Aluminum Cans, Composting, and Plastic Bags in Recycling

Recycling helps reduce landfill is no news, but is it truly an effective solution to the environmental crisis or is it merely a comforting diction that sets our minds at ease? Statistics have it, and we are just not doing well enough.

First, how much percentage are we recycling each year? The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) estimates 75% of waste produced in America is recyclable, but we only recycle approximately 30% of it. 1

As the most recyclable materials, $700 million worth of aluminum cans are discarded to landfill each year. Aluminum cans can be recycled to itself directly over and over again in a loop. Studies show that the energy saved from recycling one aluminum is enough to listen to a full album on an iPhone.2 Thinking about your favorite album may motivate you to recycle more cans. To help recycle more aluminum cans, join 5 Can Challenge!

We generate 21.5 million tons of food waste each year. If we composted that food, it would reduce the same amount of greenhouse gas as taking 2 million cars off the road. 3

Composting, the process of decomposing natural and organic material into rich humus soil, is no new idea, but composting at home may be less complicated and more accessible than most people think. Other than gardening in the backyard, people without a backyard can also do it indoors with a special type of bin that can be found at any gardening supplies stores.

There are three ingredients needed for basic composting: Browns, which includes dead leaves, twigs and branches; greens, including vegetable waste, coffee grounds, fruit scraps and grass clippings; and water. Other than what's mentioned above, other things can be composted include tea bags, eggshells, nut shells, paper, cardboard, shredded newspaper, hay and straw, hair and fur, and yard trimmings.

Bad smell and pests are common concerns for most people when it comes to any kind of gardening. However, a properly managed compost bin should not attract pests or generate a bad smell. With hundreds of tutorial videos and articles on the Internet, composting at home can still be inaccessible for some who want to help, which is why Food Composting Curbside Collection Programs exist. In 2018, 4.1% of wasted food was composted.

While composting requires a certain amount of, self-educating and troubleshooting, organic waste in landfills produces a potent greenhouse gas, methane, and methane can be significantly reduced by composting wasted food and other organics. 4

Food waste is the number one biggest source of landfill; more than plastic or paper. According to the EPA, 20% of what goes to landfill is wasted food. While composting is one of the effective ways to reduce food wasted, the most impactful way is cutting down food waste.

Grocery bags dissolve into potentially harmful micro plastics and, in the case of ingestion or entanglement, hurt and kill animals. They’re pretty much the worst. Even though these bags are technically recyclable, you must go to a drop-off area to do that, not your curbside bin. 5

Plastic bags are the most dangerous serial killer in recycling. According to workers in city recycling programs, when they receive plastic bags full of recyclable objects, they are not allowed to open the bags, which means, nothing in the entire bag can be recycled, even if it is full of aluminum cans and bottles. Therefore, while plastic bags are recyclable, a trip to a local recycling center is needed to properly recycle them.

Also, when plastic bags shut down the equipment, get caught in the machinery and tangle with other objects in the process of recycling. The best way is to reduce the use of plastic bags; replace them with canvas bags and reusable containers.