We often get confused that we carefully sort out papers and plastic recycles and put them in different bins and then find out that the trash collectors just threw them into their truck without any separation. The question is, do we really need separate the recycles?
The good news is, not really. We can put all recycles in the same bins. After the waste management truck dumps them to a materials recovery facility, they will be sorted and prepared into marketable commodities for manufacturing.
Once cleaned and separated, the recyclables are ready to undergo the second part of the recycling loop. Common household items that can be recycled are newspapers and paper towels; aluminum, plastic, and glass soft drink containers; steel cans; and plastic laundry detergent bottles.
Did you know that recycled materials can also are used in innovative applications such as recovered glass in roadway asphalt (glassphalt) or recovered plastic in carpeting, park benches, and pedestrian bridges?
Source: EPA