Blog & Resources

Since you're a recycling pro, you probably already know that your local program doesn't accept plastic bags in curbside collection. And you may already know that plastic bag recycling is a thing you can do at most local grocery stores.

But here's where it gets confusing. Does that mean just the bags from that store? Or can you recycle more? Most drop-off bag collections accept polyethylene film. This includes high-density polyethylene (HDPE or #2 plastic) and low-density polyethylene (#4 plastic or LDPE). It's great if your bags have markings on them, but since most do not, it's good to know some general guidelines.

Accepted plastics for drop-off bins

Some plastics that can go into the store drop-off bins are

• Plastic shopping bags (from any store - remove receipts, etc.)
• Zipper-top plastic food storage bags
• Bread bags
• Some plastic liners from cereal boxes (do not include if they tear like paper)
• Produce bags
• Dry cleaning bags (remove staples, receipts, hangers)
• Plastic newspaper wrapping
• Product wrapping (such as covers a case of water bottles, etc.)
• Bubble wrap and air pillows (popped)
• Plastic shipping envelopes (remove labeling)

ALL materials should be clean and dry. If your bags are not completely clean of food residue, they will contaminate the entire batch. This includes removing all stickers, labels, and staples if any exist. Don't forget to remove receipts as well!

Plastics that need to go in the trash

Other plastics need to go into the trash. These include:

• Frozen food bags
• Cereal box liners that tear like paper
• Biodegradable bags
• Pre-washed salad bags
• Candy bar wrappers
• Chip bags
• Six-pack rings

Crinkly plastic bags such as pre-washed salad bags, chip bags, and cereal box liners that tear are made of different plastics that are less likely to be recyclable at all. So if it crinkles, do not add it to retail recycling drop-offs.

Why doesn't my local recycling accept plastic bags?

Although a small handful of communities accept plastic in curbside bins, the vast majority do not. That's because most facilities don't have the personnel and equipment they would need to process them.

Rigid plastics, like gallon milk containers, are easily processed by machine. They are carried by conveyor belts and machine sorted. But throwing plastic bags into the mix wreaks havoc on these machines. The bags bend easily and get snagged in belts. They jam machinery and need to be cleared by hand.

The extra labor required to handle these problems and the higher amount of equipment downtime makes your recycling program less profitable. That means that your government has less to spend on other programs.

Accepted bags

The few locations that do accept plastic bags in their curbside collection likely do not accept these bags and plastic overwrap loose in the bin. Check to see what the specific requirements for collection might be if your municipality accepts these bags. The common requirement is that residents put all bags into one bag and tie it at the top so recycling workers can easily pick the bag out before it goes to the sorting machine and gets tangled in the gears.

Other locations may accept bags at their facility as a drop-off item only. This likely also has the requirement of stuffing all your bags and overwrap into one bag. Just like retail drop-off locations, all thin plastic film should be clean and dry and free of stickers, staples, and receipts.

Bagging recyclables

Another recycling rule to keep in mind is to not bag your recycling. Curbside collection should be loose in the bin. Some municipalities allow overflow to be bagged in large transparent recycling bags, but you should never be adding small plastic shopping bags filled with recyclables into your bin.

Bagging items in these small bags ends up making it difficult for facilities to sort the items, and it is likely that these bags will be sent to landfill along with all the other viable recyclables inside. So make sure to avoid bagging your recyclables.

The bottom line

You can recycle plastic bags and overwrap packaging, but don't put them in your home recycling bin! You'll need to drop them off at your local grocery store or possibly at the local recycling facility if available. Check the lists above for guidelines on what is accepted and check with your drop-off location if you have any questions.

Summer is a time for celebration. Which means fireworks, lots of fireworks.

Fireworks play a pivotal role in our public celebrations, from Canada Day and Independence Day to New Year's Eve, and it's easy to see why. They're dramatic and awe-inspiring, a perfect way to wrap up a festive night of fun, whether you're at a large public event or a block party with close friends and family.

