What is recyclable in Los Angeles?

In August 2018, LA Times reporter Steve Lopez took two weeks of his blue bin contents to the recycling center to find out what he was doing right and wrong.

Read about what he learned about recycling in LA. 

Here’s the LA Dept of Sanitation’s official list of what goes in your blue bin

But is the recycling industry really “greener”?

“Imagine a group of billion-dollar companies converting fossil fuels into single-use plastic for the sake of profit. That’s what the plastics industry is.” — Story of Stuff project

follow @storyofstuff on Instagram for more info about plastics

How to reduce plastic in your everyday life:

• ditch single-use water bottles. carry a reusable bottle.
• carry a travel mug, especially if you are in the habit of buying coffee
• carry snacks in reusable metal containers, to eliminate ziplock baggies
• cut back on online shopping, with its major and growing packaging waste
• buy fruits and veggies from farmers markets or bulk bins (and BYO bag), instead of clamshell goods or frozen goods

more tips on reducing plastic available from Green Education Foundation and HuffPost

 

images from Story of Stuff.