Recyclops

A few days ago I posted a poll about recycling greasy pizza boxes. It was fascinating to see how evenly divided people's opinions were on the recyclability of pizza boxes! So... without further ado ?????? the answer: If we lived in a world where the majority of cardboard put into recycling bin was pizza boxes, the answer to this question would be no. The grease would contaminate the cardboard to a point that it wouldn't be able to be recycled. Twenty, or even ten, years ago this may have been closer to true. However, that is not the world we live in these days. E-commerce dominates recycling, and as such, greasy cardboard pizza boxes are a drop in the bucket and do not cause contamination issues. Last year the Recycling Coalition of Utah reached out to paper mills, who are the ones actually doing the recycling, to get an answer and the resounding response was yes please send us your pizza boxes! You may find that your local municipality says "no" but the reality is a neighboring municipality probably says "yes" and all of this material is being sent to the same mill. Although I don't advise you to go against what your city says, the reality is if it's put in your recycling it will almost certainly be recycled.

Ballots in the box, flyers in the bin! ??????? Don't waste this opportunity! Exercise your right to vote and your right to recycle! After Election Day, turn all those campaign materials into something useful. Because the only waste we want to see is waste recycled! #Sustainability #Recyclops #Recycling #GoGreen #vote

Thanks to The Rising Tide Foundation for organizing the trash clean-up along the shores of Utah Lake this past Saturday, Oct. 26! Volunteers gathered a total of 358 lbs of trash that morning. For every pound collected Recyclops and other organizations sponsored the collection of ocean-bound plastic waste from Guatemala's natural ecosystems. That means that not only did we make a local impact but over 2500 lbs of plastic will be kept out of our oceans! We live for partnerships like this in sustainability. #Sustainability #Recyclops #Recycling #GoGreen

Should You Clean Out Milk Jugs Before Recycling? ???? I get asked this question A LOT, I so I thought I'd share the answer here! ?? The answer is YES (but probably not for the reasons you think!) – rinsing out your milk jugs (and any food containers) before recycling is a simple but powerful step to ensure they are effectively processed. Here’s why it matters: Pests and odors and the main reasons why rinsing is important! Large amounts of spoiled food can certainly cause recyclables to be landfilled but small amounts like what's left in a milk jug aren't likely to technically make something unrecyclable. Recyclers know that many consumers won't take this step and so systems are build to handle small contaminants like this. Having said that... pests and odors certainly don't help the process and could theoretically lead to items ending up in the landfill. Clean recyclables are much easier to process. This helps recyclers work faster, reducing waste, and most importantly conserving resources! Another tip is to smash your jug so it takes up less space :) So next time, give that jug a quick rinse and smash it before tossing it in the bin.?? #Recyclops #Sustainability #RecyclingTips #GoGreen #ZeroWaste #CircularEconomy