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In honor of Earth Day, we’re talking today about the best ways to recycle.

Don’t worry! I know you’re busy so we’re keeping it simple, straightforward, and focused on really tactical and practical steps that you can use to become better at recycling.

Even better? This information is also going to help you teach your kids more about the ways to recycle and how they can help.

And, of course, we’ll be sure to hone in on food packaging recycling as well and what considerations you might want to use in making food purchases.

In today’s episode we cover:

• What is single stream recycling?
• What does China have to do with our recycling?
• How can we make sure recycling stays viable?
• When it comes to food purchasing what are particular things to look out for?
• Are things like Saran Wrap, aluminum foil, wine corks, and more recyclable?
• What is one thing that every family could start doing today to create less waste?

Let’s get started with our guest expert, Ryan Metzger, of Ridwell!

The Busy Parent’s Guide to the Many Ways to Recycle

Yes, today’s episode is about recycling, but let’s not forget the lesson many of us learned in school about Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. While recycling is so much better than putting items in the trash, the best thing you can do first is to reduce the waste that you create or reuse the items in creative or useful ways.

So what if you’ve tried your best to reduce and reuse but you still have waste that you’d like to recycle if possible? Then this guide is for you.

Note that you can get even more details in the video below or the podcast episode (see the player at the top of the page) as Ryan and I talk through many of these issues.

First, let’s start with a primer on recycling because this information will help you to understand what you can (likely) recycle in your local recycling bin.

The 3 Rules of Recycling

There are 3 simple rules of recycling that can help you to understand what can go into single-stream recycling bins.

What is single-stream recycling? Single-stream recycling is the one can that you put everything that’s locally recyclable in your area. These items then get sorted, bundled, and recycled in various ways. This is in contrast to when you used to have to sort out plastic, glass, and paper in separate bins.

Even though you can put various materials into the same bin, there are still some important and sometimes confusing considerations that will help ensure that your recycling is recyclable.

These are the questions that you should ask yourself, and teach your kids to ask themselves, before putting anything in the recycling bin:

• What is it made of? If it’s only one recyclable material then it can go in the bin.
• Is it clean, dry, and empty? If not, it cannot be recycled as a dirty container is contaminated and not recyclable.
• Is it 3 inches or more? Things like small bottle caps can’t be effectively sorted and bundled with all of the other recycling.

What happens to what we put in our recycling bins?

Historically, the things we recycle are sorted, bundled up, and then often sent to China who was the main buyer those bales. But recently, China has said that our bales aren’t clean enough for them and has put greater restrictions on what they’ll buy.

This has put more pressure on cities to look for local options and figure out how to create sustainable long-term buyers.

But it’s also up to us as the consumers to make sure that we keep recycling viable. Here are some of the best things we can do:

• Sort things properly
• Don’t put things there that shouldn’t go there – this makes the sorting and baling easier and cleaner
• Learn about other ways to recycle

What are some of the other ways to recycle?

While there are so many items that can be recycled in the bins provided to you locally, this is not the only way to recycle. There are so many other items that could be used or recycled as well with a little extra legwork or the help of a company like Ridwell.

Let’s take a look at some of these categories:

Clothing and Shoes

A shocking amount of clothing ends up in the trash can. This is a bummer because some data shows that up to 95% of clothing and shoes could be reused or recycled if treated properly.

It is as simple as donating your clothing and shoes to a place like Goodwill or Value Village who is equipped to do this. If there is anything they can’t use, they have a system for recycling those materials with people who can.

In fact, they even have a system for finding a match to single shoes so that someone can get a complete pair!

Plastic Film

Plastic film is a category of “scrunchable plastic” like plastic bags, air pillows, or bubble wrap. This thin plastic is poorly suited for your bin because it’s hard to sort. But, this plastic is actually recyclable in many areas.

Want to find out if there’s plastic film recycling near you? Search “plastic film recycling” in your area and you may find out that local grocery stores or Target locations even collect it!

Fun fact: Trex turns this plastic film into decking materials that you might have in your back yard.

Batteries and Light Bulbs

This varies from city to city, but often hardware stores or grocery stores may have a bin that you can bring your batteries to. Take a look around before you throw your batteries out.

Recycling Considerations When it Comes to Food

How should recycling impact the food that we buy and how we buy things?

Don’t forget that there are lots of reuse opportunities in the grocery store! Some examples: reusable produce bags vs. single-use plastic bags and reusable shopping bags vs. paper or plastic bags.

But what about where there isn’t a clear opportunity to reuse? This is where you would consider what’s most recyclable in your area.

For example: if you have a choice between a glass or plastic peanut butter jar, you’d want to consider whether glass is recyclable near you. If so, it might win out since it’s easier to clean (hello, dishwasher!) and also easier to reuse.

What to look for in things like meal kits

Not all meal kits are created equal when it comes to waste creation. Some things you might want to take a look at are:

• What are the freezer bags made of?
• Could you reuse the jars that they send the ingredients in?
• If there is a lot of plastic film, could you recycle it?
• Is the box it’s sent in recyclable?

My favorite meal kit, for ingredient quality, flavor, and conscientious packaging is Sun Basket. You can see my full review and get my discount code here.

Ways to Recycle Other Food Packaging

• Aluminum foil: It is a recyclable material but you need to confirm that it’s clean, dry, and empty. Also, if you ball it up and it’s bigger than 3 inches then it can be recycled.
• Saran wrap: This is a type of plastic that isn’t recyclable (this stretchy, spongy type isn’t plastic film). Some alternatives to plastic wrap: Bee’s Wrap
• Ziploc bags: These can be put in plastic film recycling as long as they’re clean. Some alternatives for Ziploc bags: beeswax wraps, paper bags, Stasher bags.
• Wine corks: While these can’t go into your big bins, there are many grocery stores and wine stores that will collect them. Also, sometimes local artists or craft organizations will collect them to give them a new life.

Other things to note: a lot of food packaging has two materials on it. Think about a broth container which has a Tetrapak box (paper that is recyclable) and plastic (the lid/spout). You need to tear out and take off the lid and spout and put that in the trash before recycling the box.

In most major cities there are places that will recycle styrofoam. Once there, they heat it up, shrink it down, and take those more dense forms of styrofoam and turn it into new things. So while this CANNOT go in your recycling bin, you can collect it and take it to a special location if there is one available nearby.

TerraCycle is another option to check out for more tricky recycling items. You can visit their site to see if they’re collecting things like juice boxes or squeeze packs near you.

Ways to Recycle with Kids

1. Visit a recycling plant, landfill, etc.: This is a great way to see what happens to our waste and recycling after we’re done with it. This helps to bring to life the process and why doing our part at home is so important.
2. Engage your kids in the process: Since starting as Ridwell customers, my 4-year-old has loved to help recycle the different materials into their specific bags. He also loves finding out what the “special” item for each 2 week period is so that he can collect the things that go in it. This is something you could easily replicate at home to empower your kids to help with the “harder to recycle” items like plastic film and batteries.

The One Thing You Can Do Today to Get Better at Recycling

Ready to explore some of the other ways to recycle? Ryan suggests starting with plastic film. Here’s your mission, should you choose to accept it:

• Start collecting your plastic film
• Find a plastic film collection location near you
• Share a picture of what you’ve collected and recycled with me on Instagram

Are you local to Seattle? If so, this project could be even easier because they’ll pick the plastic film up from your front door!

I highly suggest that you check out Ridwell for easier recycling of items like plastic film, batteries, light bulbs, clothing and more. If you visit amy.getridwell.com you’ll get a free month of service when you sign up!

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