CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nov. 15 is America Recycles Day. The day is celebrated as a great reminder to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Many of us have good intentions when it comes to going green, but not everything cannot be recycled.
The dos and don’ts of recycling are important to make sure items from our recycle bin don’t end up in the landfill and doing it right will help to cut back on recycling costs.
"Improper recycling cost Mecklenburg County almost $1.8 million each year," Jeff Smithberger said.
Mecklenburg County Solid Waste Management Program Director Jeff Smithberger says recycling contamination is getting worse. It's up 22% in Mecklenburg County since last year, he stated, which means one in every four items processed in recycling plants must be thrown out.
"Think about somebody that's improperly disposing of oil that gets on cardboard, that cardboard that's now soaked with oil is no longer recyclable."
Smithberger says at home only recycle these six items -
- Plastic Bottles & Jugs
- Cardboard
- Cans
- Cartons
- Paper
- Glass Bottles
Items must be clean, loose, and dry. For example, pour out any liquids from plastic bottles, cans, or glass bottles. Avoid placing your recyclables in plastic bags.
Smithberger says plastic bags cause huge problems for their system. Crews have to physically remove the plastic bags. Yet, clean glass is the most usable item.
"Glass is one of those items, aluminum cans, metal cans, those things can be used over and over again. Also, many cardboards, newspapers, and office papers can be recycled very easily. We tend to get three or four recycling out of a piece of newspaper," Smithberger said.
Large bulky items such as appliances can be dropped off at any full-service recycling center in Mecklenburg County.