What Goes In The Red Recycling Bin?

From that 3-colored cart system in the USA, a red recycling bin is sometimes included but sometimes not. But when you find it at any place, you may ask yourself what goes in the red recycling bin because most of us see it for the first time in our lives. There is nothing hard to understand about a red recycling bin because I am actually going to cover it today. 

Stay focused till the end, and you will eventually understand everything about a red recycling bin I will tell you here. Let’s get started!

What Is A Red Recycling Bin Stands For?

Like blue, black, green, or grey, a red bin can also be seen around or down the streets in the United States of America. 

Sometimes, we may get confused to find out what we should really send or keep inside a red-colored recycling bin. 

A red bin is built with a solid and rigid plastic material that either has a full red color or just a lid in the red color. 

It is basically used for recycling purposes and to keep some specific type of recyclables so that whenever you are going to put these recyclables, they shall end up in the right place. 

I’ll let you know in detail what you can keep inside a red bin and whatnot. 

What Really Goes Inside The Red Recycling Bin?

If there is a red bin you see around, it has a purpose. That purpose might be stated on the recycling bin as saying, please keep this stuff inside this bin. 

Or you might have a prior understanding of each colored bin if you have read our recycle bin color code guide. Just in case, don’t skip it. 

But the thing is, what should you keep inside a red recycling bin if there is no purpose or instructions are written, stamped, or drafted on it? This goes as follows. 

A red bin is usually dedicated to keeping your paper material. It could be anything from mixed paper, catalogs, magazines, envelopes, etc. But in some places like the UK, it might be placed to keep paper, plastic, and metal together. In Australia, it may be placed to keep waste material inside it!

That’s likely something dependent on the local waste management companies or govt. 

Therefore, always read the instructions or ask for the details from your nearby recyclable collectors to find out what to keep inside a red recycling bin if no instructions are written. 

Because at that time, only getting the right information from the right people will matter the most. 

Is Red Recycling Bin Very Common In The USA?

Usually, a 3 colored recycling bin program is offered in most cities in the USA. These 3 colors of recycle bin mean three different types of recycling bins placed or planted to keep a unique category of materials inside. 

• These colors are sometimes Green, Grey, and Blue. 
• Sometimes, Green, Black, and Blue. 
• Sometimes these are Green, Grey/Black, and Red. 

Usually, a red bin may not be found in most places because a blue bin is very common. 

Therefore, at this point, a blue or red bin can be replaced with each other’s to keep the same type of materials inside them. 

So, if you know what to put inside a blue bin, remember that the same thing will happen with a red bin. 

In that case, we may not find a common red bin in the USA. But whenever we find it, we are ready to keep non-organic materials that are recyclable inside this bin. 

What Types Of Red Bins Are Used Inside The USA?

These are built into different forms to keep or indicate waste that shall go inside a red recycling bin. 

Some are huge; others are less in capacity and less with weight. But in all cases, the following types may be found when looking for a red recycling bin. 

• A red box made from plastic to keep essentials inside it. 
• A fully reddish heavy-duty and rigid recycling bin to keep that soft plastic and sticky tapes inside it. 
• A bin with a different color but a red lid also means the same to keep the same material it is always directed to. 

So, if you find any of these nearby, you should understand that your paper, plastic, or some metal stuff will end up in these recycling bins. 

Brief Explanation Of All The Materials That A Red Recycling Bin Is Dedicated To Keep:

Since you know what you can keep inside a red recycling bin, you should know what type of products come under each category. 

This is important to confirm because if you don’t, you may end up mixing some unwanted products with the red bin products. 

This contaminates the recycling process, and sometimes the sorting and organizing get hazardous. 

So, these materials are described as follows. 

Paper And Its Products:

The first thing you can keep inside this reddish box or a bin with a red lid is paper and all of its products. 

It doesn’t matter how much and what type of paper you have. If you see a red bin nearby, consider putting that paper inside it. These paper items might include the following specifically. 

