5 Items You Thought Were Recyclable But Aren't

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Pizza Boxes with Grease Stains: While the cardboard is recyclable, grease from the pizza contaminates the recycling process.

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Plastic Grocery Bags: These can get tangled in the machinery at recycling facilities. Many grocery stores have special collection bins for recycling plastic bags.

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Styrofoam (Polystyrene): Despite having a recycling symbol, most curbside programs do not accept Styrofoam because it's difficult to process and has limited recycling markets.

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Paper Coffee Cups: The interior of these cups is often lined with a thin plastic layer to prevent leaking, making them challenging to recycle.

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Certain Plastic Containers (like yogurt cups or butter tubs): Some recycling programs only accept specific types of plastic.

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Shredded Paper: Although paper is recyclable, the shredding process shortens fibers, making the material less valuable for recycling.

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Light Bulbs: Incandescent, halogen, and certain other types of light bulbs are not recyclable through standard curbside programs due to the materials and chemicals they contain.

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Chip Bags and Candy Wrappers: These are made from mixed materials that are difficult to separate and recycle, such as plastic lined with aluminum.

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