Everyone knows why they should recycle; it’s good for the environment. What most people don’t know is what happens to their recycled goods. Here at Rumpke Waste & Recycling we accept a variety of products for recycling:
- Plastic bottles and jugs
- Cardboard
- Steel cans and lids
- Aluminum cans
- Office paper
- Paper board (like cereal boxes and 12 pack containers)
- Envelopes and junk mail
- Telephone books and catalogs
- Cartons
- Newspaper, magazines and inserts
By recycling the products listed above you can reduce the amount of items that come into the Rumpke Landfill by 50 percent. The items that are put into recycling bins are taken to one of our Material Recovery Facilities (MRF). You can watch the video below to learn more about what the Rumpke MRF is and does:
After each recyclable item has been sorted at the MRF they are sold to different manufacturing companies who then make the items into different products.
Cardboard products can be recycled into more cardboard, paper bags and paperboard (things like cereal boxes and 12 pack containers). Paper-board products can be recycled into the paper backing on roof shingles, paper towel rolls and new paper board. Milk and juice cartons can be recycled into cardboard boxes, office paper and tissue paper.
Glass bottles and jars can be recycled into other glass bottles and jars and fiberglass insulation. Aluminum cans can become new aluminum cans, while, steel cans and aerosol cans can be recycled and melted down into car parts, rebar, appliances, new cans, steel pipes and beams, bikes and airplane parts.
Paper products, such as telephone books, catalogs, office paper, envelopes and junk mail, can be recycled into facial tissues, toilet paper, computer paper, paper towels, napkins and notebook paper. Newspapers and magazines can be recycled into telephone directories, egg cartons, building insulation, construction paper, paperboard, newspaper and berry boxes.
Plastic bottles and jugs can be recycled into a variety of plastic products. Most material recycled by Rumpke customers becomes plastic pipes, strapping tape and carpet fiber and even recycling bins. Funny, how everything comes full circle.
If you are interested in learning more about Rumpke and recycling you can watch more videos here. If you are interested in touring one of Rumpke's MRFs, you can find more information here.
About the Author: Jessica Darling is the summer 2016 corporate communications intern at Rumpke.
