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Did you just throw the broken light bulb in to the regular trash? Well, you are not alone. The lack of proper information causes many people to throw things into trash inappropriately. People are often unsure about the recyclable ability of some of the things such as light bulbs, paints, broken plastic toys, rechargeable batteries etc. This results in the increased waste management cost, prevention of recycling of some products, and excess wastes at landfills.

So, let’s examine the classification of household solid wastes that we generate everyday and night. The understanding of whether the waste is recyclable, compostable, or waste will help us toss things appropriately and reduce our carbon footprint on the environment.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/59303791@N00/3255760568/

Recyclable

Knowing which household items can be recycled is essential in developing sound  recycling habits. So, what can we recycle?

Paper

Most paper products are recyclable. This includes;  newspapers, flyers, magazines, junk mail, office papers, writing papers, scrap papers, chipboards (i.e. cereal boxes), and cardboard boxes. Make sure to bundle these items together before throwing into the recycle bin. Also, flatten the cardboard boxes before tying them. Avoid using cardboard boxes as trash containers. Check with your local waste management company about recycling possibilities of old phone books in the area.

So, what type of paper products can’t be recycled?

Papers with any kind of plastic coatings or contamination can’t be recycled. For example, stickers, carbon papers, sanitary tissue papers, thermal fax papers, food or oil contaminated papers, pet food bags, and waxed papers are not recyclable. 

Plastics

Just like papers, most plastics are recyclable. Since the plastic never biodegrade in landfills, it is highly recommended to recycle as much plastics as we can. Make sure to recycle plastic water bottles, milk cans or jars, bags, detergent containers, toys, plastic hangars, broken trash cans, shelves, baskets, rain ponchos, compact discs CDs, video tapes, and DVDs. 

Give away unbroken toys or any plastic items that someone else can use instead of tossing them into the trash. There are organizations and people who are also willing to accept broken toys. For example, Happen Inc.’s Toy Lab in Cincinnati accepts broken toys to help kids create new toys out of these broken toys. Also, cdrecyclingcenter.com accepts unwanted or broken CDs and DVDs.

Glass

Although glass does biodegrade, it takes thousands of years to disintegrate at landfills. Recycling glass is also very easy. Glass items such as beverage containers, milk bottles, and jars can be recycled. Check with your local waste management company about other types of glasses such as windows, light bulbs, mirrors, glass tableware, Pyrex or auto glass, and Ceramics contaminate glass. 

Aluminum

Aluminum is the easiest to recycle. Aluminum products such as soda or pop cans, tin cans, aluminum foils can be recycled. 

Other Metals

Many other metal products can be recycled as well. For example, refrigerators, heat pumps, air conditioners, stoves, auto bodies, rechargeable batteries, and metal beverage containers. Check with your local waste management company for these items. Like in our local community, we need to schedule a pickup for these items as the company does not pickup such items with the normal trash. 

Some of the other items that can be completely or partly recycled are: motor oil, tires, car batteries, cell phones, laptops, desktops, computer keyboards, mice, speakers, VCR, game players, phones, stereos, radios, electric clocks, printers, copiers, scanners and fax machines.

Compostable

Some of the household solid wastes can not be recycled, but they are considered compostable. These types of wastes are made out of organic matters and will break down or biodegrade in the compost system.

Yard trimmings (grass, leaves, shrubs, and tree clippings), food wastes, tissues, and paper towels are examples of compostable wastes. Many local communities have compost centers where people can dump their compostable wastes. During my first visit of the year to our local compost center, I get an yearly sticker on my windshield. This is to make sure that I belong to the local community. By the way, ourcompost center does not accept tissues or paper towels. Only yard wastes are allowed. 

Waste

The items that can not be recycled or composed elsewhere end up filling the growing number of landfills around the world. We should all make efforts to reduce the use of items that simply go to landfills. Some of the items we should avoid include; corrugated cardboards, food containers and utensils made out of Styrofoam, milk and juice cartons made out of waxes papers.