How Empty is Empty?

Recycling should be a process in which clean, empty recyclable materials are sorted and baled then sent to the world market for reuse. Contaminants, however, prevent this process from not only going smoothly, but sometimes prevent it from going on at all.

Some commodities, such as metal, glass and sometimes even plastic, go through processes where small amounts of debris or contaminants don’t adversely affect the final product.

Small amounts of food or liquid left in soda bottles, vegetable cans or pickle jars will most likely not be at a contamination level that would render the whole load of recycling unusable.

Is My Beer Bottle Recyclable With a Lime In It?

“People have been making glass for more than 4000 years, and it’s one of the few materials in the world that is perpetually recyclable. The same glass can be broken down and reused over and over again — theoretically, a million times over.

Since recycled glass melts at a lower temperature than new materials, it takes less energy to reuse. In fact, much of the glass in your favorite bottle of beer has possibly been in tens, if not hundreds of bottles of beer before.”

What Happens If I Don’t Rinse Out My Recycling?

Most recycling centers request that you to rinse out your recyclables before you put them into your bin for recycling. But what happens if you don’t?

If there are a few drops of soda in a bottle, a few small corn kernels in a can or some stray pieces of cereal in the bottom of a box, it shouldn’t be a problem to get these materials recycled.

If, on the other hand, there’s enough peanut butter or mayonnaise on the inside of a jar to make another sandwich, recycling centers may turn away the whole truck load due to contamination.

Are Empty Glue Bottles Recyclable?

Anyone who does any kind of craft or fix-it projects or has kids usually has a plethora of empty or half-empty glue bottles and sticks lying around the house. What can be done with these little bottles when they are no longer needed?

First, you can throw them into your regular trash. This may seem irresponsible to some but may be easier than finding a means of recycling them in most areas.

Do Pharmacies Reuse Medicine Bottles?

Most pharmacies are unable to reuse and refill medication bottles for sanitary and purity reasons.

Prescription medication is heavily regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). therefore, certain guidelines have to be followed to in order to adhere to their standards of safety. 

What Is One Of The Most Littlered Items?

On a recent family bike ride we rode on a couple back roads that were sadly littered with so much trash, mostly consisting of water and various alcohol bottles.

According to treehugger.com and banthebottle.net, approximately 50 billion water bottles were sold last year in the United States alone, with almost 200 billion being produced each year worldwide.