Most items put in recycle bins are deemed “unmarketable” and would not actually be recycled if there would be no buyer of the recycled items. This is often for a variety of reasons although generally, paper, plastics, glass, and metals are deemed recyclable into new products by the customers of recycle facilities.

Contamination: Plastics (bagging) that bundle contents may accumulate liquids or other contaminants that contaminate already sorted and clean recyclables processed by facility employees. These bags, when opened, may also introduce non-recyclables to sorted and recyclable materials.

Business Efficiency: If the expense to sort recycle inputs exceed the revenue a recycle facility can get from an end-user buyer of processed recyclables, it’s deemed to not make business sense for that facility.

Type of Materials: Some materials, especially plastics, are film-thin. Thinner materials get tangled in equipment that sort recyclables. The nature of certain plastics is such that they cannot be mixed to create new products. Colors of plastic dyes, toxic aspects of certain melted plastics, and other factors such as plastic thickness make certain plastics non-recyclable.

Remember to manage waste in order to produce less of it and to choose products with less packaging that gets discarded. When ready to recycle, ensure that recyclables are empty and rinsed clean in order to avoid contamination. Remember that if recyclables are put in your regular trash bin or if you bag recyclables and put them in the recycle bin, they are taken to a landfill and not recycled.