Recycling Do’s and Don’ts

You’re never to old to learn something new

My last visit to the health food store sent me off with a new supply of vitamins and a bounce of knowledge. The visual recycling explanation hanging close to the door, with plastic listed under both trash and recycling, got the wheels of my mind turning.

Although the plastic looks the same one is made natural sources like oil, and the other made from plants. So let’s take a look at a few common household items and see if we can figure this out.

This cardboard egg carton is good for recycling and can also be put in your garden soil because it’s 100 percent compostable.

I checked out a Styrofoam egg carton and did not find any symbols or references to disposal. For the environmental conscious person, the only good way to deal with this is to find a way to reuse them, or off to the trash they have to go.

Now that we’re on a roll let’s take a look at a plastic bottle:

Easy enough, olive oil container goes into the recycling bin.

Next, a symbol with a number, what’s this all about?

As written in the “Old Farmers Almanac” it says

“If you look at the number inside the triangle on your plastic, it will range from one to seven. This will tell you both the type of plastic used and which type is recyclable or even reusable. Many plastic-based products cannot break down and cannot be recycled.

Most plastic that displays a one or a two number is recyclable (though you need to check with your area’s recycling provider). But plastic that displays a three or a five often isn’t recyclable. A three indicates that the water bottle has been made from polyvinyl chloride, five means that it’s been made of polypropylene, two materials that are not accepted by most public recycling centers.“

I may not be the brightest bulb in the lamp, but I caught on to this pretty easy.

Three sentences in this post are a “figure of speech”. Did you notice them?

FOWC with Fandango — Figure