In an effort to be more "green," or environmentally conscious, you may be excited to start recycling more often. Before you place your offerings on your curb to be picked up by your town's recycling program, you should know that some items are non-recyclable, even if they are similar to some of your recyclable items. Keep a list of non-recyclable items hanging near your recycling bins to serve as a quick reminder of what goes in the bins and what stays out.
Paper and Cardboard
Typically, paper and cardboard are both easily recycled, but some types of paper and cardboard need to be put in the trash. Paper that has been used or soiled should be put in the trash, as should waxy paper and paper plates. Cardboard is fine to put in the recycling bin as long as it isn't wax-covered, or soiled, like used cardboard pizza boxes, warns the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
Metals
Metal items should be re-purposed around your home or put in the garbage. Metal items like wire clothes hangers, nails and screws, pipes, wires, tools and pots and pans may find new uses around your home, but they can't be recycled via a recycling program, notes McGill University Natural Resource Sciences. Aluminum cans and soup and tuna cans are fine to recycle.
Glass
While glass bottles can be recycled, other glass materials should be placed in the trash. Leave light bulbs in any form, including fluorescent bulbs, out of the recycling bin. Other glass items like mirrors, windshields, windows, ceramics and pottery are inappropriate for the recycling bin.
Plastics
It's ideal to put plastic products like milk jugs and plastic bottles in your recycling bin, but items like plastic grocery bags and Styrofoam are non-recyclable. To find out whether or not a plastic container can be recycled, check the number on the bottom of the item. If the recycling number is one through seven, it is recyclable and can be placed in your bin for pickup. A plastic item that doesn't have a number on the bottom is deemed non-recyclable.
Waste Products
Certain other miscellaneous waste products from around your house fall into the category of items that cannot be recycled. Clothing is one example; donate it or throw it in the trash. The City of San Diego Environmental Services Department warns against placing things like batteries, dairy tubs, used and soiled items or anything once containing hazardous material in your recycling bin. All are items that cannot be recycled.
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