I have recently been involved in much discussion about the lids on plastic water bottles. I have been given a couple of reasons why they should be removed.
First, the plastic of the lid and the plastic of the bottle are different. Many recycling centers do not recycle the type of plastic found in the lid. In this case, the lid should be removed and put in the trash for the landfill. (Great!) However, some companies will take the two different types of plastic. How do you know? You will probably have to call your local recycling company and ask them how they would like for you to handle these two types of plastic.
The second reason I heard for removing the lids is safety. Yes, there are companies that will take the lids, but leaving them on the bottle can create a hazard as it goes through the equipment. The lids are are harder plastic so can jam the recycling equipment. If the lids are left on, the bottle may not really get recycled or broken down properly. And, if the lid remains on and the bottle goes through the process but does not get cracked, the lids will explode during a temperature change – creating flying lids – definitely dangerous.
So, what to do. First, call your recycling company to find out if they will take the lids. If they don’t, discard the lids and recycle the bottle. If they do, take the lids off for safety reasons.
The bottom line: Remove the lid!
Thanks for reading. Leave your comments. Thanks!
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
January 17th, 2010 - 5:24 am
Recycle Those Plastic Lids? | Green Living Today? Seriously? I was searching Google for home recycling plastic and found this… will have to think about it.