Recycle Everything Else!

Actually, we don't mean "everything," because not everything is recyclable. 

What is Recycling?

Recycling by definition is "the recovery and reprocessing of waste materials for use in new products."  The materials reused in recycling serve as substitutes for raw materials obtained from such increasingly scarce or problematic to extract natural resources as petroleum, natural gas, coal, mineral ores, and trees. 

Why are some things so hard or even impossible to recycle?

In order for a material to be recycled, it has to be collected, then processed into a raw-material replacement, then manufactured into a new product, and finally purchased by consumers. Some materials cannot be processed into a form that can then be economically manufactured into new products (think Styrofoam here). And even if certain materials can be processed into products, sometimes consumers are reluctant to purchase those products.  Why? Because they don't trust them to be of the same quality (like office paper, for example) or as sanitary (e.g. clothing), even though they are driving around in something made of recycled material every day (just about every car on the road today is made up of at least 25% recycled steel!).

How do I recycle the "harder to recycle" stuff?

The good news is that many household materials are recyclable; it just takes a little bit more work on your part.  Get started by clicking on one of the buttons below to see how and where to recycle this in Centre County.  And you could consider group recycling with your neighbors, friends, and family; this can cut down on the emissions produced by "driving your recyclables all over town"!   

 

 

                                                    

 

 

If you can't find it here, it probably isn't recyclable, at least not today.  But you may be able to donate it (go to the ReUse page), give it away on FreeCycle, or find someone who could use it.