Wish Cycling: Trying To Do the Right Thing

Illustration by Suzanna Stapler of Blushing Planet.

We’ve all done it. Wish cycling. That act of placing something in the recycle bin that you really, really hope is acceptable but you’re just not sure. I admit it: I’ve done it, too.

Your thinking might be something along these lines: “This (fill-in-the-blank item) is plastic and I know that a lot of plastic is recyclable. I would hate to miss the chance to have this recycled in case they’ll accept it. I want to do the right thing by giving this item a chance.”

The problems with “wish cycling” are, unfortunately, many. At best, if something is not actually recyclable, it creates inefficiency in the sorting system at your local recycling facility. We indirectly pay for this inefficiency through our taxes. At worst, it contaminates the rest of the otherwise-recyclable items in the bin or causes worker safety issues.  Let me explain with two examples.

Think Again

Cardboard is recyclable.  But, if you try to place your cardboard pizza box into the recycle bin and it is covered with food and grease, that cardboard box is likely to contaminate the other items it touches and these will no longer be recycled. There is a solution to the pizza box dilemma: you recycle the top of the box if it’s not messy by tearing it away from the messy bottom part of the box. Usually there’s a perforated line between the top and bottom half making this pretty easy to do.

Another example: I used to believe that the plastic wrap in which my weekly dry cleaned clothes was packaged was acceptable for recycling in my residential blue bin. In fact, when this plastic material goes into my recycling facility for sorting, it can easily get caught up in the steel rollers, gum up the machinery, shut down the entire facility for hours, and possibly cause worker injury when they try to remove the plastic film. I cringe to think of how much of this stuff I used to place in the blue bin.  In fact, this plastic film is recyclable but not by residential programs. Instead, this and other flimsy, stretchy plastic packaging (think: newspaper bags and bread bags) can be brought to participating stores which partner with private companies, like Trex, to turn plastic film into items such as furniture and flooring. In my area, participating stores include Giant, Safeway and Whole Foods.

Below are a couple pictures of neighbors’ recycle bins. I know they meant well! But the rake and garden hose are unfortunately not accepted in any residential recycling programs I’m aware of. Instead, these items should be placed in the trash bin.

Examples of “Wish Cycling”

So what can a well-intentioned person do to avoid these problems?

The antidote to wish cycling is recycling with intention. And this only requires some basic knowledge of the recycling rules for your jurisdiction.

I always recommend starting with a quick online search of “recycling rules near me.” This should direct you to the website maintained by your local government body that administers the recycling program.  It’s in their interest to make sure you get it right, so they will often provide great materials like posters with “do’s and don’ts” that you can print and place near your own recycling point in your home. I learned that the garden hose in the above example is not accepted in the recycle bin by typing in “garden hose” in the “What Goes Where” tab of the ZeroWasteDC recycling site run by the city.  Many other jurisdictions have similar educational resources.

The Plastics Dilemma

Did you know that 91% of plastics produced are never recycled? That’s according to a recent study by National Geographic.

It’s worthwhile trying to avoid single-use plastic packaging as much as you can because plastic production is a large contributor to climate change and is toxic to the health of residents and workers near plastic production facilities. Plastics are also well-known for the damage they are doing to our oceans and other ecosystems. But less well known are the health effects on humans of the microplastics we ingest and breath in regularly.

Check out the fantastic initiative known as Plastic Free July for great ideas on how to minimize the plastic packaging in your life.

Now, back to plastic recycling. When we do end up with plastic in our lives--and let’s face it, it’s impossible to avoid altogether even for the most well-intentioned-- it’s important that we try to recycle the plastic that can be recycled.

Proper sorting of plastics can be tricky, but once you know a few rules of thumb, you won’t have to think too much about it.

The first thing to sort for is flimsy plastic (like plastic grocery bags) versus rigid plastic (like plastic water bottles). If it’s flimsy, it should not be placed in the recycle bin. 

If the item is flimsy AND it’s stretchy (like a bread bag or newspaper sleeve), you should find out if there is a grocery store near you that accepts this type of plastic film for recycling. If so, the collection point is usually a bin just outside the store.

Plastic film recycling drop off at Safeway grocery store. Photo credit: Matt Harrington

If the item is flimsy AND crinkly--like the clear plastic used to wrap a bouquet of flowers-- you should place this in the trash bin.

Plastic sorting: play the numbers game!

Now, let’s talk about rigid plastics.  These are things like: plastic soda bottles, clamshells for berries and other food, detergent containers. 

These will usually have a stamped number inside a little triangle printed somewhere on the outside of the item. The number indicates the kind of plastic the container is made from. The trick: the number does not necessarily mean the item is recyclable. Believe me, you don’t want to know the long chemical names that each of these numbers represents. Suffice it to say that the numbers range between one and seven. Anything with a #1 or #2 is made of a material that is fairly easily recyclable so be sure to recycle these. If the item has #3 through #7, it is harder to say whether it will actually be recycled even if it’s accepted in the recycle bin. One type of plastic--#6 is particularly tricky.  This is found on things like solo cups and plastic-lined coffee cups. These are only recyclable in a few facilities found in the U.S. (not anywhere near me!) so I place these in the trash.

Recycling is not the solution to our climate and waste problems, but it is part of the solution. If we all recycled with care, we would save a tremendous number of precious resources—like water and trees—and we would also save on the energy and resulting carbon emissions needed to mine, transport and process these virgin materials. I don’t know anyone in my world who doesn’t recycle every week.  This means that we are all putting some daily effort into this process. It makes sense that we should do it right. While we cannot recycle our way out of the global waste and climate crises, recycling with intention can be an important individual act that makes a difference.