{"id":2487,"date":"2007-11-27T11:25:12","date_gmt":"2007-11-27T11:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/2007\/11\/27\/recycling-misconceptions-%e2%80%93-part-1-%e2%80%93-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/"},"modified":"2007-11-27T11:25:12","modified_gmt":"2007-11-27T11:25:12","slug":"recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/","title":{"rendered":"Recycling Misconceptions \u2013 Part 1 \u2013 “All plastic containers with a recycling logo are recyclable.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"recycle<\/p>\n

Recycling may be the easiest way to do your part when it comes to being “green,” right? Well, it does seem that a few trashcans around the house and conditioning oneself to differentiate throw-a-ways based on that ubiquitous chasing arrows logo is an easy way to get started and do some good, but are you really helping? Does that logo really mean what most people think it means (this is recyclable)? Chances are only some of the plastic containers you throw out are actually being recycled, and the rest are being pulled from the stream and discarded in the landfill.<\/p>\n

This is the case in my current “hometown,” New York City. I spoke with the Director of the NYC bureau of Waste Prevention<\/a>, Reuse and Recycling a couple weeks ago while doing some research for a client, and he informed me that if I throw, for example, a plastic sandwich container, top of a tic-tac container or any other non-typical plastic container into my municipal recycling stream it won\u2019t get recycled. Why? Well, the infrastructure is just not there yet; currently the only plastic containers that NYC will recycle are plastic bottles and jugs where the neck is smaller than the body. According to the NYCWasteLe$$ website<\/a>, this is because 90% of all plastic bottles and jugs are made of #1 PETE and #2 HDPE, two plastics with strong market demand. Other less popular plastics can contaminate the batch of recycled plastic. This was news to me, as I had been dropping anything plastic that contained the mobius loop into my recycling bin, and I had been encouraging my roommates to do the same.<\/p>\n

So here’s the rub:<\/strong>
\nSince the recycling logo isn\u2019t a government-mandated symbol, manufacturers are allowed to put it on their products even if that product is only recyclable in some places. The mobius loop or chasing arrows logo along with resin codes (e.g. 1 for PETE), which were developed by the Society of the Plastic Industry<\/a>, only denote the type of plastic and not its recyclability. As more and more companies are forced to outfit their products or packaging with something “green,” ill-informed consumers will continue to drop those products into their municipal recycling streams; thus increasing the man power needed to pull them out of the stream before the recycling process begins and ship them to the landfill, using more energy than if they had just thrown it in the trash. Like The Big Lebowski said, \u201cThat\u2019s a bummer man.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think most people feel recycling is a good thing, and a necessary thing, but want clear-cut guidelines about what and whatnot to toss in the recycling bin. Sometimes this information isn\u2019t readily available. The first thing you should do is make sure you have read any available literature or signs regarding recycling in your area. If these don’t clearly outline both what and whatnot to recycle, then check with your local or regional municipality to find out the specifics. Some places like San Francisco encourage recycling of all plastics, not just bottles and jugs. The important thing is to seek out the correct information; don’t let a lack of knowledge thwart your efforts to do something good. Be proactive.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re bothered by the uncertainties of recycling just as I am, a third thing you can do is encourage your local municipality to adopt a cool process started by Waste Management<\/a> called Single Stream recycling. Single Stream recycling collection is becoming popular throughout the US and allows for all recyclables to be mixed together when deposited. Check out this post<\/a> from my friend John Laumer at treehugger.com for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recycling may be the easiest way to do your part when it comes to being “green,” right? Well, it does seem that a few trashcans around the house and conditioning [ … ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":17333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[39,8512,48],"yoast_head":"\nRecycling Misconceptions \u2013 Part 1 \u2013 "All plastic containers with a recycling logo are recyclable." • Sustainablog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Recycling Misconceptions \u2013 Part 1 \u2013 "All plastic containers with a recycling logo are recyclable." • Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recycling may be the easiest way to do your part when it comes to being “green,” right? Well, it does seem that a few trashcans around the house and conditioning [ … ]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-11-27T11:25:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/recyclepuzzle.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"242\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"weatherholtz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"weatherholtz\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"weatherholtz\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c9163cb07632ef4d3b1b8126a9214b03\"},\"headline\":\"Recycling Misconceptions \u2013 Part 1 \u2013 “All plastic containers with a recycling logo are recyclable.”\",\"datePublished\":\"2007-11-27T11:25:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2007-11-27T11:25:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/\"},\"wordCount\":621,\"commentCount\":7,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Recycling\",\"Sustainability\",\"waste\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/\",\"name\":\"Recycling Misconceptions \u2013 Part 1 \u2013 \\\"All plastic containers with a recycling logo are recyclable.\\\" • Sustainablog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2007-11-27T11:25:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2007-11-27T11:25:12+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Recycling Misconceptions \u2013 Part 1 \u2013 “All plastic containers with a recycling logo are recyclable.”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\",\"name\":\"Sustainablog\",\"description\":\"Since 2003, Sustainablog has been one of the pioneers of sustainability news online.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Sustainablog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg\",\"width\":200,\"height\":142,\"caption\":\"Sustainablog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c9163cb07632ef4d3b1b8126a9214b03\",\"name\":\"weatherholtz\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/575c5c685e36bedb775a9a41ae9eba82?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/575c5c685e36bedb775a9a41ae9eba82?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"weatherholtz\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/author\/weatherholtz\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Recycling Misconceptions \u2013 Part 1 \u2013 \"All plastic containers with a recycling logo are recyclable.\" • Sustainablog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Recycling Misconceptions \u2013 Part 1 \u2013 \"All plastic containers with a recycling logo are recyclable.\" • Sustainablog","og_description":"Recycling may be the easiest way to do your part when it comes to being “green,” right? Well, it does seem that a few trashcans around the house and conditioning [ … ]","og_url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/","og_site_name":"Sustainablog","article_published_time":"2007-11-27T11:25:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":250,"height":242,"url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/recyclepuzzle.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"weatherholtz","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"weatherholtz","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/"},"author":{"name":"weatherholtz","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c9163cb07632ef4d3b1b8126a9214b03"},"headline":"Recycling Misconceptions \u2013 Part 1 \u2013 “All plastic containers with a recycling logo are recyclable.”","datePublished":"2007-11-27T11:25:12+00:00","dateModified":"2007-11-27T11:25:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/"},"wordCount":621,"commentCount":7,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["Recycling","Sustainability","waste"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/","name":"Recycling Misconceptions \u2013 Part 1 \u2013 \"All plastic containers with a recycling logo are recyclable.\" • Sustainablog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2007-11-27T11:25:12+00:00","dateModified":"2007-11-27T11:25:12+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-misconceptions-part-1-all-plastic-containers-with-a-recycling-logo-are-recyclable\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Recycling Misconceptions \u2013 Part 1 \u2013 “All plastic containers with a recycling logo are recyclable.”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/","name":"Sustainablog","description":"Since 2003, Sustainablog has been one of the pioneers of sustainability news online.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization","name":"Sustainablog","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg","width":200,"height":142,"caption":"Sustainablog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c9163cb07632ef4d3b1b8126a9214b03","name":"weatherholtz","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/575c5c685e36bedb775a9a41ae9eba82?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/575c5c685e36bedb775a9a41ae9eba82?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"weatherholtz"},"url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/author\/weatherholtz\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}