River Recycles

Why We Recycle

Recycling is the last of the 3 R’s, and is an important part of cutting down on how much garbage we put in landfills. Recycling allows us to reuse some of the materials from our waste– whether it be in factories to make new products, or in our gardens to grow vegetables. 

Recycling, and what goes where, varies depending on what city you live in; and that can make things confusing until you get the hang of it. In Hamilton, we have two streams of recycling that go in our blue bins: container recycling, and paper recycling. We also have our green bin, for composting food scraps; and our yard waste bags for plants! It can feel daunting to learn it all, but you can do it! River will be your recycling guide for today. 

At EcoHouse, our bins are all the same colour and have signs on top letting us know which is which. At your house, your bins might be the colourful kind. Keep this in mind when reading our guide!

Let’s break down what goes where– in Hamilton!

Let’s get started!

We’ll start with paper recycling. Of the two blue bins you have in your home, one is for paper products. This includes crumpled up notes, cardboard tubes from toilet paper, cardboard boxes from tissue paper (but remove the plastic first!), and newspapers! 

The paper recycling MUST be clean. So, if you used your newspapers to blot the oil off of bacon for breakfast, it CANNOT go in the recycling, it must go in the green bin! Paper products contaminated with food can be composted. 

The second stream of recycling is container recycling. This includes glass, hard plastic, stretchy plastic, juice cartons and jugs, and large yogurt containers. There are two catches in Hamilton: the items can’t be smaller than the palm of an adult’s hand (which will make them fall through gaps in machinery at the processing center), and cannot be black (which will make them undetectable to machinery sensors.) 

Once you have your item you are certain can be recycled, give it a quick hot water rinse in the sink to remove any debris or food waste, shake it dry, and toss it in the blue bin!

Our next recycling stop isn’t even called recycling, it’s called compost– or the green bin! This is where we put food waste, and paper products contaminated with food debris or grease. Examples include apple cores, banana peels, bread crusts, wax paper, paper coffee cups, pizza boxes, and paper party plates with leftover cake on them! We also compost food grease and fats (common leftovers from cooking and baking), which should NEVER go down the sink as it can harden and clog pipes.

Some things we just can’t recycle, unfortunately. This includes non-stretchy plastics, black or too-small hard plastics, and severely contaminated plastics. Some examples are candy wrappers, plastic coffee cup lids, mini yogurt containers, and unwashed food containers. These items will go into the garbage can, and be sent to landfill. Try to avoid using items like this as much as possible when buying groceries and household items.

This is a bonus section, and super important! Hazardous waste cannot be put into household recycling, compost, or garbage as it is dangerous to sanitation workers and/or will contaminate landfills with harmful pollutants. Examples of hazardous waste include light bulbs, batteries, broken glass, and electronics. These items will need to be placed in a cardboard box and delivered to your local hazardous waste center. While it can be inconvenient, it is important that we do this to protect the health and safety of other people, and the environment.

Dealing with waste the right way gets easier the more you practice, don’t give up! River recommends using the Recycle Coach app to help you, and downloading the official Hamilton recycling guide to keep by your bins at home to help you remember when it comes time to sort. Good luck, and thanks for reading!