Hello blog friends- please give a warm welcome to Recycle Sleuth. 
She has the challenging task of answering those questions that many of you have about the legitimacy of recycling. She works to dissolve those urban myths with the goal of revealing the truths and benefits of recycling for our economy, society, and environment! She will appear periodically on the blog. Stay tuned! You can ask your questions for the Recycle Sleuth by going to our Contact page on the menu bar to the left.
Question of the Week: Are Recyclables Really Recycled?
If Recycle Sleuth had a quarter for every time this question was asked, she wouldn't have to appear on blogs! Many people become skeptical when they place their recyclables at their curb or take their items to a drop-off center. They scratch their heads and wonder, "What happens to my stuff now?"
Materials from drop-off recycling centers or from your curbside recycling container are generally taken to some sort of material recovery facility. At this type of facility, recyclables are separated out and usually compacted in some way to ship to a manufacturer who will use this material to create a new product. It's in the best interest of the recovery facility to sell clean recyclables to manufacturers to make the most profit they can. When a load of recyclables arrives at their facility, workers will sort out what can and cannot be sold.
Recyclables must meet certain standards in order for them to be used again in a manufacturing process. The cleaner the materials, the more likely they'll be sold to a manufacturer. A residual is what cannot be recycled after the sorting process. The less residual for a sorting center results in higher profits for them because this residual material is simply thrown away at a cost to the sorting center. Examples of residuals: that yogurt cup with half the yogurt still left in it or a pizza box with crusts still inside it and cheese stuck to the bottom!
Companies dealing with waste management and material recovery facilities can make money off selling clean and desirable recyclables. Materials taken to a landfill are charged for unloading, which is referred to as a tipping fee. If a recyclable is valuable, clean, and a market can be found for it, then why would a company pay a tipping fee to dispose of a recyclable that could potentially make them money? Recycling is a business. There has to be a market for the recyclables that you put into your curb or take to a drop-off center in order for recycling to properly continue. If you put something in your recycling bin that your county or city doesn't accept, they cannot recycle it.
Recycle Sleuth advices you to pay attention to what your area will accept, buy materials made with recycled content, and keep recycling! By recycling, you're keeping precious natural resources out of the landfill and you'll be saving natural resources, reducing air pollution, and lessening energy demands!
Happy 4th of July! Make sure to recycle your cans and bottles this weekend!
