You Probably Aren’t Recycling These 3 Things Correctly

Mental Floss – Here’s What To Do Instead. Ensuring everything you put in the bin belongs there helps make the most of your recyclables. “The United States falls behind many of its peers when it comes to recycling. According to Yale University’s Environmental Performance Index (EPI), the U.S. ranks 105th in the world, recycling only an estimated 14.8 percent of eligible waste.  Much of this has to do with a lack of access to curbside recycling in some states, as well as a lack of common legislative incentives like bottle bills that mandate refunds for recycled bottles. However, the problem is also at a smaller scale: individual disinterest in recycling or misunderstandings of how to properly dispose of certain materials are partly to blame as well. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has instructions for recycling some of our most common materials, from plastics to electronics to even used oil. However, things can get complicated when each state has its own regulations about what can be recycled and how. Though it’s always worth double-checking your state and county rules regarding local procedures, you can find general guidelines below on some of the most commonly confusing items to recycle…

Most to-go coffee cups are lined with either plastic or polyethylene to make them waterproof. This has the unfortunate side effect of making most of them completely non-recyclable, contrary to popular belief. Please bring your own and stop using them.