Choosing Your Recycling Program

Posted on: 6 December 2019

Many communities have services that will pick up recyclables left on the curbside. People usually won't have to throw out the paper that they use, since it is recyclable.

The Services That Pick Up Recyclables Will Take Most Types of Paper 

People can recycle all of their old phone books, magazines, old letters, and newspapers through these services. Paper products that are used in an office setting are also certainly eligible. The people who want to get paperback books recycled will usually have to rip them up first. It might be possible to recycle the cover, but they usually shouldn't leave the book entirely intact. 

These services cannot take napkins, even if those napkins are clean and unused. This is also the case with tissues and paper products that have a similar texture. Even clean diapers also must be thrown away with the rest of the trash, since it just isn't possible to recycle them efficiently. The wrappers for various food items might contain paper and other materials that can be recycled, but people won't be able to break down these wrappers in order to make that possible. Food wrappers have to be thrown away, along with most types of foam.

However, these services will vary when it comes to the items that they will take. Some items will be acceptable at all services, while others will only be taken in some areas.

Some Services Collect Electronic Waste and Organic Matter

For the most part, the people who live or work in areas that have these sorts of services will be able to get all of their plastic products recycled, and this will be the case with glass products and most forms of paper. They will usually have to compost organic matter themselves, or bring electronic waste to a specialized recycling center.

However, there are services that are now starting to pick these sorts of items up at the curbside along with everything else. People will have to check with their local services to see if it applies to them. Guidelines for plastic recycling can also vary somewhat.

Certain Kinds of Plastic Are Recycled Everywhere 

Plastic products are equipped with different numbers that people can read themselves. For the most part, the plastic products that have a lower number will be recycled by all of these different services. The ones that have higher numbers might be recycled in some areas.

For more information about recycling services, contact a company like Industrial Services Inc.