Driving down a suburban street on sanitation pick-up day has changed drastically over the years. Plastic bins line the streets filled with disposable glass, plastics, and papers for recycling. We hope that we are being environmentally conscious and protecting our landfills from filling up with waste. But are we mindful enough about what we are tossing in the garbage and the recycle bin? You may be asking yourself these questions: Are plastics being recycled? Where does all of that waste end up? Does recycling glass cause more damage to the environment? Does it make more sense to reuse some of the items instead? If these questions have crossed your mind, learn how to take a new approach to your recycling concerns with rePurpose.global and become Plastic Neutral!

Have you ever wondered where plastic waste goes once you throw it into the recycle bin?
We feel like we are being environmentally conscious when we place our blue recycle bins in front of our homes or trash recycle compartments. But have you ever wondered where those items end up? Are they being recycled in a way that is beneficial to our planet?

"Most people have the attitude that if they just put it in the blue bin, it will get taken away and somebody will figure out what to do with it, but putting something in the blue bin and recycling it is two very different things," said David Biderman, CEO and executive director of the Solid Waste Association of North America.
The sad truth is, the infrastructure needed to tackle this problem is severely underfunded, and requires an urgent push. rePurpose Global breaks these barriers, and channels resources towards pioneering innovation. Whether you are a consumer or a business, they know that avoiding plastic is hard. Follow these 4 simple steps and take action that will make a difference:
- Measure - Take a 3-minute quiz to understand your plastic footprint.
- Compensate - Offset your personal footprint for $2-4 per month ($0.25 per pound.)
- Reduce - Get regular tips & tricks that help you lead a sustainable lifestyle.
- Impact - Combat pollution and empower marginalized waste workers worldwide.
Learn how to Go Plastic Neutral with rePurpose Global
World’s leading Plastic Action Platform and a global coalition of people and companies dedicated to reducing waste, reviving lives, and restoring nature’s balance. Learn more about how you can join the movement. Take a survey to calculate your plastic footprint.

The majority of plastic waste (91%) — including chips packets, chocolate wrappers, and more — never makes it to recycling. Instead, all that waste ends up in our ecosystem, remaining there for centuries.
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See what rePurpose global is all about in this video:
Our world doesn't dedicate enough money to building systems that capture plastic before it becomes waste. RePurpose recovers items that are considered low value plastic - not recyclable - and end up being burned, landfilled, and flushed into the oceans. Their goal is to fund projects to recover plastic, build new infrastructures to sort, and help companies to replace single-use plastics with innovative ideas.
Step up and seize the moment. It's now or never!
PETER WANG HJEMDAHL - Co-Founder, rePurpose Global
Where do recyclable materials go in the United States?
The U.S. has been the #1 generator of plastic waste globally for years and had shipped more than half of its total plastic production to China. But as of 2018, China banned imports of most scrap materials because shipments were too contaminated and possibly tired of being the "world's garbage dump."

The closing of the Chinese market to U.S. recyclables bankrupted many domestic recycling programs because there was too much supply and no real demand. The smaller Asian countries could not accept nearly as much as China had. Prices of recyclables dropped, and bales of scrap materials were sent to landfills and incinerators when they couldn't be sold, a Times article reported.
The harsh reality remains that most plastic can't and won't be recycled. The EPA reported that plastic generation in 2018 was 35.7 million tons, accounting for 12.2 percent of municipal solid waste (MSW) that year. Of this total, only three million tons were recycled (an 8.7 percent recycling rate). The vast majority – 27 million tons – ended up in landfills, and the rest was combusted. The environmental agency also estimated that less than 10 percent of plastic thrown in bins had been recycled in the last 40 years.
According to this EPA data, recyclable plastics, glass, and paper accounted for 18.5 percent, 5.2 percent, and 11.8 percent of MSW landfilled in 2018, respectively. Those three materials alone comprised 35.5 percent of the total landfilled trash in the U.S. for the year; had they been properly collected, processed, and purchased, they theoretically could have been diverted and recycled.
Is recycling glass a sustainable solution?
As of 2018, the glass industry reported recycling around 27 million metric tons worldwide, which represented some 21 percent of the total glass production in that year. Container glass accounted for the highest recycling rate among glass materials, with around 32 percent of waste recycled
Glass is one of the most sustainable materials on earth. It is 100% recyclable and can be re-melted endlessly without ever reducing its quality.
When glass breaks down, it remains safe and stable, and releases no harmful chemicals into the soil. So even when glass isn't recycled, it does minimal harm to the environment. ... Of course, when it comes to recycling, glass is among the most recyclable materials on the planet – 100 percent recyclable.
Note that if the glass is broken, do not place it in the bin with other recycled materials because it will contaminate the other items and end up in a landfill.
What glass Cannot be recycled? Materials that should not be mixed into typical curbside recycled glass:
- Drinking or wine glasses and plates.
- Ceramics, Pyrex, or other heat-resistant glass.
- Light bulbs.
- Computer monitors, phone screens.
- Plate glass: windows, sliding doors (can be recycled separately).
- Safety glass, car windshields.
If you're looking for recycling tips to share where you work, check out these 20 Tips to Reduce Waste and Improve Recycling.
Refill Shops Make Reducing Plastic Easier
If you are still going to buy items in plastic containers like laundry detergent, dish soap, hand soap, .... try to purchase the refillable counterparts which tend to use compostable materials or smaller quantities of plastic. What's even better is to bring your container to a Refill Shop. These eco-friendly refill shops are starting to pop up in environmentally conscious communities. A couple of worthwhile mentions here in New York are Earth and Me Refillery and Woodstock Bring Your Own. Show support by utilizing these eco-friendly shops. Read more about them in a recent article by the Washington Post here.

Are you looking for more ways to decrease your "garbage footprint"? Read TMF's Zero Waste tabs Reuse for eco-friendly storage suggestions and Reduce for tips on minimizing kitchen throwaways.
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