Okay – time for a confession: How many of you have popped this material whenever it was in your hands? If you’re like the rest of us, we are sure you loved doing this. But what do you do when all the bubbles have burst? The wrap will not serve its purpose now. Should you just throw it away? No, send it to a recycling facility in your area or maybe you reuse it.
Bubble wrap is made of plastic which is not biodegradable. Sending this material to landfills is not the answer because it will not be broken down into compost. The plastic used for making bubble wrap is a petroleum product and it can release toxins, which endanger human health. So what to do with it? This is what we are going to talk about next.
Bubble wrap recycling is not easy, but nonetheless it is not impossible. Generally, bubble wrap is recycled with other types of plastics such as grocery bags, dry cleaning bags and bread bags. Few curbside recycling programs accept it, but after a thorough search, you should come across one or two of these. Even if you do find any such program, you will have to follow very specific guidelines according to how bubble wrap should be prepared for recycling. All of the film has to be stored in a plastic bag, which must be sealed at the top so that no items can escape.
If you visit a local retailer, there are more chances that you will find a plastic recycling program. There are no preparatory guidelines and you can dispose of the bubble wrap in huge collection boxes. If you visit your local recycling center, they will also take your bubble wrap.
Sound difficult to find all these programs? Reuse the bubble wrap. As long as some of the bubbles are left, this is actually a great idea. Maybe you are moving or have something to mail to someone. You can use bubble wrap for packaging. Even if there is no move or mail delivery, you can still protect your valuable items with bubble wrap such as your kitchenware and glassware.
So the next time, you think about popping the bubbles, keep in mind that the wrap will do you more good if you leave the bubbles alone. If you still want to pop, find a recycling program so that the environment stays safe.
Source: www.1800recycling.com
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