Are You Wasting More Time Than It’s Worth Recycling In Wyoming?
Do you know what is and isn't accepted as "recycling material" in Wyoming? In Casper they are very particular about what can be put into the recycling. Are you doing good or just wasting time by recycling? Hopefully we'll be able to answer both or those questions.
Recycling in the US didn't really seriously start until World War II and it wasn't until the 1960's that recycling programs began. The serious recycling programs didn't begin until the 1970's when the landfills in the states began to fill up. According to History, in the 60's only 6% or waste was being recycled, that number jumped to 10% in the 80's, 29% in the 90's and by 2017 over 35% was being recycled.
Do you refrain from recycling because it's a burden or you're not sure what to recycle? Just like many things, it's a pain in the butt to try and figure it out. The city of Casper has recycling depot locations, but before you just take your garbage there and dump it you better know what you can take. Not everything you may think is recyclable is welcome! Did you know that if you were to make a mistake and try and recycle the wrong things, that the entire load could end up in the landfill anyway? Yep.
If you're a fan of drinking out of glass bottles, Wyoming doesn't recycle them. According to the Casper recycling Frequently Asked Questions:
Distance to glass markets and the weight of glass make it expensive to recycle. While some bottlers purchase recycled glass, these manufacturers are outside of the state of Wyoming. The cost to ship the glass to market is more than the city would receive for payment. The City discontinued accepting glass for reuse or a daily cover in the animal disposal area of the landfill. The volume of glass was ineffective at preventing scavenger animals from removing animals from the disposal area.
We've taken the liberty to find the items that can and can't be recycled here. You may (or may not) be really surprised at the items.