To make sure we’re diverting as much waste from landfills as possible, it’s important to be aware of all the products that can be sent to your local recycling centers. There are many products that, if you separate them correctly, you can send directly to your local curbside recycling program.

Even so, as this varies depending on the capacities and facilities of the collection centers, it is always better to ask directly at your local collection center.

The products that can generally be deposited in recycling centers are:

• Paper, newspapers, magazines, and mixed papers (As long as they are clean)
• Bottles of plastic (almost all types)
• Glass jars and bottles
• Rigid plastic objects
• Cans, aluminum, steel, and metal containers

Glass is infinitely recyclable, so it is critical to deposit it in the right place and prevent it from ending up in landfills, since glass never degrades and affects diversity and the environment if it is not treated correctly. Most of the glass found in landfills comes from discarded beverage bottles. In the United States, according to EPA data, the recycling rate for glass bottles is only 31.3%.

The best way to recycle glass bottles is to take them to local recycling centers, where you can even get paid for your bottle recycling. In most of these centers the price they pay per pound of glass is 0.1 USD/LB.

Also, recycling glass saves tons of natural resources, such as sand, soda ash, limestone, and feldspar. Recycling glass also reduces carbon dioxide emissions, as the glass from recycled bottles melts at a lower temperature than virgin materials, which means less energy consumption in the production of new bottles.

In the United States, there are 633 material recycling centers. In these local recycling centers, the waste we generate is stored, and that has the capacity to be recycled so that other people or companies can take advantage of it. Waste that is not recycled takes many years to decompose, which pollutes and harms the health of humans and the earth.

In this sense, recycling centers are very important in the fight against environmental pollution, since they can clean, classify and pack a total of 100,000 tons of waste per day. However, the recycling centers cannot do all the work, the waste must have a correct treatment from the consumer, who must separate and clean the waste so that it can be classified correctly in the center and later sent to factories for transformation or processors.

Scrap recycling is one of the least popular in the United States even though most metals can be recycled and there are even some that have a high market value. The recycling of scrap metal is very important since by reusing metals we mitigate the exploitation of minerals, which are a limited resource, and their extraction generates a significant amount of greenhouse gasses.

Most of the waste can be left in the local recycling centers and received payment for it, in this way we avoid this waste ends up in landfills, where it would take hundreds of years to degrade.

Some of the metals that can be sold at recycling centers are copper (which is the best-valued metal on the market), aluminum, brass, lead, iron, and bronze. You can find these materials in all kinds of household waste such as; wires, pipes, kitchen sinks, food cans, soda cans, window frames, door locks, chandeliers and hinges, old jewelry, children’s toys, lamps, and tools.

Although almost most of the metals are recycled, some cannot be reused or that recycling centers do not receive, such as those used for paint or toxic products, some pipes, clothes hangers, and metal scraps, so it’s always best to check directly with your local recycling center.

Waste transfer stations or material recycling facilities are sites where recyclable materials and waste are collected. At the stations, the waste is classified and separated to later be transferred to another area or facility for recycling, demolition, or landfill. The waste transfer stations are not just another stop for our garbage, here a fundamental process is carried out to reduce pollution by waste.

Waste transfer stations reduce waste going to landfills, preventing much hazardous chemical pollution remains from ending up in landfills, plus the transfer of waste from local collection trucks to larger vehicles, such as a train or ship, reduces significantly the cost of transportation and the environmental impact of transporting garbage.