But once the celebrations are over and the smoke has cleared, they can be a mess to clean up. Especially if you don't know what to do with them. Fireworks, when incorrectly disposed of, can be dangerous. To you, the individuals who handle your waste, and the environment.

How it's done

First off, you'll want to make sure your pyrotechnics are waterlogged. This goes for used and unused fireworks. Duds, too, once you've determined they're safe to handle. Soak your ordinance in a bucket of water for at least 15 minutes. Some recommend up to 48 hours, but that's not necessary if they're wet throughout.

Once you're satisfied, drain any excess water into the toilet, and place your fireworks into a sealable plastic bag to maintain moisture. Feel free to double bag them, too. Finally, you can safely toss them into the garbage. The same goes for most other combustibles.

Some communities even host takeback events for unused ordinance, so be sure to check in with yours to see. You can also contact your Fire Department for more information. Whatever you do, don't recycle your fireworks. Though most of them are made out of paper, they're not recyclable. Ever.

Fireworks and the environment

Not to be a killjoy, but fireworks aren't exactly great for the environment.

In fact, on average, Fourth of July celebrations alone contribute 42% more air pollution across the U.S. Fireworks contain plenty of toxic materials. The colors they produce when ignited, for example, come from heavy metals like barium, aluminum, and strontium. Perchlorates, which are propellants, are a family of extremely reactive oxygen and chlorine compounds -the same NASA uses to launch rockets into space. None of these chemicals play well with humans or the environment.

Granted, we don't use fireworks often enough to see a long-term impact on the planet. At least, not yet. But it's still something to consider, and it's a big reason why we need to be vigilant about how we dispose of them. When it's done right, we can prevent toxic chemicals from leaching into the water, where they can do the most damage.

Alternatives?

If you're feeling down about fireworks, sorry. Thankfully, there are other alternatives out there. Laser lightshows have gained in popularity and are currently being used as an alternative. There are also eco-friendly fireworks. Though not entirely green, they're an improvement. If none of these options work for you, that's okay, too. Just remember to dunk, double bag, and dispose of your used and unused fireworks in the trash.

There's an easy way for you to make recycling economically viable for your community, and it only takes a second of your time. Seriously, just one second. So, what is it, you ask?Stop bagging your recyclables.Unfortunately, most of us like to put our plastic bottles, metal cans, and paper items in a plastic bag before tossing them into the recycling bin. No matter how harmless those plastic bags might seem, they're a big no-no.

What's the damage?

Turns out your community's material recovery facility (the place where your recyclables are processed) can't handle plastic bags. They jam the processing equipment, which creates work stoppages. By work stoppages, we mean the whole recycling facility has to shut down. Just because of plastic bags.Some facilities don't even bother with the bags. When workers see them, they toss them in the garbage - even ones that contain perfectly good recyclables. Others schedule in time for employees to clear bags from the machinery. This can take up to an hour every single day. Sometimes longer. Plus, it can be dangerous, since facility staff have to scale the equipment and use sharp carpet knives to cut the bags free.Now, imagine if you couldn't do your job for an hour daily? You probably wouldn't be all that productive, would you?That's exactly what's happened to the recycling industry. Some cities are losing up to $1000 per day because of these stoppages. According to the City of Phoenix, plastic bags cost them $1 million in lost time every year. Recycling is becoming less productive and less profitable. So much so, that cities across the country are rethinking their recycling programs. And none of us want that.Thankfully, the fix is easy. By keeping plastic bags out of your recycling bin, you can have a significant impact on the long-term sustainability of recycling. And wouldn't that be swell.

Dealing with plastic bags

Now that you know plastic bags don't belong in your recycling bin, you're probably wondering what to do with them. You could toss them in the garbage, but keep in mind, they take a long time to photodegrade - up to 500 years, according to experts. Plus, they wreak havoc on wildlife.If you're not into creating more waste, here are some other things you can do with those pesky plastic bags:

 
1. Reuse them. Instead of getting new ones, reuse the ones you already have.
 
2. Recycle them. Yes, you can recycle plastic bags - just not in your recycling bin. Every year we use about half a trillion plastic bags. Only 1% of are recycled correctly. Plastic bags can be dropped off at most supermarkets and big box stores. Keep your eyes peeled for takeback bins. British Columbia residents can drop plastic bags and overwrap off at a Recycle BC depot. You can find your nearest depot here. Tacoma, Washington residents can do the same at the Recycle Center. Plastic bags are recycled into more plastic bags and composite lumber.

