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Here's an eco-challenge for you: How long do you think you could go recycling every single eligible item you come across? Easy, you say—I do that anyways. Well, not so fast. This is far more difficult than it appears.
I know most of do our best to toss paper and plastics in the recycle bags we have at home and at restaurants that have the proper recycling bins—but what about all the dirty takeout containers we trash, the cans left on the counter at the diners, newspapers left on the bus seats, etc.? It all amounts to a lot of un-recycled potential. But if we make it our aim to recycle as much as humanly possible, we can keep perfectly good recyclables out of the landfills.
Here are three ways to best the challenges you'll face on your mission, should you choose to accept it:
- Rinse out food-encrusted plastic takeout containers, and then recycle them too. If you don't rinse them out, they'll likely be regarded as un-recyclable by your neighborhood pickup team, and scrapped as trash instead.
- If you're at a deli or casual restaurant that doesn't have a recycle bin—or even a fancier restaurant that doesn't seem like they'll have any interest in recycling your Pellegrino bottle—stick those recyclables under your arm until you find an appropriate bin.
- Pick up any recyclables you come across off the street and deposit them into the first recycling bin you see—I know the thought of this one might make you squirm, but that's what it takes to recycle everything.
For more useful tips on your all-recycling quest, check out this guide to greening your recycling.
There's a lot of recycling to be done out there—good luck.
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