What Would Happen If People Stopped Recycling?

As the pandemic impacted daily routines, some cities and towns had to stop accepting recyclables in curbside bins. Others stopped taking certain types of recyclables and asked people to throw those items away instead. A lack of workers, budgetary concerns, and an increase in the number of recyclables all play a part. What would happen […]

Understanding the Differences Between Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Recycling

Did you know there are several types of recycling? It’s not surprising if you don’t. Most consumers don’t stop to think about what happens to the items they put in their curbside bin. You’ve done your part as soon as you send off the items for recycling. What happens at a recycling facility? It’s just as […]

20,000 Pounds of Trash Removed From Pacific Garbage Patch: ‘Holy mother of god. It worked!’

“The Great Pacific Garbage Patch can now be cleaned,” announced Dutch entrepreneur Boyan Slat, the wonderkid inventor who’s spent a decade inventing systems for waterborne litter collection. Recent tests on his Ocean Cleanup rig called System 002, invented to tackle the 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic pollution, were a success, leading Slat to predict that […]

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What Are The Easiest Materials to Recycle?

Have you ever stopped to think about what happens to the items you put out in your recycling bin? What about the ones you bring to a recycling center? Each goes through a process of collection, processing, and eventual reuse.Some items are more challenging to recycle than others. That’s why you start to run into […]

What Can You Do If Labor Shortages Pause Curbside Recycling In Your Community?

Labor shortages are hitting cities across the U.S. Waste and recycling is just one industry impacted by the lack of applicants. Jacksonville, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana; Miami, Florida; Detroit, Michigan; and Northampton, Pennsylvania, are just a few cities struggling to find enough drivers for recycling and trash pick-ups in the past few months. Currently, more […]

12 Unique Ways Recyclables Are Being Reused

Break down the numbers when it comes to household waste. There was over 294 tons of waste generated in the U.S. during 2018. Of that, about 94 million tons were recycled correctly or composted. That’s about 32% of all waste is recycled. Many states want to improve recycling rates. It often means coming up with […]

The Best Ways to Ensure Your Recycling Doesn’t End Up Getting Trashed

Per the EPA, 292.4 million tons of waste were generated during 2018. Of that, approximately 94 million tons were recycled or composted. That’s only a third of the trash that’s generated is actually recycled or composted. If you take out composting rates, only 69 million tons were recycled. There’s a lot of room for improvement, […]

Thailand is Making COVID-19 Protective Gear From Upcycled Bottles

We all know that recycling is good for the planet in the long run, but now, in a more immediate way, it’s also being used to save lives as plastic waste is being transformed into PPE for workers on the frontlines of the pandemic. At Thai Taffeta, a textile factory near Bangkok, Thailand, a mountain of […]

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Reduce Waste With These School Lunch Recycling Tips

During 2018 and 2019, researchers from the University of Missouri and the University of Bologna (Italy) took time to find out how much waste was being generated during school lunches. Upwards of 53% of the foods in a school lunch were ending up in the trash. Compare this to 30% in Spain, 29% in Italy, […]

Back to the Basics: Items That Most Cities Recycle and Others That Are Often Restricted

Why do some people still hesitate to embrace recycling? Between 2015 and 2018, the number of tons recycled increased by 2.2%. You might think that’s good news, but there’s a problem. While the number of tons went up, the overall recycling rate, including food and yard waste recycling, dropped. Decreases are attributed to these two […]