Whatever you decide, just remember not to bag your recyclables. That way, you can contribute to a more efficient, more profitable recycling program.

A new season is in full swing, and for those who have it, yard waste collection season is, too. When it comes to yard waste, or green waste, as some call it, most of us just bag it, bin it, or bundle it up for curbside collection. But not every city offers yard waste collection services. And even if yours does, there are other ways to make use of those extra grass clippings, twigs, leaves, and plants.

Each year we produce 32.9 million tons of green waste. Though most is recycled through municipal composting programs, 11.7 million tons of it get incinerated. Or worse, deposited in landfills where it takes up valuable space. Thankfully, reducing yard waste is easy. And by doing so, your yard will be the envy of the town.

Grasscycling

Grasscycling is perhaps the easiest way to reduce your green waste output. Instead of tossing grass clippings out, simply leave them on your lawn when mowing. They only take a couple weeks to break down, and they're great as fertilizer. By weight, grass makes up 50% of the yard waste we produce. Grasscycling is an effective way to decrease that number. Plus, it'll make your lawn look better than ever.

Home composting

Home composting doesn't just apply to food waste, it's also perfect for grass clippings, shrub and plant trimmings, leaves, etc. To get the basics of household composting down pat, check out our post on the topic. Keep in mind, if you're looking at composting pine needles, they take longer than other materials to decompose. They'll also acidify your soil, so be sure to limit how much you include.

Mulching

For this, you might need a mulcher. If you don't have one, that's okay. They can be rented. Some lawnmowers also offer a mulching option for leaves and plant clippings. A thin coat of mulch is a healthy addition to any garden. It improves soil moisture, fertility, and limits the growth of weeds. It also adds aesthetic value. Leaves, grass clippings, and moss are all suitable. Items like branches, bark, and twigs can be woodchipped.

Xeriscaping

Xeriscaping is a method of landscaping that was developed for arid regions. That said, it can be implemented anywhere. With its emphasis on drought-resistant plants, it's a great way to conserve water resources. More than that, xeriscapes actually require less maintenance than a normal garden. That means less trimming and pruning, which also means less yard waste.

Though yard waste is organic, it's still waste. With these four tips, you can make your green waste greener and reap the benefits of a healthier yard.

There's nothing quite as satisfying as a fresh pizza on a Friday night.

When it comes to recycling greasy pizza boxes, however, the results can be less than ideal. To understand why, let's take a look at how paper and cardboard recycling works.

Paper recycling process

The heat processes required for glass, metal, or plastic recycling can burn off small amounts of food residue. Unless there is an excessive amount of food left on recyclables, your glass, metal, and plastic materials will come out just fine.

But paper recycling is another story. Since paper doesn't get heated during the process, grease and oil combine with the pulp, which can ruin the entire batch.

Once your paper and cardboard are sorted into grades and types, they move on to the paper mill where they may spend weeks in storage, ample time for food particles to turn rancid and attract insects or animals.

After that, they are washed with soapy water and sometimes chemicals to remove inks, plastic film, staples, and glue. The batch is then sent to a large receptacle where it's mixed with water to create a slurry.

That's where your greasy pizza box (or any paper product that's greasy) gunks up the works. Even though it's been through a soapy bath, if you've ever washed something full of grease or oil, you know that it takes quite a bit of effort and soap to remove it completely.

Once in the slurry, the remaining oil floats to the top and becomes impossible to separate. Depending on what type of paper the mill was going to make and how much contamination is present, the entire batch may be ruined.

