We’re all spending more time at home consuming more products in our homes. Are you also recycling everything you can in your curbside recycling?
Every community recycling program is different, so it’s important you check your community’s website for what is and isn’t recyclable in your neighborhood. The important thing to remember is that by recycling your products, you are making it possible for the next products you buy to be made from recycled content.
Did you know that your plastic bottle can be recycled into new plastic bottles 10 times before being made into another product, like clothing or carpet? Did you know that your cans are infinitely recyclable? That’s right, they can be made into new cans forever. And the best part? When you put a can into your curbside recycling, it can be remade into a new can and back on your grocery store shelf within 60 days!
So next time you drink your favorite beverage, before you toss it, remember – it’s not just your one bottle or can. If you don’t put yours into the recycling, and then your neighbor doesn’t, and others in your community don’t, then one becomes hundreds becomes thousands and so on. Then manufacturers have less recycled material with which to make new things, so fewer products can be made from recycled content.
A recent survey showed that Americans want to do more to address waste and climate impacts, and that 85% of Americans strongly believe in recycling. Did you know that recycling and reuse activities support 757,000 American jobs and generate billions of dollars in economic activity annually? Recycling also delivers critically needed materials to the U.S. manufacturing supply chain so that you can continue buying the products you need. Paper mills, plastics reclaimers, aluminum and steel mills, and glass plants all rely on the material delivered through the recycling system to make new goods and keep American jobs intact.
Be sure to pass on this great video about making the right choice for the planet and your community, because recycling every single bottle and can adds up. From your morning orange juice to your afternoon water or soda, every single time you recycle, you are making a difference.
Remember: Tip it. Sip it. Recycle it. It just makes sense.