1000 Flowers for the Planet - #611 Discover Your Local Recycling Centre

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #611 Discover Your Local Recycling Centre

Most people would tell you that the little symbol on the bottom of plastic packaging with a number surrounded by chasing arrows indicates that packaging is recyclable. But this would be quite wrong. That symbol does nothing more than indicate what type of plastic that packaging is made of. This, in turn, may assist recycling centres in their sorting, but it is no guarantee whatsoever that when you throw that packaging into your recycling bin and feel like you’ve done your bit for the planet, that it will actually be recycled.

Not all recycling facilities are created equal. Some a bigger than others, some can handle a huge variety of packaging and others cannot. Your local council has probably already given you guidelines as to what you can put into your recycling bin, but if you take this a step further you’ll be amazed. Contact the recycling centre that handles your waste and see if you can go for a tour of their facility. Many do have scheduled tours – keep an eye open for them. Once there, you will be able to see for yourself precisely what does and what does not get recycled. This will make you more aware of how your purchasing habits affect the planet, and how much of your ‘recycling’ is actually sent to landfill.

We can’t rely on other people to handle things on our behalf. You have to get going for yourself and learn about your effects on this planet so you can make better decisions about your behaviour. Then make the adjustments necessary. Let’s keep ourselves educated and keep ‘stuff’ out of landfill.