DELAWARE- Sorting everything out needs to be done carefully.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is calling all Delawareans to be mindful of what goes in their recycling bins. In the past six months, the rate of contamination has risen from 16 percent to 21 percent.
Items like full sheets of paper, plastic containers, cans, bottles, and cardboard are recyclable. While shredded paper, food waste, and scrap metal among other things are not recyclable.
Taking an extra step when it comes to food containers that are dirty is just one example that can help the environment.
"In my family, we do pizza night every Friday and we do delivery," DNREC Chief of Public Affairs Nikki Lavoie said. "We just ripped off the top of that pizza box, so that we didn’t put the greasy bottom in the recycling cart. But, we did go ahead and recycle the top of it which is just cardboard."
DNREC is warning that if the contamination rate continues to rise that haulers can charge people more money to pick up their recycling. That is why the department is highlighting what can and cannot be put into your recycling bin.
With a single stream system, all recyclables can be placed in the same bin while separated from trash. Those recycled materials are then made into many things people use on a daily basis.
"By recycling, we are helping turn office paper into paper towels and other sorts of products," Lavoie added. "Processing recyclable products into new products uses less energy and generates fewer emissions than processing non-recycled materials."
Sunday is America Recycles Day. You can pledge to recycle by visiting https://keepdelawarebeautiful.com/.
