RECYCLE RIGHT | What you are recycling wrong and how to recycle CORRECTLY in 2020 | Recycling 101

[@bloomwithlily1579]

Omg, it's pretty bad how wrong most folks recycle/compost/trash! I'm glad you made this vid. Plus it also varies by state which makes things more confusing. I was definitely one of those people who were like "gosh these green people take it so far with sustainability!" until I saw the awful realities of the plastic river in Asia. It's very gross what we as humans are doing to the planet, and I'm guilty of it myself. I can only do what I can such as look out for sustainable brands of clothing, making sure I go out of my way to dispose properly, etc. Thank you for sharing and educating!

[@LibbyFlanagan]

That definitely does make things more confusing, hopefully these tips help in any location that you might be in! Yes and as always reducing your consumption is best! Thank you for your support!

[@PaulaGross]

I had never thought of the products with two types of recyclables. I've always just recycled cans and plastic bottles. I'm glad you cleared up the question of the plastic bottle lid.

[@LibbyFlanagan]

So glad I could help! Let me know if you ever have other questions!

[@arhartline]

Thank you!! So many people don't talk about recycling and why it's important for living ecofriendly!

[@LibbyFlanagan]

You are welcome Amy!! Happy to make it for you and others!

[@bobboackle4439]

Thanks Libby, now I see why some recycled stuff gets thrown away. I learned a lot. Keep those videos coming .

[@LibbyFlanagan]

I’m glad! Yeah a lot of times it can be from folks “wish” recycling things that aren’t actually recyclable!

[@KetelKlets]

First of all, great that you care so much about the environment! My tips: - Staples and plastic windows are often sifted out of the paper pulp, so no need to remove them. - Rinsing your cans with expensive fresh water renders the recycling useless as that cleaned drinking water (especially where you live) costs more energy to make than you save by recycling those cans. Where I live (and we almost drown in fresh water) it is actually discouraged to clean bottles or cans before recycling due to this reason. - You state to not recycle broken glass. Often glass *needs* to be broken so that more of it can fit in a glass collection truck. For the same reason plastic waste is compressed so that more of it fits inside of a truck. If people at the recycling center manually sort that glass.... well then that's a problem in and of itself. - Receipt paper used to contain bisphenol-A, making it non-recyclable, but these days they're almost always BPA-free, so they can be collected as waste paper. - Bottles and caps are indeed two different types of plastic, but they are easy to sort after shredding as one floats in water and the other won't. The recycling plant takes care of that. Over here in Europe, new legislation will make mandatory that caps are fixed to the bottle at all times, as loose caps often end up in the environment. The two biggest issues regarding recycling are a) single use plastics (instead of more eco-friendly materials) and b) that recycling is different in every country, state and even city, making it very difficult for people to educate themselves on these topics. I have no answer to these issues, I hope someone does! Packaging should be something the manufacturer has to deal with, not me as a consumer. Single use plastic should be taxed as high as cigarets. Lastly, I wouldn't know how to calculate this, but if you actually drive to one or more recycling centers with your waste, then just throwing all of it in the trash and *not* drive your car, could actually be a net positive for the environment. Oh well, maybe I’m spoiled with living in a small country :-).

[@LibbyFlanagan]

you are right the best thing is to reduce single use plastic consumption! working on that everyday! it is frustrating that the rules are so different everywhere! Just trying my best!

[@iamtheglow]

Wow you’re a master recycler. I have to admit that do not sort and separate my recyclables. I just throw them all in the blue bin and set it out by the curb on the days the recycle trucks run. You’ve really gone into depth on how this works and what people should do to help the environment. Great info!

[@LibbyFlanagan]

The big blue bin works too!! Just make sure they take all the materials you are tossing in there!

[@thelog1]

in my country they dont really enforce recycling but you made some great points that i can start doing.

[@LibbyFlanagan]

Glad I could help!

[@LibbyFlanagan]

Glad I could help!

[@eeyoreHR]

Thanks for all the great tips!!! Excited for more content 😆♻️🌍💚

[@LibbyFlanagan]

Of course! Let me know if there is anything specific you would like to see!

[@littlehaslam]

Thanks for clearing up some confusion I had! Great video

[@LibbyFlanagan]

I appreciate it!

[@LibbyFlanagan]

Glad I could help! Let me know if you have any more questions!

[@counsellingwords]

Well, that’s exactly my topic. Everyone of us has to be aware that our environment is in danger. Your tips are priceless and I hope that many are going to watch this. We all can contribute to a clean world. 🌍

[@LibbyFlanagan]

Thank you very much! Every little bit helps!

