There are a considerable number of things that can be recycle. Here I will list 5 most common recycle:
- PET Plastic bottles:
PET bottles can be seen everywhere on this planet, and they are probably the most common container. According to Container Recycling Institute, Americans purchase 25 billion single-serving water every year in average. Imagine the consumption of PET bottle around the globe.
What’s worse, approximately 80% of the bottles will result in being abandoned in our mother nature, causing an environmental disaster every year. Using a recycled bottle to produce plastic consumes only two-thirds energy than making new plastic. That being said, recycling PET bottles is the easiest and the most important thing to do. Here is the symbol of PET. [img]https://www.vectorportal.com/img_novi/pet1_6858.jpg[/img]
- Aluminum cans:
Aluminum cans can be found in most stores as well. The best thing about aluminum cans is that they are completely recyclable. Unlike the caps on PET bottles, every material on aluminum can is able to be reused. Converting old cans into new ones saves up to 90 percent of energy. Normally, there will be this symbol on the can. [img]http://www.mandmrecycling.com/images-atlanta-recycling/Recycle-symbol.png[/img]
- Newspapers and pure paper:
Newspapers are obviously made of 100% paper. The recycle of papers prevents us from cutting down more trees. There are some kinds of materials which are categorized as paper, however they have much lower recycling rate than pure paper.
Coffee cups are one of them. In order to make the cups water-proof, a layer of polyethylene is smeared on the inner surface. This makes it difficult to process while recycling. Other examples include electronic receipts, ATM withdrawal slips and stickers.
Though we recognize these as paper, they will cause the recycling rate to decrease if mixed with normal papers. Be careful when throwing these away as they are not recyclable. [img]https://images.recyclereminders.com/img/lg/S/paper-only-recycling-sign-label-s-2991.png[/img]
- HDPE Plastic bottles:
HDPE is more dense plastic than PET. It has longer molecular chain and is even harder to be biodegraded by the nature. These plastic bottles are common in shampoo, detergents and milk jugs. Note that HDPE bottles can only be recycled in limited areas. Here is the symbol of HDPE. [img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Symbol_Resin_Code_2_HDPE.svg/1200px-Symbol_Resin_Code_2_HDPE.svg.png[/img]
- Glass containers:
Glass containers are common container for alcohol. Similar to Aluminum cans, they are 100 percent recyclable. According to Judy M., “Recycled glass saves 50 percent energy versus virgin glass, and recycling just one glass container saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours”.
When recycling, we should separate different glass containers. For instance, drink containers, pesticide containers and medical containers have to be recycled separately to prevent the troublesome while melting them afterwards. [img]https://images.recyclereminders.com/img/lg/L/glass-recycle-symbol-vinyl-sticker-lb-2757.png[/img]
