People throw out hundreds of kilograms of garbage every year and not all of it goes to the right places. This is a combination of people not taking care of where they dispose of their rubbish and also not knowing where their rubbish goes once they put it in a given bin. Recycling is becoming more and more important as time goes one with resources diminishing, the increasing negative impact on our climate and our population growing.

In order for the world to see significant improvement, everyone needs to partake in the war on waste. This means knowing what to recycle and where it goes. There are five bad recycling habits that we can improve to make a difference.

  1. Thinking something isn’t recyclable

All too often people think an item of packaging isn’t recyclable and simply throw it out with the rest of their waste. However, many companies are now playing their part by producing items in recyclable packaging. Be sure to have a good look around the item for the recycle symbol before throwing it into a rubbish bin.

  1. Leaving plastic bottle caps on

The bottle caps limit the ability for a plastic bottle to be recycled. In most instances, it means that the machine is unable to recycle the item as it doesn’t get sorted correctly. Take off the bottle cap before placing the item into your recycling bin to ensure it gets properly recycled.

  1. Putting dirty cardboard and paper in the recycling

Once paper or cardboard has been dirtied with dirt or grease it is no longer able to be recycled. When these items are then placed with the clean cardboard and paper it means that the whole lot is unable to be recycled. Be sure to place dirty items into the rubbish so that more of the clean stuff can be recycled.

  1. Throwing away plastic bags

Plastic bags are one of the worst as they take hundreds of years to break down. In many cases, plastic bags end up in the ocean harming sea life and damaging our ecosystems. The best method is to stop using plastic bags altogether but if you absolutely have to make sure that you re-use them.

  1. Recycling before re-using

Whilst recycling is good, it is still costly and utilises a lot of energy. This energy produces carbon dioxide emissions which are bad for the environment. Look to reuse items before throwing them into the recycling bin.