Question: Is this true??! — Zach
— Forwarded message —
I just found out that plastic bottles don’t get recycled if you leave the cap on! They end up getting thrown out of the recycling process. So, remove the caps! Just when we thought we knew ‘everything’… Pass this along to anyone you know that recycles (which is hopefully, everyone)! — Jessica
Answer: No, but removing the caps is still a good idea.
To get an answer for you, I called the Bureau of Sanitation. A woman called Wanda answered, who waffled a bit then said a capped bottle “probably gets recycled.”
Hmmm…. So I asked Wanda who might know for sure, and she gave me the number to a public recycling center — Bestway Recycling in Los Angeles.
I called and posed the same Q to a woman there, who put me on hold while she investigated. She came back to say “It doesn’t matter if it has the cap or doesn’t. It still gets recycled.”
So if you’ve tossed bottles into the blue bin with caps on, don’t despair. That said, quit putting the caps back on. The caps’re made of a different plastic than the bottles, and generally cause problems, as summarized here by some people at Harvard recycling:
Removal of the cap allows for evaporation and prevents retention of residual liquid. Extra liquid causes a number of problems: it adds weight, which adds to the energy (and fossil fuel emissions) necessary to transport the recyclables; it creates a mess and causes injuries in the recycling plant.
This extra liquid bit probably adds to the 25%+ of blue bin contents that get thrown out because recyclables aren’t properly cleaned out. As Alex Helou, division manager for the Bureau of Sanitation, said to the LA Times, “You don’t have to wash the bottles and products, but just make sure they aren’t dirty or soiled,” said. “Everything has to be clean to process at recycling or it’ll be tossed.”
Meaning the dirtier the bottle you toss into the blue bin, the lower the chances your bottle’ll get recycled properly.
So don’t make a habit of throwing half-full, capped bottles of Coke into a blue bin. Make things easier for the recyclers by taking the cap off and giving the bottle a quick rinse if necessary, before throwing it in the blue bin.
Better yet, try to ditch — or cut down on — the Coke habit –
Also, I’d recommend all people to refrain from sending on scary messages like Jessica did to would-be eco compatriots unless they’ve actually verified that the info they’re sending on is accurate. Be vigilant about NOT sending on faux-eco-info that could potentially make people give up on recycling or other green activities for no good reason.
September 9th, 2007 at 11:52 am
Everything you report here makes perfect sense to me. Adn you left out another good reason for keeping your recycling clean: vermin!
But I thought that there was a process for emptying all these bottles prior to recycling. I was told that, say, the lime in your Corona isn’t a problem because the bottle gets crushed and all the organic matter removed somehow (oxidized?). The process removes the labels too.
You heard anything about that?
September 9th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Glass is recycled totally differently than plastic. Plus, with glass bottles, there really isn’t the issue of recapping the empty bottle before recycling –
September 9th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
True…..
Is it “greener” to opt for glass bottles, because they are cleaner to recycle? Or worse, because they are heavier and more difficult to transport?
I only ask because you are so resourceful about these kinds of things!!!!
September 10th, 2007 at 2:16 am
Thanks for posting this information. I forwarded it to my Green Sangha group. We were just discussing the things that should be kept out of the recycling bin, and this is an important one.
September 10th, 2007 at 9:34 am
Handy information. I always remove the lids, but that little plastic ring around the base of the bottle’s neck — that can be a pain, especially when there aren’t scissors handy. Nice to know the whole bottle won’t get chucked in the garbage if I don’t take it off!
September 10th, 2007 at 9:57 am
I have headed the recycling at my work and have found that it is very difficult to get people to recycle properly and it leaves you being the “the bad guy” when you have to remind them over and over to take caps off and rinse. Not fun. Also, recently a temp coworker told me that bottles that aren’t rinsed and/or ditched with caps on, “are shipped to China and burned”, or just put in the trash to end up in a landfill. So there is a lot of misinformation about what happens in the recycling process…how do these “rumors” get started and why doesn’t the city make it more clear to people how to recycle properly. I have seen so much “garbage” put into recycling bins, I really question the process and how thorough it is.
