By Karissa Miller / WM
Whether from a relative or coworker, many of us have heard conflicting information about recycling. With so much passion and discussion around the topic, myths often spread at the dinner table and throughout the workplace.
What to do? Let’s bust those myths. Just as you sort your cans, bottles and paper, it’s also important to separate recycling myths from facts.
Like this one: When you see the chasing arrows symbol on a product, you can throw it in your curbside recycling cart.
This is a myth. The chasing arrows do not determine whether a product is locally recyclable. They merely indicate the item is technically recyclable somewhere, somehow. Please, ignore the chasing arrows.
Instead, the trick with recycling plastics is to focus on the shape. Plastics in the shapes of bottles, jugs and tubs can all go in your recycling. Repeat after me: “Bottles. Jugs. Tubs.” This is the mantra for recycling plastics in your curbside cart.
Next myth: With so much focus on sustainability these days, we are recycling and composting as much as we can.
The truth is, there’s still a big opportunity to keep recyclables and compostables out of the landfill. We are still throwing away significant amounts of paper and food. You can do your part by always recycling clean paper and following WM’s food waste reduction tips.
There’s also a misconception about what happens after the garbage truck driver empties your curbside cart. Some people think someone sorts the garbage and pulls out the recyclables. This is not the case. The fact is what’s in your garbage cart goes to the landfill. To ensure recyclable materials can be made into new products, always separate recyclables from garbage.
Finally, our last recycling myth (for now): Rinsing and transporting recyclables to be made into new materials wastes more energy than recycling saves.
Not true. There are a lot of natural resources that go into making new products. Using recyclables instead of virgin resources to make products significantly reduces the impact on our planet. Keep recycling. You are, without a doubt, making the sustainable choice.
Next time the recycling topic comes up at work or a family gathering, you can now step in as a recycling myth buster. Better yet, help spread recycling facts every day by printing your local recycling guide from the WM website — wmnorthwest.com — to post at home and work.
Karissa Miller is WM’s education and outreach manager. Find more sustainability tips at the WM website: wmnorthwest.com.
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