Did you know that paper shopping receipts often contain toxic chemicals that make them impossible to recycle? Reduce, reuse and recycle – that's how to cut waste and save our precious planet!
However, while reducing and reusing may be easy, recycling isn't always so simple. The first challenge is knowing what belongs in the recycling bin.
Surprisingly, many household items cannot be recycled . And if you make mistakes when sorting your waste, you can cause more harm than good.
Want to improve your waste sorting skills ? Read on to learn what can't be recycled and what you can do with it .
Styrofoam
Styrofoam is used in many products we use every day, such as packaging foam, egg cartons, fast food plates and cups.
- The first problem with Styrofoam is that it is almost 95% air. So while Styrofoam is great for keeping your parcel nice and safe, it takes up more space than it is worth when shipping anywhere.
- The second and most serious problem with Styrofoam is its porosity. Because it is widely used in the food industry, it absorbs anything it comes in contact with and is difficult to clean.
- Ultimately, the Styrofoam recycling process is complicated and labor-intensive, with little financial benefit. As a result, you won't find many recycling facilities that accept Styrofoam.
Instead, you should avoid using them as much as possible in your daily activities.
Toothpaste tube
Traditional toothpaste tubes aren't made of just plastic. Instead, they often have multiple layers of different materials that help keep the toothpaste fresh as you brush.
However, this design also makes it difficult to recycle because separating the layers is too laborious. Because recycling toothpaste tubes isn't always possible, most of the 1.5 billion tubes used each year end up in landfills or the ocean.
Many major toothpaste brands are now switching to recyclable tubes made from HDPE, one of the most recyclable plastics, so next time you pick up your toothpaste, check to see if you can recycle it!
Children's toys
Sadly, most children's toys outlive their owners by centuries and end up wasted in long-forgotten landfills.
Most are made of hard plastic, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polypropylene (PP)—plastics that are durable enough that only a hard impact can break them.
The downside? These plastics often contain additives and chemical treatments that complicate the recycling process, making them difficult to break down or reuse.
In addition, there are complex toys made from a mixture of materials—wood, wire, metal, and various plastics like polycarbonate or PVC—that are nearly impossible to separate for proper recycling.
A smart way to recycle children's toys is to donate or give them to people in need.
Pyrex glass
The advantage of Pyrex glass is that it has been specially treated to withstand high temperatures. This is why Pyrex is chosen as the main material for making great cookware, but that can be a problem when it comes to recycling.
Pyrex glass can withstand temperatures that would melt regular glass. If you break or chip your Pyrex glassware, sadly you cannot throw it in the recycling bin and it will have to go in the trash.
Remember to wrap debris in newspaper to protect the garbage disposal.
Purchase invoice
Every time you go to the store, you get one of those thermal receipts. And inevitably, they start to pile up over time. However, unlike regular printer paper, these receipts cannot be recycled.
Shopping receipts are often printed on paper coated with bisphenol-A (or bisphenol S), a toxic chemical that makes recycling difficult.
You can't even compost these receipts, as those toxic chemicals can leach into the soil. They're also pretty useless because they fade so quickly! You can either refuse the shopping receipt if you don't need it, or better yet, request an electronic receipt.