Recycling bins get wheeled to the curb every week, but what happens next is often a mystery. It’s easy to assume everything gets recycled, but the truth involves a few more steps—and some surprises.
After your recyclables are picked up by the truck, they’re taken to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF). Here, everything is sorted, both manually and with machines. Materials are separated by type—plastic, glass, aluminum, cardboard, paper. Items like plastic bags or garden hoses can jam the machines, which is why proper sorting from the start is so important.
Once sorted, materials go to specialized processing centers:
- Paper and cardboard are pulped and remade into new paper products.
- Glass is crushed and melted to become new containers or roadbed material.
- Aluminum cans are melted and reused almost infinitely.
- Plastics are washed, melted, and turned into pellets for new plastic goods.
But not everything makes the cut. If materials are contaminated—like greasy pizza boxes or food-soiled containers—they can ruin entire batches. That’s why rinsing and drying recyclables is key.
Pro tip: Avoid “wishcycling”—throwing in something you hope is recyclable. When in doubt, check your local recycling rules or leave it out.