Comment Re:The problem is that landfills are too cheap (Score 5, Interesting) 371
Yeah, me too. I think part of the problem with recyling is lack of education. I honestly don't know what actually is and is not ok to put into what...
For example I recently bought a mcdonalds meal...
What about a macdonalds bag? Is that ok to put in the paper?
What about Unused napkins? Used napkins?
What about the 'cardboard' thing the bigmac was in? Is that paper or cardboard or is it just garbage?
Can I recycle the the plastic fork? The little plastic bag the fork came in? or the straw? The plastic lid on the cup?
What about the wax paper cup?
Would I need to wash all these things? or does the recyling processes itself mean that a bit of salad dressing on the fork, or a bit cola on the cup is completely irrelevant?
And what the hell am I supposed to do with a pringles can or the containers Ice Tea powder comes in? The ones with the cardboard cylinder (although maybe some sort of foil coating on it?) plus it has a metal ring at the top lid, and a metal base.
Is the plastic lid recycleable? The ice tea has the #4 recyle symbol on it... but the pringles can doesn't have any symbol that I can see... but surely its recycleable? isn't it?
Should I err on the side of caution, and toss anything I'm not 100% sure of in the garbage, or should i err on the side of recycling?
I think most people, like me, simply don't know the answers to these questions and we make a lot of mistakes we'd avoid because of it.