Here is what I've learned about recycling. The most recyclable household packaging is aluminum cans. A quick rinse is nice, but not necessary. Steel cans/tins are easily recycled, too. Glass bottles also recycle pretty well. With gas bottles, make sure the glass bottle and metal lid are not together. Separating them at a plant requires labor. A bottle with a lid on it may get rejected, and go to a landfill.
Plastic containers are hit and miss. People buy billions of bottles of water every year, and most of those bottle never get recycled, and end up in land fills, or in rivers, fields and our oceans. If you drink nothing but bottled water, stop. Most tap water is safe. If you want pure water, get a home filter system.
You don't have to be obsessed with recycling. Sure, there are times when a bottle of water is all you can get at the moment. Don't stress out over it. But, if you are buying bottled water by the case, and only drinking bottle water, that's wasteful.. and you are throwing away your money.
In the end, if you can cut your waste by half, you are doing more than most people. And if most people cut their rate in half, it would have a huge impact. Small changes on an individual level can make huge differences if enough people make those small changes.
CD
