Where do Recyclables Go?
In Wisconsin, thanks to our Recycling Law, there are basic recyclable materials that are required to be recycled everywhere, every day. These include materials like paper, plastic bottles & containers, glass bottles & jars, and metal cans and bottles.
How those materials get collected from your home and make it to the recycling facilities differs from community to community. You may have curbside collection, or a local drop-off center. If you live in an apartment complex you may have a localized collection area.
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Once your materials are collected they travel to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) to be combined with other recyclables and are then sorted. Like materials are compressed into bales for easy shipping. The bales are then transported to industries to be re-manufactured into new products.
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Recycling happens in a global marketplace and these markets are constantly in flux. Regardless, recycling in Wisconsin has built a strong local market for our collected materials. Recycling is here to stay because our local mills and factories depend on clean, well sorted recyclables to serve as feedstock to make their new products.
Today, our ability to move materials to end markets so they can be turned into new products relies even more on our ability to deliver quality bales of recyclables. This begins at the bin or cart with each and every one of us. Recycle Right and follow the directions of your local recycling program. Recycling Right will ensure our recyclables are made into new products so we can all reap the rewards of recycling.
Check out this fun video featuring "ReCyclone" about how to recycle at the Polk County drop off center. CLICK HERE
Thank you to SciShow, now we can really geek out on recycling with this video on what recycling is and where your recyclables go. CLICK HERE