The short answer

Recyclables become a huge variety of new items in their second lives, like new cans, bottles, and paper products, construction materials, manufacturing parts, and much more.

The long answer

To put this question into its most real-life context, I thought it'd be interesting to rifle through our own recycling to show what a typical haul of everyday items may eventually turn into. So without further ado, here are pictures of our trash:

There are other technically recyclable plastic materials* that just happened to not be in our waste this week:

• Plastic #1: This includes things like water bottles, peanut butter containers, other plastic food bottles. Recycled plastic #1 can be used to produce fleece, clothing fiber, tote bags, furniture, carpet, paneling, straps, and new bottles and food containers.

• Plastic #3: This is also known as PVC and is used to make plastic pipes and kids toys. It is rarely recyclable.

• Plastic #4: This includes things like squeezable bottles and plastic shopping bags. Most commercial recycling centers do not accept plastic #4.

• Plastic #5: This includes things like takeout soup containers and other food containers. Many commercial recycling centers do not accept plastic #5. If yours does, make sure to clean out and dry the container since contaminated plastic can make the recycling process more difficult.

• Plastic #6: This is styrofoam. Most commercial recycling centers do not accept plastic #6.

• Plastic #7: This is miscellaneous plastic that doesn't fall into the prior six categories. Most commercial recycling centers do not accept plastic #7.

*Please check your local recycling center's website to confirm whether your recyclables can truly be recycled. Not every facility can process the materials I listed in this email. While you may have good intentions, including things you hope are recyclable (called "wishcycling") can make the sorting process more energy and cost-intensive and has the potential to even damage sorting systems and equipment.

A final note: While recycling is a good practice, the best things you can do to reduce your carbon impact are to reduce your consumption of single-use materials, re-use your trash (e.g. I keep all my jars to use as containers), and use your purchasing power to buy things made from more recyclable materials (e.g. choose a glass peanut butter jar vs. a plastic one).

Sources

Bell, S. (2018, May 25). What Do Your Recyclables Become? Roadrunner. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://www.roadrunnerwm.com/blog/what-do-your-recyclables-become

The Best Uses for Recycled Steel. Federal Steel Supply. (2017, September 28). Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://www.fedsteel.com/insights/the-best-uses-for-recycled-steel/

Detwiler, L. (2023, January 2). What Happens to the Stuff You Recycle? Hendricks County Recycling District. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://www.recyclehendrickscounty.org/what-happens-to-the-stuff-you-recycle/

Howard, B. C., & Lake Abdelrahman, A. (2023, February 6). Exactly What Every Plastic Recycling Symbol Really Means. Good Housekeeping. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/g804/recycling-symbols-plastics-460321/

O'Neill, K., & Heiges, J. (2022, January 21). What is wishcycling? Two waste experts explain. GreenBiz. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://www.greenbiz.com/article/what-wishcycling-two-waste-experts-explain

State of Maine. (n.d.). What Do Your Recyclables Become? Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://www.maine.gov/dep/waste/recycle/whatrecyclablesbecome.html