​Let’s set the record straight when it comes to recycling.

If you’re like most people, you probably toss any waste item marked with the universal symbol for recycling – the signature chasing arrows triangle – into the recycling bin with good intentions, believing the item will be repurposed into something else.

This mentality – called “wish-cycling” – is one many Americans hold, and it actually causes more harm than good. In reality, many items we think of as recyclable are not truly able to be successfully recycled for a variety of reasons.

Beware of the Plastics

In the United States, less than 8% of plastic objects are successfully recycled each year.

“The harsh truth is that it all comes down to what is profitable,” said Michele Dellinger, advanced Forestry specialist, who leads Potomac Edison’s Green Team. “If a recycling company cannot make a profit on the material, it will not get recycled.”

This trend has led to a national reduction in plastic recycling – and most consumers are unaware. As a result, perpetuation of misleading information about recycling and what’s truly recyclable is common.

Here’s the honest truth about four common plastic recycling myths:

MYTH #1: Recycling a plastic beverage bottle means it will get melted down and made into something else.
REALITY: Most plastic beverage bottles, especially water bottles, are made of lesser grade materials that degrade after one use and cannot be reused. Plastics can only be recycled one time, so if you purchase something plastic that says it was made from recycled material, it cannot be recycled again.

MYTH #2: An item that says it was made with 100% recycled material is accurate.
REALITY: Recycled plastics are lower grade, requiring virgin plastics be added to the recycled plastics to produce the new item – thus the creation of new plastics will always be required.

MYTH #3: Single-use plastics and utensils labeled as “biodegradable” are an earth-friendly alternative.
REALITY: Single-use, biodegradable products only break down in very specific, high heat industrial facilities. They will not decompose in a landfill or in the ocean. These items are also not recyclable.

MYTH #4: If an item cannot be recycled in America, it can be shipped to other countries where they have larger recycling facilities.
REALITY: Effective Jan. 1, 2021, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and its disposal treaty significantly restricts international trade of plastics. They can only be exported with prior consent of the importing country.

Obey the Codes

Plastic items are numbered with a recycling code and every county municipality dictates which type of numbered plastics it can recycle.

If you want to recycle plastic items, first check with your county to know for sure which codes are accepted. Here are some common guidelines and tips:

• Typically, plastics labeled with 1, 2 or 5 code are accepted (but not everywhere).
• Most areas do not accept items coded with a 4 or 7.
• Just because an item has a chasing arrows symbol does not mean it can be recycled. Companies will include this symbol on their products if the material they used to produce it included potentially recyclable material.
• Don’t buy food products packaged in single-use plastic, such as snack cups. Instead, buy the food in bulk and transfer it to re-usable snack containers.
• If you need single-use utensils, purchase bamboo products.
• Use re-usable shopping bags, instead of plastic bags.

The “Do Not Toss” List

Be aware of common items tossed in recycling bins that cannot be successfully recycled. Do not toss:

• Pizza boxes or any cardboard with food particles
• Plastic shopping bags (BIG NO NO)
• Food waste
• Bubble wrap
• Most brightly colored plastics, like laundry soap containers
• Aerosol cans
• Batteries
• Plastic and wire clothes hangers
• Paper towels
• Scrap wood
• Cleaning products containers (they must be cleaned out with no product remaining)
• Brightly dyed paper
• Any coated cardboard food or drink boxes
• Plastic wrap
• Plastic food bags
• Plastic screw-on tops and lids
• Single-serving food cups used for applesauce, yogurt, etc.