Plastic bags are one of the most difficult types of plastic waste to recycle, mainly because they are single-use bags and in most curbside recycling programs they are not accepted. This is a huge issue for the environment as 100 billion plastic bags are used every year in the US alone.

The best way to recycle plastic bags is to take them to local grocery stores, or big box stores like Target or Walmart, which have specific bins for this type of plastic, or you can search for plastic bag recycling locations near you at: www.plasticfilmrecycling.org

It is essential to wash and dry all plastic waste, including single-use bags, before depositing them in the recycling, because if the bags contain food scraps, or some other source of bacteria, they contaminate the entire batch in which they are deposited, and cannot be recycled.

The waste that can be recycled has different destinations depending on the material in question. The waste that we deposit in the recyclable container is taken by dedicated recycling trucks to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). In these recycling centers, the waste is separated and later packed in bundles.

The waste that is not received by the recycling centers, such as plastic bags, electronic devices, or clothing (which vary in each locality and each recycling center) must be taken directly by the consumers to specific collection points so that these can be recycled.

Once separated and packaged, the recyclable materials are sent to recycling plants or processing factories that turn the waste into new products.

Recyclable waste that is not separated in the recycling container or is not taken to collection points, ends up in landfills, where, depending on its material, it can take hundreds of years to degrade or even never do so.

In the United States, only 10% of recyclable waste reaches the transformation stage, and most of it is destined for sale abroad.

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.

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.

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