CLEARWATER RECYCLES
My Clearwater
SIMPLIFY TO 5
Items should be empty, dry and unbagged only!
PLASTIC METAL GLASS CARDBOARD PAPER
Winter l Spring 05
PLASTIC BOTTLES
& CONTAINERS
Labeled #1-7
Lids stay on
METAL CANS
Tin, steel, aluminum
& empty aerosol cans
GLASS BOTTLES
& JARS
Remove lids or caps
CARDBOARD BOXES
Flattened
PAPER
Includes junk mail &
paperboard like shoe
boxes & cereal boxes
P
1 2 3 4 5
It feels good to recycle. Through generations of education
and nationwide initiatives, most of us now understand the
immense benefits recycling can have on the environment
and our local community. However, recycling can still
seem a bit confusing at times.
Your family member tells you a bottle cap is recyclable
while your friend at work says it’s not. The city you live in
accepts glass, but your workplace recycling bin states “No
Glass.” Your home recycling cart says that your curbside
single-stream program accepts plastics, but does that mean
all types of plastic? Uncertainty and convenience may cause
you to hope for the best and place all sorts of items into your
recycling bin. This is a trend known as "wishcycling," and
it is causing a great deal of harm to our country’s recycling
process.
Confusion at the cart can have large consequences on
the city’s ability to recycle efficiently. Certain items, such
as plastic bags and hoses, tangle and damage the sorting
equipment. Food and liquid soil the quality of paper
material. Electronics cannot be processed and make working
conditions at recycling facilities incredibly dangerous because
they can cause fires. When residents bag their recycling or
include items that are not recyclable, they can unknowingly
contaminate a large quantity of truly recyclable materials
— causing them to be less valuable or disposed of as trash.
Ironically, "wishcycling" can actually cause less recycling to
occur rather than more.
Thankfully, recycling doesn’t need to be so difficult. The
Solid Waste/Recycling Department urges residents to
Simplify to 5 and bring recycling back to the basics. Stick
to the basics, and include only plastic containers #1-7,
metal cans, glass bottles, cardboard and mixed paper in blue
recycling carts.
When in doubt, throw it out. Learn more by visiting the A
to Z Guide at pinellascounty.org, or call Clearwater’s Solid
Waste/Recycling team at 562-4920.
Do You Recycle Right?
/pinellascounty.org