Last time we met we talked about recycling plastics and how you need to make sure to wash your rigid plastics before taking them to the recycling center. I would like to stay on that topic for just a little longer because there are some novices out there who don’t even know how to tell what you can and cannot recycle.
On the bottom of every rigid plastic container is a small triangle with a number in the middle of it. If it is a “2” it goes in one bin at the transfer station and if any other number appears it goes in the other bin. A very large percentage of our so-called trash is recyclable and I don’t know about you but my household seems to use more plastic, with tin cans being the next in volume, then glass, then paper.
The numbers on the rigid plastic can be hard to find and hard to read, hence, the use of my grandchildren, the eagle eyes who can spot a lollipop from 100 yards away through a window with the blinds closed. They recycle at home so I’m not teaching them anything new, but I think reinforcing that recycling is the norm, not the exception, is a good lesson for any child.
Numbering of plastics is almost always on the bottom of the container and if there is no number you can’t recycle it. However, having said that, there is a little known law in the state of Maine that says if you are a retail store and you bag your product in plastic bags you must provide a bin within 20 feet of the main entrance for collecting any used plastic bags and ensure that the plastic bags collected are recycled or delivered to a person engaged in recycling plastics.
This falls under Title 38, Waters and Navigation, Chapter 16, sale of consumer products affecting the environment. You can find recycle bins for plastic bags at Walmart right inside the entrance, and at Hannaford.
The recycling is not limited to Walmart bags going back to Walmart. You can also recycle other plastic bags, bread bags, pellet bags, the plastic wrap that goes around the paper towels or toilet paper that you purchase, etc. These are generally number 4 plastics. Did you know that most plastic bags are recycled into composite lumber?
I used to feel guilty when I forgot my reusable shopping bags for a quick trip to the grocery store, but knowing the plastic bags can be recycled has eased my guilt just a tad.
Still, it takes energy to make and to recycle, so it’s always better to remember your reusable shopping bags. And the same holds true for your plastic bags and film packaging as for your rigid plastic: Make sure it’s clean. If you want to recycle your bread bag, take that last piece of bread with the green mold on it out of the bag, please.
Here are the top 10 reasons to recycle: It’s good for our economy, creates jobs, reduces waste, good for the environment, saves energy, preserves landfill space, prevents global warming, reduces water pollution, protects wildlife and creates new demand for more recycled products, thus decreasing waste and helping our economy — the perfect circle.
Have a great week!
