The Rebels of Recycling

When you think about recycling, you think the usual—paper, plastic, glass—however, there are other, lesser-known items that can be recycled with a little extra effort. These rebels of recycling include electronics, printer cartridges, polystyrene, and batteries. Here, you will discover how you can help save the environment by recycling these rebels.

Printer Cartridges

Printer cartridges are thrown away by the millions each year. They end up in landfills, and because they're made of plastic, can take a minimum of 1,000 years to decompose. There are ways of recycling printer cartridges, such as refilling them to use again. If refilling is not what you prefer, there are drop off centers all across the country. They will recycle them properly, and prevent them from piling up in landfills. Also, there are some companies, such as Staples and HP that will take the cartridges back for free, and in turn, offer rewards or donate money to local schools set up to receive this type of fundraising.

Electronics

As technology advances, the use for old computers, cell phones, and other types of electronics are becoming less and less. People tend to thrown them in dumpsters, causing them to pile up in landfills much like the printer cartridges. Fortunately, there are collection centers, and drop off boxes across the country that will help you recycle these products instead. In fact, Verizon and many other cell phone stores collect old cell phones and donate them to woman’s shelters and homeless shelters, again, taking the reuse route as opposed to the landfill route.

Polystyrene

Polystyrene is made from a variety of different plastics, and is used for such things as egg cartons and to-go coffee cups. It is often referred to as Styrofoam, although that is not a correct use of the word. Polystyrene is a rebel of recycling in that it is quite difficult to recycle, although it can be done. Due to the light nature of the product, it can be difficult to collect at curbside collection centers. Once collected, the polystyrene needs to be transported to a centralized plant, which does increase the cost of recycling. In addition, due to health concerns, recycled polystyrene can no longer be used for food products, but can be made into new packaging materials. So, although it is difficult to recycle polystyrene, it can and should be done.

Batteries

Batteries are another difficult but important product to recycle. To start, the batteries are broken into different pieces, separating the plastic, lead and sulfuric acid. The plastic pieces are washed, dried, and sent to a location to be melted down, turned into plastic pellets, and then used in the manufacturing of battery cases. The lead is cleaned and heated in a smelting furnace, and turned into ingots by scraping away impurities. The lead is then sent to a battery manufacturing plant to be used in the production of new batteries. The acid in batteries can be used in two different ways. The acid can be neutralized, and eventually turned into water. Or, it can be converted to sodium sulfate, and used in laundry detergent, textile manufacturing, and the production of glass. When tossed into the trash, the hazardous chemicals in batteries can harm the environment, so it is important to seek out battery recycling programs in your area.

Even though these rebels may be a little more difficult for the recycles and the recycling companies, they can be re purposed, reused, reduced, and recycled. It is in the best interest of the environment to recycle all products, including these rebels, and prevent them from piling up in landfills for hundreds and thousands of years to come.

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