To avoid contaminating clean materials, it is good practice to cut off the clean tops of your pizza boxes to send to recycling but dispose of the greasy bottoms in the trash.

Wish-cycling

Many of us have the best of intentions when we go to toss non-recyclables into curbside bins. Because we want an item to be recyclable, we 'sneak' it in, even when we know we're not supposed to. Enter, wish-cycling.

When this happens, unwanted items often cause problems. They may be caught early in the process, pulled out, and thrown in the trash, or they may make it through and contaminate an entire batch of clean materials.

Due to this troublesome issue, it's always best to look up your local rules when it comes to greasy and soiled products.

New advances in technology

In the simplest form of advanced technology, many pizza places have started to add an extra layer of corrugated cardboard under the pizzas to avoid the entire box becoming soiled. This layer of cardboard can then be disposed of, leaving the rest of the box clean and ready for recycling!

As for recycling facilities, there are some programs that are now accepting soiled paper products because of the machinery they have or the volume of paper collected that makes it feasible to accept these greasy items. These locations are few and far between, so make sure to check your municipal recycling requirements before you accidentally wish-cycle.

There are also some municipalities that accept greasy pizza boxes in their organic waste collection if they use an anaerobic digestion process to recycle organic waste. Check your organic program to see if this applies.

The bottom line

Grease and oil are two of the worst contaminants in paper recycling, and greasy pizza boxes are one of the biggest culprits. Check with your local recycling program to find out what you should do the next time you grab that final slice, but when in doubt, cut off the greasy parts, throw them in the trash, and recycle the rest.

Today, let's turn you on to composting and get you slinging soil that'll make your garden happy and increase your local landfill's lifespan. According to EPA estimates, about 30% of our household waste is made up of compostable material, i.e. plant food. Unfortunately, when our biodegradables are landfilled, they take up much-needed space that could be used by other garbage items. When landfills run out of room, we need to create more of them. By composting, we cut waste and conserve space. Who wouldn't want that?

The basics

Composting is all about finding the right balance of ingredients. Using water, air, sunlight, green materials, and brown materials, you can start producing what gardeners like to call "black gold' rich topsoil that'll give your homegrown herbs and veggies a natural boost.You're probably wondering what green and brown materials are, exactly. No worries, let's break them down.Green materials are high in nitrogen. Because they contain moisture, they tend to decompose quickly. They include:

 
• Fruit and vegetable scraps
 
• Coffee grounds and unbleached filters
 
• Tea bags
 
• Fresh leaves and plants
 
• Grass clippings
 
• Clover
 
• Seaweed

Brown materials are high in carbon. They're dry, so they take a longer time to break down. They include:

 
• Corncobs
 
• Breads and grains
 
• Nutshells
 
• Shredded newspaper
 
• Dead leaves
 
• Twigs and small branches
 
• Sawdust

This list is by no means exhaustive, by the way, but it's a great place to start. Though fruit and vegetable skins make great compost, any that have been treated with pesticides should be left out. Remember: the stuff you compost is returning to the earth, so it's important to keep bad chemicals out. If your community has an organics program, check in with them to see exactly what's accepted.

Mixing the perfect pile

Now, the tricky part: finding the right mix of brown and green materials. Depending on who you talk to, you'll get a different answer. Some say one-part green to two-parts brown materials. We've even seen one-part green to thirty-parts brown materials.Really, though, it comes down to preference. If your compost stinks, brown materials will eliminate the odor. Too much brown materials will slow down the process, though, so keep that in mind. Be sure to keep your materials wet, too. For reference, think of a damp sponge, and if you can, try to turn your pile to air out your materials. Composting is all about creating the ideal environment for the microorganisms that break down compost. Like us, they need air and water.The perfect pile shouldn't stink. It should smell like soil. And when it's done composting, it'll look like chocolate cake.

No yard? No worries!