• Newspaper
• Shredded paper separately inside bags
• Any type of office paper such as files etc.
• Catalogs
• Magazines and their covers
• Registers
• Directories
• Wrapping paper including non-foil and non-glitter 
• Junk mails 
• Cardboard papers or used for food packaging
• Toilet or kitchen rolls
• Cereal boxes
• Greeting or invitation cards
• Every single type of paper inside this red bin

Plastic And Products Related To It:

Plastic is another highly recyclable material you can keep inside a red bin. This may include anything made of plastic and ready to send to your nearby recycling center. 

Please look at the sort of products you can keep for plastic. 

• Those plastic jars
• Jugs
• Liquid containers
• Water bottles 
• Or other products made from plastic

Metal And Its Products:

It is hard to believe, but sometimes even the metal is recommended to keep inside a red recycling bin. 

Anything made from any metal such as stainless steel, iron, aluminum, or any bi-metal stuff should come in a red-colored recycling bin. 

Glass And Its Products:

If those recyclable collectors or waste managers direct you to keep even glass inside the red recycling bin, you have it. 

This will include glass and all its products, including clear, green, or brown glass. Yes, that’s fine with a red recycling bin to keep glass-made products inside it. 

Special Type Of Corrugated Cardboard Pieces:

Those cleaned and flattened pieces of corrugated cardboard shall also be inside the red-colored recycling bin you have seen anywhere around. Because you might be asked to keep these as well. 

Can Red Recycling Bins Also Be Used To Gather Landfill Waste?

Yes, in some countries, a red recycling bin can also be used as a bin to collect waste. The City Of Marino, Australia, states that they have dedicated a red recycling bin for waste collection. 

They use a bin with a red lid to keep stuff that is usually considered a waste material inside it. These items include the following. 

• Soft plastics and products made from it. 
• Nappies 
• Ropes and hoses
• Waste including those broken grocery and glassware products
• Stuff made from polystyrene
• Old clothes and the rags

So, it is true that it can also be used for keeping waste material organized, gathered, and at a specific place inside or outside the home. 

What Can You Not Keep Inside A Red Recycling Bin?

When there are plenty of things to keep inside a red recycling bin, there are still some that won’t go inside it when the others are present. 

Because mixing these may contaminate the whole recycling bin and disturb everything related to recycling. 

The things that shall not be a part of a red recycling bin include the following 

• E-waste, including batteries and other stuff like that.
• Liquids 
• Takeaway food containers 
• Wood
• Electric or Electronic items
• Bin liners, plastic bags, cling films and plastic wrappers, etc.
• Books
• Milk, soup, or juice cartoons
• Clothing fabric
• Padded envelops 
• Green waste 
• Food trays, dairy products
• Recipients 
• Wallpaper 
• Disposable coffee cups
• Train tickets because these may have any magnetic strips inside them
• Shoes

So, collectively, you cannot keep all the items stated above inside a red recycling bin. But you can actually keep the ones stated before these two sections. 

That’s all it states about keeping stuff inside a red recycling bin!

Final Thoughts:

Conclusively, I will say that depending on your city’s recyclable collection center, and a red recycling bin can be placed to keep any stuff they have recommended. It could either be the items I have stated in this article. Or something entirely different. So, I hope that you have got your answer on what goes in the red recycling bin. But if you have some more relevant ones living in any part of the world, you are most welcome to ask. 

However, its been a huge pleasure meeting and discussing this topic with you. You can explore the website and find more relevant topics on recycling bins. Good Luck!

References:

• US EPA, O. (2017). Frequent Questions on Recycling. [online] US EPA. Available at: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/frequent-questions-recycling.
• Keramitsoglou, K.M. and Tsagarakis, K.P., 2018. Public participation in designing the recycling bins to encourage recycling. Sustainability, 10(4), p.1240.
• ‌City of Marion. (2019). Breadcrumbs. [online] Available at: https://www.marion.sa.gov.au/services-we-offer/waste-and-recycling/three-bin-system.

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