Houston Recycling Q&A
Houston Organic Cleaning Service
What is recycling? Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products, benefiting the community, economy and the environment.
Does Recycling Really Make a Difference? EPA data does show that recycling conserves energy and natural resources. Here are three (3) ways recycling make a difference:
Recycling one ton of office paper can save the energy equivalent of consuming 322 gallons of gasoline.
Recycling just one ton of aluminum cans conserves more than 152 million Btu, the equivalent of 1,024 gallons of gasoline or 21 barrels of oil consumed.
Plastic bottles are the most recycled plastic product in the United States as of 2018, according to our most recent report. Recycling just 10 plastic bottles saves enough energy to power a laptop for more than 25 hours.
In what way does recycling save energy? When we make new products out of virgin materials, we expend energy to extract and process those materials. This includes burning fossil fuels. However, if we manufacture products using recycled materials, we reduce the need for virgin materials and save the energy required to extract and process them. To estimate how much energy you can save by recycling certain products, EPA has developed a tool called the individual Waste Reduction Model (iWARM). This tool calculates how much energy you save by recycling aluminum cans, glass or plastic bottles, magazines or plastic grocery bags, and shows you how long those savings could power different electrical appliances.
Are there other options to recycling? Currently, recycling is the most effective way to reduce waste. Source reduction, along with material reuse, are the most functional ways to save natural resources, protect the environment and save money.
What are my recycling options? Please contact your local county or municipality to determine your local recycling options. Additionally, please check out the Earth911 website for more information.
What happen when I place items into the recycling bin that cannot be recycled? Putting items in the recycling bin that cannot be recycled can contaminate the recycling stream. Once these items arrive at recycling centers, they can cause costly damage to the facility’s equipment. Additionally, after arriving at recycling centers, they must be sorted out and then sent to landfills, which raises costs for the facility.
That is why it is important to check with your local recycling provider to ensure that they will accept certain items before placing them into a bin. Some items may also be accepted at retail locations or at local recycling centers. Furthermore, some recycling providers require different types of materials to be collected in separate bins (multi-stream recycling), whereas other providers may accept different types of materials that are put together in the same bin (single-stream recycling)
Will all my recyclable items be accepted at my local recycling facility? Your local recycling facility might not accept all recyclable items. This is especially true with plastics. While plastic bottles are the most commonly recycled plastic products, other plastics may or may not be accepted in your area, so first check what your local recycling facility will accepts. It is important to understand that the existence of a plastic resin code on the product does not guarantee that the product is recyclable in your area. Additionally, glass may not be accepted in some areas, so please confirm with your local facility.
What items I should never put into my recycling bin(s)
Garden hoses
Sewing needles
Bowling balls
Food or food-soiled paper
Propane tanks or cylinders
Aerosol cans that aren’t empty
Household hazardous waste. In the Earth 911 database, search for “household hazardous waste collection” near your zip code. Additionally, contact your local environmental, health or solid waste agency to learn about permanent or periodic household hazardous waste collections near you.
Syringes, broken glass, and broken light bulbs should not go in the recycling nor in the regular garbage stream. Please consult your local waste authority for information on ways to correctly discard these items in your area without risking injury to collection workers.
Source: EPA
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