Condo and apartment dwellers can compost, too. Whether you make your own composter or purchase one that does all the work for you, there are options for everyone. If you don't use the soil yourself, you can donate it to a friend, a community garden, a school, or local grower. For a simpler solution, services like CompostNow will provide you with an organics bin and do all the heavy lifting, for a fee.It doesn't matter if your community has an organics program or not, it's easy to get involved. Plus, we can help. If your city is on the Recycle Coach Network, you can download our app for free.

I'm willing to bet you recycle your receipts. And why wouldn't you? After all, they're made from paper, which is recyclable, right?

In this case: wrong.

Well, mostly.

Turns out there are two types of receipts floating around out there. The paper ones, which are recyclable and compostable, if your city has an organics program, and the thermal ones, which aren't. But because it's hard to tell the difference between the two, we recommend keeping them all out of the recycling bin.

That's because  93% of thermal receipts contain Bisphenol A (BPA), an industrial chemical that's used to produce specific kinds of plastic. And, yes, this nasty chemical is as bad as it sounds. In case you don't believe us, BPA can mess with human health in high enough doses. In fact, in many countries, on top of being declared toxic, it has been outright banned.

Every year, we make about 8 billion pounds of the stuff. So, yeah. Not great.

Okay, so what should I do?

Before tossing all those receipts into the trash, see if your community has a special take-back program. If they're on the Recycle Coach network, download our app for free and we'll fill you in on everything you need to know and then some. If not, check your public works site or give them a call. If thermal receipts aren't accepted, feel free to trash'em.

Keep in mind, much of what you throw in the garbage ends up getting landfilled (or incinerated). In other words, all that BPA coating your thermal receipts ends up outside where it can leach into our soil, water, and air. If this worries you, there are other options.

You can always opt to receive an e-receipt at the point of purchase. Or, you can refuse a receipt altogether and manually track all your purchases using a budget app.

You toss on some rouge, a little mascara and cap it off with a swipe of lipstick. You think: Dayum, I look fine!

And you know what? You do. But here's the thing: even though cosmetics look good on people, they look awful on our planet. And that's not good for anyone.

Before I fill you in on how to safely dispose of old and unwanted cosmetics, let's look at why these products are such an issue. You might not realize it, but makeup is filled with chemicals that don't mix well with people (or the environment). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), which include cosmetics, get in our water table and stay there. And they're messing with human physiology.

So yeah, if you were rinsing or dumping your beauty products down the drain, stop. It'll come back to haunt you. It'll come back to haunt all of us.

Without further ado, here's everything you need to know about safely disposing of those problematic beauty products.

Greener is leaner

Yes, buying eco-friendly products is generally better for the environment. The same is true for makeup. Thankfully, there are plenty of options out there. The greener the product, the easier it should be to dispose of since sustainability will be factored into the packaging. Something to keep in mind next time you're shopping.

Recycling options

Let's start with the easy ones first.

If you bring your empties to Aveda, Everyday Minerals, Kiehl's, Lush, MAC, Origins, or Zoya, they'll recycle them. In some instances, restrictions apply. For example, Zoya only offers recycling once a year on Earth Day, while Lush takes back branded packaging. TerraCycle has also partnered with companies like L'Oreal, L'Occitane, and Garnier to offer recycling programs, so there's plenty out there.

Some companies have also moved towards refillable packaging to reduce the bulk of wasted packaging. In the US, TerraCycle is also working with Ulta in their waste-free packaging program Loop.If you still have a lot of product left in the container, you could also consider donating it to a friend.Some women's shelters will also gladly take your unwanted makeup. Plus, you'll be doing someone a solid.

Okay, now for the tough stuff. Most cosmetic packaging is made from glass and polypropylene, or plastic #5 for all you resin identification number nerds, making them recyclable in most communities. Just make sure those bottles are empty AND cleaned out before tossing them in your bin. And if you've got half-empty bottles of makeup, remember: don't rinse or dump them. Wipe them the clean instead.

To check and see if this applies in your community, download our app (assuming, of course, that your city is part of our network).

Worst-case scenario

If you're unable to take part in one of the recycling programs above, then you should toss it in the garbage. Just make sure the product is sealed if there's anything left inside.