You probably have a recycling bin in your hometown street or your house. But have you ever asked yourself, “what can I put in my recycling bin?” Because most times, people don’t make an organization of the waste materials and products while throwing them into the bins. They just pick up a wrapper, a newspaper, or a plastic bottle and throw it in only one recycling bin. Therefore, I will let you know briefly what you can really put inside a recycling bin and what not.
Table of Contents
- Can You Put Everything Inside a Recycling Bin?
- So, What Can You Really Put Inside a Recycling Bin?
- What Can You Not Keep Inside a Recycling Bin?
- Does Containing Stuff Inside a Recycling Bin Change According to the Location?
- What Can I Put in the Blue Recycle Bin?
- What Can I Put in My Green Recycling Bin?
- Do You Need to Clean the Items Before They Go Into the Recycling Bin?
- Why Do You Need to Put the Plastic Water Bottles in Bins Without Lids?
- Final Thoughts
- References
Please have a pace with me and keep reading this article till the end. We don’t have enough time, so let’s just be worth what we have.
Can You Put Everything Inside a Recycling Bin?
As the name states, a recycling bin is specially designed to keep all those products that can be recycled and reused for making some other products.
It means you cannot put all the stuff related to home waste inside a recycling bin. The thing is, we have a lot of dust, garbage, and product waste inside our homes, offices, public places, or everywhere we live.
When we have these recycling bins installed in our areas, homes, or anywhere around, we are good to take advantage of these pieces of equipment.
Most people put the garbage and the recycling products in the same recycling bin. Such a thing should never happen.
Because those useful products that can be recycled and the garbage in the same bin will likely create a mess in that bin.
In this way, the sole purpose of having a recycling bin nearby to put recyclable products only will not be fulfilled.
Therefore, you cannot put everything inside a recycling bin.
So, What Can You Really Put Inside a Recycling Bin?
Suppose all the recyclable products and garbage cannot be stored in the same dustbin. In that case, you probably want to know more specifically what to keep in a recycling bin and what not.
These things are very simple and easy to understand because you already have an idea of basic home products.
You know very well what types of products can be recycled for some other applications. And what products will be just thrown away?
Please have a look at all the stuff you can keep inside recycling bins.
Paper and Cardboard
We all know that paper or cardboard is usually produced by cutting many trees. That’s illegal, and the government is imposing significant bans on cutting trees.
But the good news is, this produced paper can be recycled. You should know that a piece of paper can be recycled almost 10 times before it becomes of no worth.
Therefore, the first recyclable stuff you need to keep in a recycling bin is paper or cardboard. It includes the following.
- Junk mail
- Catalogues & magazines
- Telephone directories
- Cereal & egg boxes
- Newspapers
Aluminum Foil or Simply Foil
Aluminum foil is used in many applications to keep food items safe. Besides, it can be used to prevent bacteria from contaminating food items.
But the best thing about aluminum foil is it can be recycled. Therefore, the following aluminum stuff can be kept in a recycling bin near you.
- You can keep those Cleaned takeaway containers
- And Tin foil
Glass and Glass Products
Glass is a type of recyclable product that can be recycled over and over again. It means glass is one of those most important products for recycling and benefits you in many ways.
So, one should have a duty to keep every piece of glass aside in a recycling bin. It will help your country use this glass to make some new and distinctive products.
In that case, the following glass stuff must be in a recycling bin.
- All the wine bottles are made from glass
- Jam jars are made from glass.
- All the sauce jars are also made from glass and can be reused or recycled again.
- Or anything made from glass you find inside your home; you can keep it inside a recycling bin.
Metal and the Aerosols
We have a lot of products at our homes or inside offices made from metal. These metals can be recycled and reused again for more comprehensive purposes.
You may not know, but a food can, a soda can, or all those stuff you use with carbonated drinks might be made of metal.
The good news is that almost all types of metals can be recycled. Therefore, a recycling bin must also keep these metals inside it. On the top basis, the following products can be kept inside a recycling bin.
- All the food cans.
- All those Pet food cans.
- Empty hairsprays made from metal or Aerosols.
- The drinkable cans.
- And deodorant aerosols.
Cartons
You might use some large-sized cartons to carry things or products from one place to another. These cartons are made from too many recyclable cartons.
This way, once you have used a carton and that stuff packed inside, it is no longer staying, and these cartons can be put in a recycling bin.
From there, these can be sent to the recycling units where they can be recycled. The cartons include the following stuff to keep inside a recycling bin.
- All the cartons that include fruit juices or packets of it.
- All those cartons in which milk comes packed and contained.
- All types of soup cartons.
Plastic Containers or Water Bottles
We all have a very clear idea that almost 7 types of plastic materials are recyclable. It means plastic is totally recyclable and can be reused to produce more products.
