Proper recycling is a direct way to reduce your company’s environmental impact and improve your bottom line. Even with the best intentions, many businesses make common mistakes that can ruin an entire batch of recyclables, sending valuable materials straight to the landfill.
These missteps decrease efficiency and increase costs. In fact, recycling contamination adds more than $3.5 billion in unnecessary costs to the U.S. waste system annually.
By understanding these pitfalls and implementing simple solutions, you can turn your commercial recycling program from a hassle into a key part of your business strategy.
6 Common Recycling Mistakes & How to Avoid Them
It’s important to find a commercial recycling partner who is deeply invested in the industry. The right recycler can provide the expertise needed to improve your processes and ensure you get the most value from your materials.
#1. Incorrect Separation of Materials
A common challenge is employees discarding all recyclable materials in one bin without sorting by type. This includes everything from paper and cardboard to plastic bottles and aluminum cans. This improper separation can contaminate the entire batch, making it difficult or impossible for recycling facilities to process the materials correctly.
Solution: To avoid incorrect material separation, provide clear guidelines and systems to help your team collect and sort materials efficiently. Work with your recycling services provider to understand the best practices for collecting by material type (e.g., plastics, metals, and paper). Designate specific, well-marked areas for different types of recyclables to reduce cross-contamination and ensure materials are properly sorted from the start.
#2. Recycling Contaminated Items
Another significant problem businesses experience, especially in industrial settings, is team members putting dirty or contaminated items into the recycling bin. Even a single container with residual oil or other solvents can ruin an entire bale of clean recyclables and lead to the whole batch being rejected and sent to a landfill.
Solution: Educate your staff on the importance of including only non-contaminated material in the recycling stream by identifying contaminants and either cleaning or properly disposing of the items. Work with your recycler to understand what is considered a contaminant and what is acceptable for different materials.
#3. Confusing the Types of Plastics
Many businesses assume all plastics are recyclable, but this isn’t true. Different plastic resins, such as PET, HDPE, and LDPE, or items like plastic bags, often require their own specialized collection programs. When these resins are mixed together, recycling becomes difficult or even impossible, since each type of plastic has unique melting points and chemical properties.
Solution: Establish a plastic recycling process to source-separate the different grades of plastic, and educate your staff on which plastic codes are acceptable. Provide clear instructions for how to properly dispose of non-recyclable plastics as well. Separating plastics correctly ensures that the materials you collect can be effectively recycled and repurposed in a recycling facility, giving them a true second life.
#4. Not Using the Right Containers
Putting recycling in the wrong bin or using containers that are the wrong size can lead to inefficiency and disorder. For instance, a small office with only one large container for all recyclables can quickly become disorganized and prone to contamination. Conversely, using a too small container can lead to overflow and unnecessary mess.
Solution: Work with your recycler to get expertise on material flow and labor to help ensure recycling containers are clearly labeled and easily accessible throughout your facility. The correct container size and type can keep costs in line, make the process more efficient, and prevent cross-contamination.
#5. Overlooking Hazardous Waste Disposal
When hazardous waste, such as batteries, electronics, cleaners, or chemical containers, is mixed in with regular recyclables, this not only contaminates the recycling stream but also poses a safety risk to employees and recycling facility workers. Improperly disposed of hazardous materials can also harm the environment and lead to fines for your business.
Solution: Set up a separate and secure collection process for hazardous waste materials. Highlight the importance of separating these items from regular recycling. You should also educate your staff about proper hazardous waste recycling and disposal protocols to ensure a safe and compliant recycling program.
#6 Failing to Track and Report Recycling Efforts
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Many businesses fail to track and report their recycling success, making it impossible to identify areas for improvement. Without monitoring recycling rates and material recovery, you may be missing opportunities to increase efficiency and demonstrate your company’s commitment to sustainability to stakeholders.
Solution: Implement tracking systems with your recycling partner to monitor your recycling rates and material recovery. Use this data to continuously improve your recycling practices and share successes with your team. This data can also show your company’s positive environmental impact, which can be a valuable tool for marketing and public relations.
Ready to optimize your recycling program?
Correcting these common mistakes has a direct impact on both the environment and your business’s sustainability goals. When incorrect materials enter the recycling stream, they increase processing costs and often end up taking a costly detour, only to be sent to the landfill in the end.
Optimizing your recycling program requires more than good intentions; it requires a knowledgeable partner. As an experienced recycling solutions provider, Federal Recycling works closely with businesses to provide the expertise and resources you need to turn your waste stream into an asset with the right recycling equipment. Contact Federal Recycling for expert help today.
