April 20, 2016

THE RE.BIN RECYCLING GUIDE: NEW YORK

At RE.BIN, we believe the road to sustainability starts small - with the decisions we all make multiple times each day. For example, should I recycle this water bottle or throw it away?

We also know that, when it comes to recycling, we could all use a little help understanding the rules. Adding to the confusion is the fact different cities have different rules about what items can go in your curbside bin.

SO WE'RE SIMPLIFYING RECYCLING ONE CITY AT A TIME.

FIRST UP | NEW YORK

Print out RE.BIN's New York City Guide to Recycling, keep it on the fridge and say goodbye to time spent googling whether something belongs in the recycling bin or in the trash.

A FEW HIGHLIGHTS TO REMEMBER WHEN IT COMES TO RECYCLING IN NEW YORK:

Thanks to Mayor Bloomberg, any rigid plastic can be recycled in NYC. If it's a hard plastic, recycle it. So if you're in New York, there's no need to worry about what that number on the bottom of your plastic bottle means.

The most counterintuitive rule in this guide is recycle refrigerated and shelf-stable cartons (like milk, juice and soup cartons) with glass, metal and plastic. These cartons have thin layers of polyethelene plastic that require special processing that can't be handled by paper recyclers. Mixing these food soiled items with your paper recycling could contaminate the whole truckload!

Don't forget to rinse your items before recycling them.