Therefore, whenever you see anything made from plastic that is ready to go to waste, don’t forget to keep it in a recycling bin.
Because this plastic is very useful for recycling purposes. Hence, the following plastic products should be inside the recycling bins.
- Put all the plastic drinks used for milk or water.
- The recycling bin is ready to keep all those bathrooms, laundry bottles, and tubs.
- Anything made from plastic, including the Food, fruit, tubs, and trays, plus those read meal pots.
- The plastic container lids also go inside a recycling bin.
Hence, all these waste products can be contained inside a recycling bin which significantly answers what you can really keep in a recycling bin around you.
Moreover, read more in-depth about recycling bins in the All About Recycling Bin guide we already have compiled for you.
What Can You Not Keep Inside a Recycling Bin?
Knowing that there are plenty of things you can easily keep inside a recycling bin, there is stuff that doesn’t go into it.
That will disrespect the ultimate purpose of a recycling bin if you keep anything inside it rather than the recyclable materials or stuff.
Therefore, the following list of products with their category will not come into the recycling bins.
| Category Of Materials | Products That Doesn’t Come In Recycling Bins |
| Paper And Cardboard | Paper towels and Shredded paper |
| Aluminum Foil | All the Pet Food Pouches and all those crispy packets |
| Glass | Do not keep Pyrex and all other Drinking glasses & crockery in a recycling bin made from glass |
| cartons | Take Out containers or cartons |
| Metal Cans And Aerosols | You don’t need to keep batteries and all other electrical items in a recycling bin |
| The Plastic Bottles And Containers | You should not keep all those Plastic bags & film Plus, all Plastic toys & furniture. Moreover, those Plant pots & seed trays |
Does Containing Stuff Inside a Recycling Bin Change According to the Location?
Yes, the products or recyclable waste you want to keep inside a recycling bin would definitely change depending on your location.
And it also depends on what service provider is working in your area. In most areas, service providers usually ask you to keep all the recycling items in only one bin.
This includes keeping all the stuff except plastic bags and glass.
Besides, if you live in any other community, you might be directed to keep this recyclable material in plastic bags.
Therefore, depending on your location, you might be asked to organize these recyclable products differently according to the instructions of the service providers.
Here, it would help if you remembered that a service provider is a person who collects these recycling products from your doorstep.
What Can I Put in the Blue Recycle Bin?
If you have found a blue colour recycling bin nearby and don’t know what to put inside it, please don’t panic.
Blue is usually a symbol for keeping trees, wildlife, and other inhabitants safe. Therefore, the most prominent type of material or products to keep in a Blue recycling bin is paper stuff.
In a blue recycling bin, you can keep all those papers, magazine covers, food boxes, advertisements, books or cardboards and related stuff.
This way, a specific category of recyclable material will stay organized, and you can send this category to any nearby recycling centre.
What Can I Put in My Green Recycling Bin?
Are you seeing a green recycling bin somewhere around you? Of course, you might be asking what the purpose of having a green recycling bin is and what to put inside it.
Panic, not because it is totally easy to clarify. A green color recycling bin is usually used to keep organic material inside it.
Therefore, organic materials such as flowers, food leftovers, fruits, or those coffee grounds inside a recycling bin are available in green color.
Moreover, it can be used to keep all the organic materials that are very beneficial for our environment.
Do You Need to Clean the Items Before They Go Into the Recycling Bin?
As stated earlier, the sole purpose of having a recycling bin is to keep only the items that can be recycled.
Therefore, these bins should have no dust, garbage, or other trash. Such a thing is always recommended.
And it must be made sure that every time you put a recyclable waste product inside a recycling bin, it should be properly cleaned from dust.
Why Do You Need to Put the Plastic Water Bottles in Bins Without Lids?
You must always throw all the bottles, whether made from glass or plastic, into a recycling bin, lid free.
Because if you just throw these bottles into the bin with lids, they may cause problems when you need to sort out and recycle all these recyclables.
Use a rubbish bin to keep these plastic lids separate from the main recyclable item.
Final Thoughts
Lastly, what can I put in my recycling bin will be identified and suggested by the specific color of a recycling bin you are having. Some companies advise households to keep separate recycling bins for different recyclable products. Others may ask you to keep all these recycling products in the same bin. However, if you have read this guide, you are surely aware of what to keep in a recycling bin. But in case of further queries, please don’t forget to let me know. I am here to help and sort things out.
But I appreciate your time and effort. Thanks for being here today, and keep visiting for more details about recycling bins. Have a pretty amazing day!
References
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00220411111164691/full/html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1279614/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013916594265001
James is an organic fertilizer professional who owns a successful organic fertilizer company in new jersey. He is an expert in waste management in both houses and community cases. In his free time, he loves to write about his experiences in the field.