Did you know that plastic caps from your favorite beverages are meant to be recycled? Often Americans have misconceptions on what can and cannot be recycled. Luckily the Recycling Partnership has a helpful handout busting all of your recycling myths! Here are some of the most common misconceptions from their handout-
MYTH: If you put the cap on a bottle it isn’t recyclable.
Keep that cap on! Unless your local recycling program has a different stance, the plastics recyclers out there want to recycle all they can — caps included!
MYTH: Bag Your Recyclables.
Leave your recycling loose and free! Unless you are instructed to by your community, never place bagged recyclables inside your cart or bins. If you collect your recyclables in a plastic bag, remove them from the bag before placing them in your bin. Return plastic bags to retail stores only.
MYTH: Compostable items can be recycled, right?
No! Composting and recycling happen in different ways. Food waste and compostable serviceware CANNOT be recycled. Compost collection is not readily accessible to most people, but many municipalities offer support for backyard composting
Understanding the importance of recycling is imperative. That’s why America’s beverage companies are working together to balance consumer convenience with environmental responsibility. We are carefully designing our plastic bottles to be 100% recyclable – even the caps. We strive to make our bottles fully recyclable because our goal is for every bottle to become a new bottle, so we’re using less new plastic. And many other companies want to reuse the plastic from our bottles in the products they make like shirts, coats, park benches and playground equipment. That means our plastic bottles are being reused in many ways to help limit use of new plastic. Find out more about our work at EveryBottleBack.com.