Every Wednesday night I roll a big bin on wheels out into the street. The bin is large, blue, and it's where I throw all my empty bottles, cans and used paper. It never occurred to me that a paper envelope might be different from a paper cup, so I dump it all in there. This is how I recycle.

On Thursday morning when I get dressed (2:00 p.m.?) I go outside and roll the bin back up behind my apartment, and it's magically empty! I don't know what happened to it; all I know is that the contents are gone and I did my civic duty by making sure empty bottle after empty bottle was recycled into... I don't know... pixie dust? I've previously been under the impression that everything in the recycling bin gets put into a large compactor à la Star Wars, crushed into a giant cube, then dumped into a tube made of magic that produces brand new glass bottles and aluminum cans.

For all of you who think the same way I do, it's time to take a science-y stroll down Manufacturing Lane to learn the wonders of the recycling process.

Continue reading Recycling: where do the bin contents go? ›

(Photo credit:Aine D, flickr)