Which cans can be recycled
Three garbage cans are enough: paper and cardboard, plastic and organic. But if you don’t have space for 3 bins you can use only one for organic, which is the dirtiest, and separate bags for the rest of the waste.
All clean paper and cardboard waste goes in it: food boxes, can wrappers, magazines, newspapers, foil, cardboard egg cups. If you pick up paper bags at the supermarket, you can use them to put your garbage in this garbage can.
Glass can be recycled over and over again! Therefore, we recommend that if you want to reduce your waste, opt for glass whenever you can, for example, in cosmetics, fried tomato, olives, prepared creams… Always choose it before plastic because, although it has a slightly higher price, you can then reuse the glass jar to have a wonderful pantry!
One of the things that people who recycle don’t usually know is that the lids of the jars should not be thrown in this container: you have to deposit them in the yellow one and throw the open jars away. And the cork stoppers of the bottles in the brown one!
Recycling containers colors
It is logical to think that all objects that are made of plastic and that are no longer of use to us, go into the yellow container, but this is not always the case. In the yellow container should be deposited exclusively the above mentioned.
Did you know that 6 briks can be used to make a shoebox, 40 plastic bottles can become a fleece lining or 80 beverage cans can be transformed into a bicycle tire? 8 canning jars can have a second life as a cooking pot, 22 plastic bottles can become a T-shirt and 550 cans can become a chair. And these are just a few examples!
In addition, each recycled container has its impact in the fight against climate change and pollution, since recycling 6 cans or briks counteracts the emission of 10 minutes of an exhaust pipe.
What is recycled plastic packaging converted into? Ecoembes states that the majority of PET plastic is used as foil (packaging for toys, electronic devices or other products), a smaller percentage as fiber (carpets or clothing) and the smallest part as strapping (seals).
Where to take cans for recycling
The materials that we deposit in the yellow container are susceptible to have a second chance. For example, several soda cans could be reconverted into a bicycle tire, which is why it is so important to dispose of the waste in the right place.
Miguel Ángel Arrastio, manager of the waste association of the Ribera Alta de Navarra and coordinator of the activity of the Peralta packaging sorting plant, explains to BYZness the life cycle of the soft drink can you have consumed: “We classify the containers according to their nature: a soft drink can, which may be aluminum or iron, is not the same as a bottle of water, milk or detergent&rdquor.
Once sorted, they are pressed, squeezed and packaged tied with wires, and go to the warehouse. “The entities that have packaging sorting plants do not sell them directly to the recycler, but to Ecoembes, and it is this organization that gives them to the recycler for recycling&rdquor, he explains.
What is done with recycled cans
Plastic containers (plastic bottles, plastic bags, plastic containers such as yogurt, butter, cleaning products, etc.), beverage cans and canning cans, tetrabricks, polystyrene trays, aluminum foil, cling film, etc.
The collected glass is taken to the recycling plant, cleaned, everything that is not glass (labels, glue, etc.) is removed and crushed into powder. This serves as raw material to manufacture glass containers such as the original ones to make bottles, light bulbs, jars, etc.
The collected material also goes to the respective recycling plants, where it is shredded and compacted and transformed into large paper bales. These bales are then hydrated to create paper pulp that goes through a cleaning process. Once dry, it is ironed and rolled into reels for distribution to paper mills. Recycled paper is used to make new boxes, toilet paper, sacks for construction materials.
Basically anything that if you left it in a bag after days it would rot. Waste of organic matter, of vegetable and/or animal origin. Remains of food or gardening. They are normally taken to parks where they are converted into compost that is mainly used as organic fertilizer. It is also used to generate biogas, a type of renewable energy used to produce electricity.