Are All Products marketed as ‘Recyclable’ actually Recyclable – a revealing look!
Confusion in recycling is commonplace. Even those with the knowledge on how to read symbols and local regulations, recycling varies from city to city across Canada. Because of this, sadly some products marketed as recyclable cannot in fact be recycled in some Canadian cities.
The recycling symbol that appears on many household products, as it actually turns out, is not really worth much. It indicates the product being used ‘could be’ recycled however it does not necessarily denote tossing it into the recycling.
In some cases, it might even be contamination and there are many reasons why this is the case. Some local recycling programs may choose not to recycle certain products and/or may not be able to recycle them due to lack of technology, investment, and equipment.
The reality for consumers and companies who are trying to do the good thing by recycling is that they are sometimes being misled. As a waste management and recycling company, the last thing we want is for our consumers to be confused about what goes where in garbage and recycling.
As evidenced, one of the biggest challenges facing Canada is a lack of cohesiveness across cities’ recycling programs. Core Mini Bins is one of the many waste management companies across the country calling for more unity and collaboration in recycling. Secondly, there needs to be an education given to manufacturers and retailers on what products to put in the market as ‘recyclable’. The frustration experienced from consumers looking to recycle, companies looking to do the right thing by using recyclable product, and governments seeking to increase recycling numbers is a three-pronged problem in need of a sizeable solution.
To answer the question of whether all products marketed as ‘recyclable’ are actually recyclable, evidently they’re not all recyclable. It’s not from a lack of trying however on behalf of companies. A recent study determined that though some companies may be either intentionally or unintentionally spreading false or misleading claims under the Competition Act, and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, most companies who market products as recyclable when they are in fact not are doing so out of false knowledge.
When Core Mini Bins is hired to take care of a company’s waste or recycling, we have done our best to set up appropriate partners across the GTA to help with that. To any resident interested in doing business with a Toronto recycling company or Toronto waste management company, we would be happy to provide insight into what products are recycling in the GTA and what are not.
If you’re wondering what to do with materials you need disposed of, call Core Mini Bins. If it can be repurposed, reused, or recycled, we will find a way to do so as long as the facilities are available. The thing about recycling we have found is that there’s much more recycling we, as a society, could be doing however the facilities are simply not always local. In the future, along with countless other organizations committed to recycling, we are hoping to change that through more specialized facilities.
There is no reason that a recyclable product gets tossed out just because it is not able to be recycled where you live. There’s a change that needs to come and that’s what Core Mini Bins continues to advocate for.
