Collection: Representatives from the recycling program pick up the recyclable materials and transport them to a recycling facility.
3. 3. Processing: The recycling facility sorts, cleans, and breaks down the objects into materials.
4. 4. Manufacturing: The facilities sell these recycled materials to manufacturers who make new goods out of the materials.
5. 5. Resale: The new goods are sold to consumers as made from recycled materials.

Recycling is a vital process that benefits the environment:

• It conserves resources. Paper, glass, aluminum are materials that you commonly use in your day-to-day life. Recycling allows these materials to be reused; throwing these materials away turns them into single-use objects.
• It lowers our need to collect raw materials. Collecting and manufacturing raw materials like timber and minerals into goods costs money, time, and energy, and pollutes the environment. When you recycle goods, it reduces the need for collecting and manufacturing new raw materials.
• It keeps usable materials out of landfills. Waste sanitation collects and delivers trash to landfills or incinerators, which are often major sources of pollution. By recycling, you give the material a new life and avoid contributing to pollution.

In general, here are items that you can safely put into your recycling bin:

• Cans: Aluminum and steel cans can be recycled, as long as they’re empty and rinsed. Recycling centers will not accept aluminum foil covered in food waste because it can contaminate other recycling materials.
• Glass: You can recycle glass bottles and jars, as long as they’re empty and rinsed. Do not recycle window glass, or kitchen glassware, like cups or plates. These materials are often manufactured with certain additives that can contaminate other recyclable materials.
• Paper products: You can recycle cardboard boxes, newspaper, printer paper, magazines, mail, and paper tubes. Do not recycle paper, paper towels, toilet paper, or cardboard that is greasy or covered in food waste because it can contaminate other recycling materials.
• Cartons: Food and beverage cartons like milk cartons, juice cartons, or soup cartons can all be recycled, along with their caps, as long as they’re empty and rinsed.
• Plastics #1 and #2: You can recycle plastic containers with the numbers 1 or 2 inside the triangle recycling symbol, as long as they’re empty and rinsed—in general, this includes thick plastic bottles, jugs, and tubs for kitchen, bathroom, or laundry materials. You can also recycle plastic water bottles.

Here are some tips and tricks to help get you started with recycling:

1. 1. Set up a recycling container next to your trash can. To help make recycling as easy as possible, set up a recycling bin next to your indoor trash can. When you’re about to throw an item away, the bin’s placement will remind you to check the item to determine whether or not it’s recyclable. However, don’t line your recycling container with a plastic bag. These bags are typically not recyclable, and you should avoid using them to bag your recycling.
2. 2. Check with your local recycling plant. Community recycling facilities all have different equipment, which means every community will have slightly different rules for what can be recycled and how to prepare your recycling. Before you start recycling, check online or call your local plant to find out the recycling instructions for your area.
3. 3. Keep your local recycling rules somewhere visible. Paper, plastics, food containers—the rules of recycling can get a little confusing. Rather than leave yourself guessing every time you go to throw something out, keep the rules somewhere visible near the bin so you can quickly reference them when you need to.
4. 4. Take preventative measures. Recycling is a great way to lower your carbon footprint and reduce your household waste, but it’s not the only method. Recycling is not nearly as environmentally effective as proactively curbing waste. One easy way to curb waste is to avoid using or purchasing single-use items. Use reusable grocery bags rather than accepting plastic or paper bags, and keep and clean used jars to use as leftovers containers in place of plastic ones. You can set up a compost pile to recycle food waste into usable soil and fertilizer for your garden, and upcycle items like furniture, clothing, and other household items that are non-recyclable.

Get the MasterClass Annual Membership for exclusive access to video lessons taught by science luminaries, including Jane Goodall, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chris Hadfield, and more.