13
RECYCLING WITH YOUR COMPACTOR
A compactor makes recycling and landfill reduction efforts more
effective and efficient.
Recycling Guidelines
Contact your community recycling program or local recycling
organizations to find out which items are accepted for recycling
and how they should be prepared and organized. These
programs will provide essential recycling guidelines:
■
Method and frequency of collection—curbside collections
and drop-off centers.
■
Categories of recyclable items, and how to distinguish
between them. Plastic containers are identified by codes on
the bottom. Sort by the numbers inside the triangular arrows.
For example, most plastic soda bottles and some cleaning
bottles have code 1; most milk and water jugs, laundry and
personal hygiene product containers have code 2. Paper and
cardboard containers (paperboard) also have recycle
symbols to indicate a container is recyclable.
■
Preparations of recyclable items. Most recycling programs
provide specific guidelines on preparation. For example,
aluminum cans and plastic containers need to be rinsed out,
lids removed, but often labels can be left on.
IMPORTANT:
■
Some items, such as glass, should not be compacted.
■
Most recycling programs will not accept crushed glass.
■
Check with your recycling program for specific guidelines on
preparing recyclables.
Organizing the Recycling Workspace
Convenient recycle bins are made to fit in the compactor drawer.
These bins, as well as plastic compactor bags, can be purchased
in a variety of colors at hardware stores and supermarkets. Set
up a system of color-coded bags in an area chosen for
processing recyclables. Each color can represent a category of
recyclable items, based on types specified by your recycling
program. Separate recyclable items from non-recyclable items:
■
Recyclable items can be sorted using the color-coded bags.
Prepare items according to guidelines provided by your
recycling program.
■
Non-recyclable items should be compacted because
compaction reduces trash volume to its original size: four
bags of trash can be compacted into one bag. This
contributes to reducing landfill volume and related waste
transportation burdens.
REMEMBER: Do not expect items which contain minimal air,
such as folded newspapers, to compact significantly.
Compacting Recyclable Items
Most recycling programs want the consumer to crush or flatten
recyclable items such as plastics, cans, and paperboard.
Compacting recyclable items consolidates volume and thereby
reduces transportation costs—and also helps manage recycling
workspace more effectively. The compactor is ideal for such a
task. When a plastic bag is full enough to require compacting,
place the bag in the drawer as shown in “Installing a New Bag.”
Then follow instructions in “Compactor Use.” When the
compacting cycle is complete, remove the plastic bag as shown
in “Removing a Filled Bag” and return it to storage until it is full
enough to recycle.
REMEMBER: Compacting both recyclables and non-recyclables
means less solid waste and waste transportation costs—and a
better environment for all.
These codes indicate which type of plastic was
used in manufacturing the container. Your
recycling program will confirm which codes are
accepted for recycling.
Plastics with this symbol cannot be recycled.
Items with this symbol can be recycled or were
made from recycled materials.
1
PETE
2
HDPE
3
V
4
LDPE
5
PP
6
PS
7
OTHER
Reduce – Reuse – Recycle
