Provided by Green America
Even though we may toss all sorts of materials in our recycling bins, not all of it is recycled into the same kind of product. Much of it is, instead, downcycled into a lesser kind of product, which often cannot be recycled again.
When you “recycle” | This is what happens to it | It may become | So is it recycled, or downcycled?
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Aluminum | It’s still aluminum.
| Cans, auto parts, cookware. | Recycled! You can recycle it again.
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| It’s still steel.
| Steel cans, beams, and more.
| Recycled! You can recycle it again.
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| It’s still glass. | Bottles, tiles, marbles, asphalt, and more.
| Recycled! You can recycle it again.
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| The fibers shorten every time you put them through the recycling process, until they cannot be reused. | Recycled content paper, grocery bags, cardboard, newspapers, magazines, egg cartons, home insulation.
| Downcycled. May go through 6-12 more cycles, and when the fibers become too short to reuse, the remainder is landfilled.
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| See above. | Currogated cardboard, paperboard. | Downcycled. May go through a few more cycles, and when the fibers become too short to reuse, the remainder is landfilled. |
| It’s turned into a new substance that’s not recyclable.
| “Fleece” jackets, carpet, fractional component of more #1 plastic. | Downcycled. After one cycle, it generally is no longer recyclable and then is landfilled when thrown away.
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| It’s turned into a new substance that’s not recyclable. | Railroad ties.
| Downcycled. After one cycle, it’s no longer recyclable and is then landfilled when thrown away.
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| These are rarely recyclable, unless the manufacturer makes a special effort to take its products back. (See. p. 36 for how Stonyfield Farms m and Recycline take back and recycle their #5 plastic products.)
| Trash.
| Rarely recycled nor downcycled. Even when recycling programs accept these plastics, they are most likely doing so to simplify the program for customers, and will send these plastics to landfills or incinerators.
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| Some stores accept them for “recycling”—they may actually be recycled, or, most likely, they may be shipped overseas and incinerated or landfilled.
| Plastic lumber ... or trash.
| Sometimes downcycled, but most often, plastic bags are shipped overseas, where they’re incinerated or landfilled. Make a commitment today to avoid plastic bags and bring your own cloth bags when you shop.
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For more information on recycling and other green living and business resources visit www.greenamericatoday.org
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