Stay on top of recycling: Know what’s trash and what’s not
For years now, separating trash from recyclables has been an integral part of daily life across America. But are your efforts making a difference? Are you putting the right items in the right bins? While recycling household items is up to you, we can help with railcar decommissioning and dismantling, which are just some of our services and all part of keeping our world green.
Arm yourself with knowledge so you know what to throw out and what to throw in the recycling bin. The following items may seem like they fit in the recycling column, but their placement in the recycling group could contaminate your local centers’ ability to process the load.
The no-no’s of the recycling world
Greasy pizza boxes: The box on its own is OK, but once your pizza has left behind an oily residue, the ability to recycle it is in question. It’s difficult for recycling centers to isolate the cardboard box’s fiber from the grease. Tearing out the untouched areas is a good way to at least make sure some of the box is recycled.
Food-filled containers: Even if a container is labeled OK for recycling, if it has debris left behind, it does not fit in the recycling bin. Taking the time to rinse out empty milk jugs can make it pass the recycling muster.
Plastic bags: Using plastics bags as containers for collecting recyclables might seem like an easy and good idea, but the bags themselves are not good to go to the recycling center. Check your area for ways to dispose of plastic bags properly and consider toting around the reusable totes instead.
Coffee on the go: The disposable cups that hold your hot beverage are (surprisingly) not meant for recycling. The culprit that keeps them out: polyethylene, which is the lining that allows the cups to hold liquid. Switching to reusable cups helps cut back on the confusion if a cup is lined or not.
Plastic changes: If you have been a number checker in the recycling game, know that rules change as to what numbers are recyclable. Plastics 3 to 7 – anything from yogurt cups to bread bags – are now not accepted everywhere. It’s best to check with your recycling company or city facility to find out for sure.
The larger side of recycling
At Scrap Metal Services, we provide a full-service scrap metal facility. We can help with vehicles, vans, trucks or SUVs that are no longer running, crashed or totaled, an old model or wrecked. We also can assist with old machinery, tractors, trailers or farm equipment.
We’re here to help at Scrap Metal Services
We offer customer-centric services for all your needs! While our headquarters are in Burnham, Ill., we have offices and scrap processing facilities in locations across the United States. Contact our main offices at (708) 730-1400 or connect with us online and we can answer all your questions.
