Yes, it's National Crush a Can Day! A completely made up holiday that celebrates aluminum cans. And recycling.

Once upon a time, recycling was an easy, feel-good activity. We could consume as much as we wanted, and not worry too much about plastic packaging, because as long as there was a little number inside some arrows on it, we could put it in our blue bin and it would magically get turned into something else... although we were rarely told what that something was...but we didn't ask too many questions because recycling just felt so good!

Now we know the story is a lot more complicated. While recycling is still important, we need to be sure we are recycling properly so that we don't do more harm than good.

Recycling the wrong way has a cost. To avoid those, follow these rules.

1) AVOID "WISH-CYCLING." Find out what your municipality accepts for recycling, and ONLY put those items in your recycling bin. Nothing else. NADA. Things put in a recycling bin that aren't marketable end up riding on a second gas-guzzling truck to a landfill or incinerator. Sometimes, those items also jam up the recycling machines, which causes even more wasted energy. So there's a fossil fuel cost that's higher than if you just threw it away in the first place.

Pop, water and beer bottles, and film plastics (plastic bags) should still be taken to a grocery store or recycling center. Even beer bottle glass taken to a store has a market value, because it's not mixed with other things that can contaminate it. And recycled aluminum saves tons of energy compared to creating aluminum from "scratch."

About a year ago I pledged to stop buying ANY food packaged in clamshell plastic- you know, the plastic "boxes" that big supermarkets use for some fruits and vegetables and baked goods, as well as take-out items like sandwiches or fried chicken. Even if it's an "organic" choice, I skip it. And guess what? I don't miss a thing.

While it's hard to avoid ALL plastic, avoiding as much hard plastic as you can is a step in the right direction. Even if your community still allows all #1- 7 plastic in its recycling bin, the only reliable market is for #1 or #2 bottles with a screw top (think laundry detergent, juice bottles etc.). Your community's garbage company may be required by a long-term contract to accept all that plastic in recycling bins, even though they end up tossing most of it out. So not buying it in the first place is a win.

Remember the list of thrift stores and other buyerachy of needs resources? Those same resources can be used to find homes for things you no longer want. You can donate way more than you may think: even ripped clothing, underwear and socks, which have value for making things like insulation.

Shopping for recycled goods does help create markets for items that are properly placed in our blue bins. But by now you've realized that the three-arrow recycling symbol is often meaningless. Just because a product has this symbol does not mean 1) it's made from recycled materials or 2) there's any place on the planet currently accepting it for recycling.

Instead of just a symbol, look for words like "post-consumer recycled content" or "post-industrial recycled content," or other statements that explain the item's source. For things made out of trees, you can also look for the FSC certification.

Now that you are a recycling expert, share your new knowledge with your friends and neighbors. You could start the conversation by mentioning the University of Buffalo's efforts to tackle this issue in cooperation with New York State. Or you could invite them to crush a can with you to let off some COVID frustration. Just be sure to toss the cans in a recycling bin.

"Recycling is what we do when we're out of options to avoid, repair, or reuse the product first. Firstly: Reduce. Don't buy what we don't need. Repair: Fix stuff that still has life in it. Reuse: Share. Then, only when you've exhausted those options, recycle."     

―Annie Leonard

Day 10: Mental Health Day...

PS Let us know how we are doing! Email info@reinsteinwoods.org. Thank you!