Did you know that one contaminated container can cause the entire contents of the bin to be ruined? Did you know that this costs municipalities tons of extra money to deal with contaminated goods? When you recycle your containers, you need to remove all the extra contents before tossing it in the recycling bin. As a recycling center in New Jersey, we help many homeowners increase their recycling efforts and focus on practical ways to implement recycling into their lifestyle. These are a few tips to avoid contamination in your recycling bin.
Before you throw any of your containers in the recycling bin, you need to empty them of their contents and thoroughly clean them. Rinse them in the sink and make sure they are fully dry before you throw them in your bin. If you skip this step, your jars and containers can actually release its contents all over the rest of your bin, and this can contaminate the whole bin.
Some of the most popular containers that people recycle are pizza boxes. These large cardboard boxes, however, are often stained with grease after the pizza is gone. Because of this, these greasy spots need to be removed to prevent further contamination. As a rule of thumb, you should separate the bottom of the pizza box from the top. Recycle the top, and throw away the greasy bottom.
It may seem strange to keep plastic bags out of the recycling bin, but this is a good practice to start in your home. When you recycle plastic bags, you risk the chance of contamination from anything that may have been inside. Also, you should keep your plastic bags in a separate bin that makes it easy for reuse. Once your container is full of plastic bags, you can recycle them at your local supermarket.
Batteries should not be recycled, nor should they be thrown in the garbage. Batteries require special waste removal, so you will want to contact your local recycling center to hear about these. When you do put batteries in the recycling bin, you risk contamination of the entire contents of the bin.
Many people may not know this, but soft paper products, like toilet paper and paper towels, need to be thrown in the garbage. When you recycle these products, you contaminate the entire recycling bin. These products are often used to wipe surfaces, which means that they then have the dirt, dust, debris, or allergens on them. By putting these materials in the recycling bin, you risk exposing everything to these particles.
These are a few tips that will help you avoid recycling contamination that can frequently ruin the contents of your entire bin. To hear more practical recycling tips, contact our recycling center in New Jersey today.