[@LibbyFlanagan]

Thank you very much! Every little bit helps!

[@Foodmakeupskin]

Oooo I shop on amazon a lot those bags are cute will def need to pick something like that up I really like how it says on the bag exactly what items can be put in it . I didn’t realize the toothpaste one ...

[@LibbyFlanagan]

Glad you learned something!

[@lucysinclairwarren4322]

Absolutely love this idea! You deserve sooo many more subscribers & hopefully will get them soon!!! 💕

[@LibbyFlanagan]

Thank you so much!

[@frontflipgaming8817]

Really great video! I (unfortunately) never think twice about things like those envelopes with the plastic windows. I need to be more mindful...

[@LibbyFlanagan]

so many people do not know!

[@PrivateName20234]

I'm a curbside recycling truck driver. Absolutely LOVE this educational video!!! I'm going to tell my job about this. Maybe they'll post it to their FB page.

[@LibbyFlanagan]

🥰🥰🥰that’s great!

[@dumbtaylor1808]

Should I take labels and stickers off products before recycling? Ive watched a couple of videos that say its it required but it helps.

[@LibbyFlanagan]

I haven’t heard that is necessary for plastic, but I do try to get off most of the tape when I break down my cardboard boxes

[@frankzanin99]

I learned so much from this video!

[@LibbyFlanagan]

I’m so glad!

[@FallingStar44]

Had no idea.

[@LibbyFlanagan]

So glad you watched!

[@tandy2740]

Great vid, I learned some good tips! I think Lowe's accepts plastic bags

[@LibbyFlanagan]

So glad!! Thanks Amanda :) good to know we are always there!

[@Edgarr386]

What about those brown fast food go to bags without contamination like Grease are those recyclable?

[@mamawolfecrochet]

What about the plastic wrapper on classic water bottles?

[@kariwinford6891]

What about the paper on cans and bottles? Also what about waxed cardboard?

[@LibbyFlanagan]

Great questions! You don’t need to pull paper off because in the recycling process it is burned away. Can’t recycle waxed cardboard

[@kariwinford6891]

I wish waxed cardboard was never invented then 😪 lol seriously though! And thank you ive been really trying to figure out how to recycle properly lately this was very helpful!

[@LibbyFlanagan]

I’m so glad!

[@Madi_Lane]

Where I live we are give a large recycling garbage can that we can put by the road! It has on the lid what they take, which is pretty much everything. My question is how do they sort this?! I try to throw anything recyclable in but I’ll admit I’m probably not the best at breaking down and rinsing! I decided to looking into how to be better at it and here I am! The only thing is I’m just a little confused on how they sort my bin since they take everything in one bin?🤔

[@LibbyFlanagan]

Someone does it by hand on the back end!

[@sherwetmoh.4854]

Ok so when you say throw them away, what do you mean by that? 🤔 Like throw where exactly in which type of bin?

[@LibbyFlanagan]

In this video that means normal trash disposal

[@jithinjithin7110]

Good informative video

[@LibbyFlanagan]

Glad you liked it

[@beckoningbeauty]

I needed this

[@LibbyFlanagan]

So glad I could help!

[@nadiashev2544]

Awesome job, but you also need to remove all labels, clean sticky residue and wash inside from food leftovers.

[@jamesandrewtot]

Are Frozen Meal Containers, Popcorn Bage, Cheese String Wrapper recyclable?

[@LibbyFlanagan]

nope

[@unicornslimee]

Yess Libby ! You are such a sweetheart!❤🥰 such a good video Btw I'm a youtuber too xx

[@LibbyFlanagan]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@theresapetrick2042]

Actually almost all recycling facilities just want to you to put the caps back on the bottles even though they are almost always a different type of plastic than the bottle. Most bottles with caps are 1's and 2's a lot of caps are 5's but most of the water bottle lids are 2's while most water bottles are 1's. They can still sort these further down the recycling line. What they don't want are lose caps as you suggest in the video as they just fall through the sorting equipment and gets jammed or get thrown out. Always leave the cap attached or throw it out. Do not put it in the recycle bin loose. Also, with advancements in paper recycling and sorting you'll find that while the plastic window envelopes aren't preferred by recyclers they are accepted. You can take the extra step to remove it and that might help but is not necessary in most cases. You might want to look a little more into these two items and update the video as for sure your cap suggestion is doing more harm than good, and while your envelope suggestion might help recyclers it could be causing people to go through more hassle than they need to or throw out envelopes that could be recycled just fine as is without extra work.