Some local programs can accept pizza boxes, while others can’t. While pizza boxes are usually made of search recyclable corrugated cardboard, the problem with recycling these boxes is food waste and grease that gets dirty and stays in the box. Pizza boxes with oily waste aren’t actually search recyclable. You can place them in your single-flow recycling bin, but they are eventually rejected at the recycling plant.

Pizza boxes are often recyclable when used as empty boxes, even when they are stained or greasy. Materials such as grease-tarnished pizza boxes and food are not recyclable, along with wax-coated cardboard containers. For example, certain juice containers, milk cartons, and boxes of agricultural products are coated with wax for added strength. Cardboard materials that are wet are still search recyclable, but are more difficult to process and more difficult to transport.

In communities with “pay-as-you-go” programs, comparative studies show that more materials are recycled and less waste is disposed of, in contrast to neighboring cities. As much as you hate the idea of your polystyrene takeout trays sitting in a landfill for thousands of years refusing to break down, the substance often referred to by the brand name “styrofoam” isn’t something your local recycling center wants. Before recycling, you should prepare the batteries by placing them in individual bags or taping each end of the terminal. New Jersey residents have recycled more than 65,000 units of appliances, enough energy to generate 4550 homes for a year.

For households and ordinary businesses of less than 50 people, recyclables can be left at local recycling centers free of charge. If it’s not convenient to compost at home with your own organic waste, recycling centers across New Jersey allow residents to leave garden waste, wood chips, weeds, leaves, and other organic materials for proper decomposition. Although they are made of search recyclable plastic, plastic shopping bags, garbage bags, or other types of bags should not be placed in your home’s recycle bin, either on their own or filled with other plastic search recyclable materials. In the state of New Jersey, recycling has come a long way since its first mandatory recycling legislation in 1987. By recycling 20,000 old refrigerators, you get the equivalent of taking 40,000 cars off the road for a year.

But it’s even worse, Muyala said, when a hardcover book has been thrown into the recycle bin with its otherwise acceptable pages still bound between its hardcover, which could contain cloth or other non-recyclable materials. Just like in the tire recycling process, when you buy new appliances, companies often offer to recycle old ones. Concrete can be broken on site, picked up by a reputable recycling company, or used for other projects around your home, such as steps and retaining walls. Shredded paper from office customers is a cost-effective product for recyclers because, according to industry officials, it’s clean.