September 10th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Kim, I am in the same boat you are in trying to get my coworkers to put the right things in the right bins. I end up digging through the garbage and recycling bin and moving things myself because when I point these things out to my coworkers, I just get a bunch of eye-rolling and heavy sighs, no matter how nice I am.
In fact, I wrote about my frustration on my blog recently:
http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/2007/08/reducing-plastic-waste-in-workplace.html
Suggestions for me and Kim from anyone else reading this would be really appreciated!
September 10th, 2007 at 11:24 am
I’ve just been hired as the Recycling Coordinator at my college so I appreciate this timely information for my preliminary research. Like Kim mentions, I’m afraid that the hardest task will be communicating what is and isn’t acceptable for recycling. For instance, the city will only accept plastic water bottles “where the neck is smaller than the base or has a screw top lid”. Some of the students who bring recycling from home, include margarine & yogurt-type containers that are not considered acceptable. Glad to know that caps aren’t part of the “DON’T” list. That would have made the communication issue a lot suckier.
September 10th, 2007 at 11:27 am
Um, add me to the list of suggested suggestions that Beth requests.
Beth, I glanced at and have just added your blog to my favorites.
September 10th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Um, my new supervisor mentioned that I would need to reach in and rescue the “DO” pile from “DON’T” contamination. So I totally hear you, Beth & Kim.
The only thing I could come up with so far is to post a sign with a picture of acceptable recyclables above the word “ONLY” to post above each receptacle. (I have a whole campus to consider, after all and I prefer not to spend my work day dumpster diving…which apparently is an actual event to occur in November to “see what’s being recycled.” UGH!)
Beth, I glanced at and have just added your blog to my favorites. Cool stuff!
September 11th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Though I have not had a chance to check out your site Beth (I will in just a minute) I cannot tell you how relieved I am to hear that I am not alone in getting the rolling eyes and having to recycle for everyone else too! yeah - no matter how “nice” you are huh.
I have posted signs, which have been taken down - basically it’s a battle and my efforts are sabotaged and criticized - even though the boss agreed to my recommendation to get a recycling program together. go figure.
This brings me to the harsh reality that most people seem to be too lazy to do what’s right, even when they think “their green”, they are not. I’m at the point where I have given up. I do my part and I don’t do it for others, because it’s just enabling them to rely on me, and it’s making me angry and disillusioned - I can only do my part - not everyone elses. That’s what “being green” means - you are taking responsibility for your f’n trash.
This goes to the larger issue of our trash - if a small office can’t recycle properly, how are large companies doing it? Can you trust the “we’re green” signs? Can we trust the city recycling program?
A BIG thank you to you guys for doing your part and working so hard to do the right thing and recycle!!!! You guys are awesome! Good luck Tammi - my heart goes out to you. And remember…..we aren’t alone in the recycling drama - we’re all in it together ;) (and this is too long a comment) cheers.
September 11th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Hey Kim. Maybe it’s easier at larger companies because they make it part of the policies and procedures. Just guessing. I work for a very small company where I think the director goes along with it only to appease me. If the leadership isn’t that into it, if it’s not mandatory, then some people just won’t do it.
You’re right. We can only do what we can do.
September 12th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Absolutely Beth - it has to come from vision and leadership from the top! But how many people who are at “the top” have this vision?? So that leaves us.
I have just visited your site and very happy to see what you are doing. We are in the same boat and if I had an answer for you, I’d gladly give it to you but it seems this is the dillemma, and a frustrating part of the process. You can only lead by example! That is what I truly believe.
The funny thing is that I expect that kind of behavior in LA but surprised to hear it is happening in Oakland too! My vision of Norhtern Cali/SF is shattered….just keep doing what you are doing that’s all I can say. Here are some good business supply links for recycled products:
http://greenearthofficesupply.stores.yahoo.net/ - check out their cardboard binders and eco pens (refillable, not tested on animals, made from sustainably forested scrap wood…Woody pens)
http://www.repocket.com/ - awesome cardboard binders and chipboard tabs + kraft paper labels etc.
June 15th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I just read an article in Shape Magizine that said bottle caps don’t get recycled, but are thrown away causing great harm to the enviroment. Can anyone tell me if this is true