Today there are dozens of new applications of flexible plastic packaging used in hundreds or thousands of ways. Opt for highly-recyclable glass and metal options when they are available. By now, we all know that plastic bags are bad for the environment, so its a good idea to get rid of them, right? Plastic bags are relatively strong, incredibly cheap, waterproof, and, perhaps most importantly, made to be thrown away. Colored bags mess with the automated sorting machines, Sobkowicz-Kline said. We manage public garbage and recycling cans and work to remove illegal dumping, graffiti, sharps, and other pollution in public places. This interactive explores some of the plastics the recycling system was designed to handle and explains why other plastic packaging shouldnt go in your recyclingbin. Today, batteries can be dropped off not only at local municipal sites, but some retailers now offer in-store recycling boxes to ensure that batteries are recycled properly.. We received a donation of empty medicine/ pill bottles and we are currently using them in our BASIL Seed Library for people to hold and separate their seeds too! We manage large, regional watersheds that provide some of the cleanest water in the nation. This type of packaging flattens out on the MRFs conveyor belt and ends up being incorrectly sorted and mixed with paper, rendering the whole baleunsellable. This material is so lightweight that it gets caught in standard recycling machinery. Sadly, most plastic is currently not created to decompose, but to be indestructible. "Our main products are paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, mixed plastics . Online purchasing drove significant increases in plastic shipping bags and fillers. Thank you for your concern about this issue. Plastic bags get consumed by fish and birds, causing them to choke and die a very painful death. It is important to recycle tires, as there are outlets for them after theyve fulfilled their initial intended use on a vehicle, says Meredith Leahy, Waste Diversion Manager for Circular Solutions at Rubicon. Watch out! It requires a specialized type of recycling equipment. 37 reviews. According to some online claims, one standard 16-foot Trex board contains recycled material from approximately 2,250 plastic bags, as well as scrap timber and sawdust. (Some of these items can be recycled through separate programs, though. They can also be used as a tire-derived aggregate, which can be used for backfill in construction projects or components in road-stabilization projects.