Environmental nerds unite! In the past, recycling a plastic bottle has always required an extra step that sometimes-recyclers might not have known about; plastic bottle lids, such as those from pop or juice bottles, couldn't be recycled through traditional single-stream recycling. Rumpke Recycling sent out a press release Tuesday announcing that they'll now accept those lids as long as they're screwed onto the bottle.
Lids on plastic bottles haven't been accepted by Rumpke Recycling in the past because the bottles' manufacturers simply hadn't found a use for the plastic. Molly Yeager, Corporate Communication Coordinator for Rumpke Recycling, says they're always searching for manufacturers that work to find new uses for their products post-use. "People have been asking about recycling plastic lids for a long time," says Yeager. "It's going to be really exciting to tell them that they can now."
Before, a plastic lid tossed in a recycling bin would have to be manually sorted out and thrown in the trash. Now, manufactures that purchase plastic bottles from Rumpke will be converting the lids into new items, such as paint cans.
Here's what Rumpke says to do with your plastic bottles and lids:
To ensure your plastic lids are recycled, follow these easy steps:
1. Empty the bottle. Bottles still containing liquid will not be recycled.
2. If possible, crush the bottle. Crushing the bottle helps remove any air from the container, which serves as a safety precaution when the bottles are baled and also helps bottles travel through the recycling process more efficiently.
3. Screw the lid back on the bottle. Detached lids may not be recovered.
Wondering what else you can and can't recycle in your community? Click here.
