By leah jones
Mar. 18 is Global Recycling Day, created by The Global Recycling Foundation. Their mission for this holiday is to promote the importance of recycling for everyone from world leaders to everyday individuals.
Recycling is considered the seventh resource alongside water, air, oil, natural gas, coal and minerals. This is because it is so valuable to limiting carbon emissions and preserving raw materials.
Recycling provides many other benefits like reducing disruption to ecosystems, conserving natural resources, raw materials and energy and saving money. It also creates jobs.
The main recycling services used in the U.S. are single-stream recycling. This is when all recyclables are placed in a single bin and later sorted at a materials recovery facility (MRF).
Other services are multi-stream or dual-stream recycling. This is when paper, plastic, metals and other materials must be sorted into separate containers.
The largest waste and recycling service provider in North America is Waste Management (WM). Others include Republic Services, Waste Connections, TerraCycle and Recycle Track Systems.
There is also Modern American Recycling Services (M.A.R.S.), a company specializing in the dismantling and recycling of marine vessels and offshore structures.
It can be tricky to determine what materials can be recycled as rules vary. Pay attention to the waste’s resin code (or the printed number inside the recycling symbol) is.
Waste that can be recycled includes paper/cardboard (e.g. cereal boxes and junk mai), certain plastics like drink bottles and milk jugs, metal cans, some glass and e-waste.
Some types of waste cannot be recycled due to contamination, its material or lack of processing facilities. Always check with the local recycling center to avoid contamination.
Contaminated materials (e.g. Greasy pizza boxes or used tissues), certain plastics (e.g. styrofoam and plastic bags), hazardous waste and mixed materials can't be recycled.
The best way to recycle everyday is to reduce waste and use reusable products. Remember to check guidelines before cleaning, drying and properly sorting recyclables.