Hot take: People think recycling a plastic bottle is the whole job

I was at a town cleanup in Portland last month and saw someone toss a greasy pizza box in the paper bin. When I mentioned it, they just shrugged. That box ruins the whole batch because the oil can't be separated. I learned that from a local waste plant tour last year. What's one thing you see folks messing up that actually makes things worse?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia5545d ago

Wait, what about those little plastic windows on envelopes? I saw @charles_barnes mention plastic bags tangling machines, and it's the same kind of problem. People toss those envelopes in paper recycling, but that plastic film has to be picked out. It's another thing that gums up the works and slows everything down. I guess we just assume if it's mostly paper, it's fine.

charles_barnes25d ago

Honestly, I'm not sure that one greasy box ruins a whole batch. Our local facility told me they pull the worst offenders off the line by hand. The real issue is people recycling plastic bags, which just tangle up the machines and shut everything down.

haydensanchez25d ago

Totally agree with you @charles_barnes, the plastic bag thing is such a pain lol. Makes sense they'd just pull the bad boxes by hand.