How to Recycle Plastic Soda Bottles
Recycling is good for the environment and turns materials such as empty soda bottles and newspapers into beneficial resources. There are many kinds of plastics, such as the polyethylene terephthalate that plastic soda bottles are made of, and they are usually collected for recycling via curbside pickup in recycling bins and at drop-off sites. Most household plastics have a number on them indicating the type of plastic they are, such as a one for the PET plastic of soda bottles, and individuals can use these numbers to see whether certain kinds of plastic are collected in their neighborhoods.
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Instructions
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First you need to find out what methods of recycling are used in your community and what types of plastic you can recycle. For plastic soda bottles, which are made from a very common type of plastic, your city or state must accept No. 1, or PET, plastic for recycling. In order to determine this information you can call the Public Works department for your area; recycling information by state is also often available online.
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Since the caps of plastic soda bottles are often not recyclable with the bottles you must remove them prior to recycling. You should also remove the labels glued on the bottles as these too cannot be recycled at the same time; however, some cities do have programs for recycling these bits and pieces, so be sure to ask.
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Rinse out your empty soda bottles. While just using water is fine, this is an important step to remember as any leftover fluid in the bottles makes them prone to developing unpleasant odors.
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Recycle the empty plastic soda bottles according to the rules laid out in your area. Leave them in a recycling bin on your curb on the day established for your community, or collect them together in a bag and take them to your local drop-off site.
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Tips & Warnings
Crushing or flattening plastic bottles will save room in your recycling bins or bags.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit digital enhanced soda bottle image by Tom Oliveira from Fotolia.com
