{"id":5862,"date":"2020-04-13T22:49:13","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T15:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/?p=5862"},"modified":"2020-04-13T22:49:13","modified_gmt":"2020-04-13T15:49:13","slug":"responsible-recycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/responsible-recycling\/","title":{"rendered":"Responsible Recycling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Written by Alexa Smith<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>How to ensure your recycling is the best it can be.<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Recycling has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling\/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials#Trends1960-Today\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">gone up almost 7%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the past 20 years as more and more people become concerned about the environment. From companies rolling out <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/a-wash-of-green-paint\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cgreener\u201d products<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to schools and businesses enforcing recycling programs &#8211; eco-friendly is everywhere you look. In many cities, especially in Austin, it\u2019s the norm for resident\u2019s to have their own recycling regime. But how effective are our recycling practices in our homes? Many people don\u2019t sort their recyclables correctly which can make an entire batch of items that are non-recyclable. Below are some of the most common recycling mistakes that you can avoid to become more responsible in recycling.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Recycling plastic film items<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5865\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/waste.png\" alt=\"plastic waste\" width=\"1600\" height=\"902\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/waste.png 1600w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/waste-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/waste-768x433.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/waste-1024x577.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/waste-1200x677.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><br \/>\n<\/span>Items such as grocery bags, plastic Amazon mailers, and other plastic items cannot be recycled with Austin\u2019s curbside pickup program. Check out Austin\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.austintexas.gov\/department\/what-do-i-do-0\">\u201cWhat Do I Do With?\u201d<\/a> page to find where to take these and other items or search for a plastic film collection location on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plasticfilmrecycling.org\/recycling-bags-and-wraps\/find-drop-off-location\/\">this website<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Not rinsing out food residue<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5867\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/rinsing.png\" alt=\"rinsing hands\" width=\"1600\" height=\"892\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/rinsing.png 1600w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/rinsing-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/rinsing-768x428.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/rinsing-1024x571.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/rinsing-1200x669.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span>Items such as jars, bottles, and even milk jugs need to be rinsed and dried before tossing into your recycling bin. Any food residue left on the items can contaminate the entire batch of recycling and make it non-recyclable.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Not breaking down cardboard boxes<br \/>\n<\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5868\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/cardboard.png\" alt=\"cat on cardboard\" width=\"1600\" height=\"893\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/cardboard.png 1600w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/cardboard-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/cardboard-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/cardboard-1024x572.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/cardboard-1200x670.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/>While put-together cardboard boxes won\u2019t be non-recyclable, you\u2019ll be able to fit more into your bin and make pick up easier when you flatten and break down your cardboard boxes.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Not preparing foil correctly<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5866\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/foil.png\" alt=\"foil\" width=\"1600\" height=\"889\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/foil.png 1600w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/foil-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/foil-768x427.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/foil-1024x569.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/foil-1200x667.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><br \/>\n<\/span>YES foil can be recycled! Just make sure there\u2019s no food residue and take the time to crumble it into a ball at least two inches wide. Or, you can always save it and create some foil sculptures.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Recycling pizza boxes<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5869\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/pizza.png\" alt=\"pizza boxes\" width=\"1600\" height=\"887\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/pizza.png 1600w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/pizza-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/pizza-768x426.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/pizza-1024x568.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/157\/2020\/04\/pizza-1200x665.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><br \/>\n<\/span>Due to the amount of grease left on pizza boxes &#8211; they are unable to be recycled. Even if there\u2019s no more food residue, it\u2019s virtually impossible to get the grease out of the cardboard. So it\u2019s better to keep it out of recycling to ensure the batch is not contaminated.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Check out Austin\u2019s website for <a href=\"http:\/\/austintexas.gov\/department\/residential-recycling-collection\">more recycling tips<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/austintexas.gov\/content\/1358\/faq\/10891\">FAQs.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.roundrocktexas.gov\/departments\/utilities-and-environmental-services\/solid-waste-recycling\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Round Rock Recycling Information<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ci.buda.tx.us\/321\/Solid-Waste-Information\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Buda Recycling Information<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/utilitybilling.pflugervilletx.gov\/trash-recycling\/recycling\/curbside-recycling\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pflugerville Recycling Information<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cedarparktexas.gov\/departments\/water-utility-billing\/trash-recycling-solid-waste-services\/recycling-checklist\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cedar Park Recycling Information<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/recycle.georgetown.org\/single-stream-recycling\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Georgetown Recycling Information<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.leandertx.gov\/utilities\/page\/garbage-and-recycling\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Leander Recycling Information<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Written by Alexa Smith How to ensure your recycling is the best it can be. Recycling has gone up almost 7% in the past 20 years as more and more people become concerned about the environment. From companies rolling out \u201cgreener\u201d products to schools and businesses enforcing recycling programs &#8211; eco-friendly is everywhere you look. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4103,"featured_media":5870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}