A lifestyle choice of recycling requires more than a New Year's resolution. But committing to practice recycling can make a real impact on our future.

Recycling responsibly is something all of us can do and, working together, we can do it better than ever.

Recycling in 2022: It's a Whole New World

Back in 2017 when China instituted a draconian ban on the importing of any recycled materials from the U.S. recycling suffered a body blow.

Recycling rate, which had been fairly stagnant since after the year 2000, began to drop. And they continued to drop until 2021. According to several industry experts, the recycling market had been largely dependent on China as a recipient for most of our unwanted recyclable waste materials. 

After 2017, with no viable market for recyclable waste, the industry went into a tailspin. 

Today, however, the industry has seen a variety of changes, restructuring, and waste management paradigm shifts. New markets have been created or discovered, hundreds of new products made with a wide variety of waste materials have been developed, and the emphasis has shifted from straight recycling to reuse.

The end result, so far, is a positive change in the "green" world of waste reduction.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - And Reap the Benefits

According to an article at the website Waste360.com, there are exciting and positive improvements and changes on many fronts. 

For example,

The U.S. recycling rate is falling. The U.S. composting rate is increasing. Compostable materials (food discards, yard debris and soiled paper) amount to an estimated 40% of the waste stream. There are year-round local markets for finished compost, mulch and specialty products such as vermicompost and compost teas.

And co-operative efforts at maximizing and optimizing useable waste materials are forming across the country, as well.

The ReUse Corridor, galvanized by Rural Action in Athens, Ohio is a network of communities, businesses, anchor institutions, and government economic development agencies building a vibrant economic model based on regional cooperation among reuse, recycling, and composting stakeholders in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. The network aggregates materials that are shipped to local processers and end-users for a wide array of uses. The initiative has already diverted 43,000 tons from wasting and in the process trained over 1200 workers and spurred the creation of 50 new businesses.

In addition, new investment opportunities are spurring new enterprises and new markets.

New laws, such as minimum content laws that require the use of secondary materials in a product and bans on single-use plastic food ware have catalyzed new enterprise. New companies, for example, offer zero-waste takeout ware, which can be washed on site or at home for reuse, for cities that impose bans on single use plastic.

U.S. recycled paper manufacturing capacity has built no fewer than 20 new mills plus expansion mills scheduled to be online by 2022. Ironically, Chinese companies are among the leading investors in U.S. paper mills. Their goal is to obtain clean, "furnace ready" materials to send to their companies in the homeland.

New investment in plastic recycling is following apace. Companies that were formerly baling and shipping plastic to China now pelletize it and sell the value-added material in the U.S. and overseas. At least 20 new firms focus on production from all grades of recycled plastic.

And most all of these efforts, enterprises, and endeavors stem from the daily recycling practices of individuals at home and at work.

Recycling and Partnering with Green Junk Removal Firms

For most of us, recycling does not often extend beyond tossing our beverage cans and paper waste into the household recycling bin. Yet, even at that, there is much more we can do on a personal level.

For example, 

• According to a US Geological Survey, in 2017 about 47% of aluminum, iron and steel in the US was recycled. At the same time 69% of lead was recycled and 62% of magnesium. Lead, gold, and silver remain the metals that are recovered most. (However the recovery rate of gold from e-waste was still relatively low.)

• E-waste is still the least regarded of recycling materials (2 percent) yet it creates the highest amount of toxic waste on entering the landfill (70% of all toxic waste comes from e-waste).
  
  
• Every hour in the U.S., we throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles. That’s 695 bottles every second, and it takes 500 years to forever for them to decompose in a landfill.
  
  
• Nearly 100% of textiles and clothing are recyclable, yet in the US we only recycle 14.7% as of 2018, which roughly equates to about 2.5 million tons. With a landfill rate of 11.3 million tons for textiles that are recyclable, this sector needs considerable improvement.

Part of the problem, of course, is a lack of education and understanding of what can be recycled.

Which is why Junk King specializes in taking bulk recyclables as well as recycling and reusing as much of everything we pick up as possible.

All of which means that, when you call your local Junk King team to pick up your unwanted items, bulk waste, or excess trash materials, you're actually partnering with most environmentally-friendly junk removal firm in the nation.

No matter what you have that you need to get rid of, not only can Junk King remove it for you, it's quite likely that we can get it recycled, as well. 

Junk King: Your Recycling Partner for the New Year

Junk King will always provides efficient, safe, and eco-friendly junk removal designed to make the whole process easy for you. You can bank on it!

And our experienced junk removal team also has all the resources needed to remove and haul away large junk items, bulky materials, and just about any other trash items you have - quickly, easily, and affordably. 

In addition, your local Junk King team also makes sure that your reusable items end up in the right place. This might be a local non-profit group for those items that are still in usable condition. And for all those other items and materials that really don't need to go into a landfill?

We've got you covered.

For example, old tires, concrete rubble, and wood waste materials can go to a recycling facility, along with any other recyclable junk items, so that your waste and debris can all be disposed of in an eco-friendly method.

Which is just another way of saying that Junk King recycles. A lot.

For Junk King, "being green" and environmentally responsible is at the core of our company mission. And we carry out that mission every day by recycling, donating, or repurposing everything we possibly can - up to 60 percent or more, to be exact.

Our goal is to ensure that as little trash and junk as possible ends up in a landfill.

So, when it comes to bulk trash removal, we do all we can to help achieve zero waste by making sure that all the metals, plastics, glass, and other materials are broken down and recycled properly.

And, best of all, we do all the heavy lifting!

You simply point and we haul your trash items into our junk removal trucks, with no hidden fees.

Our professional and insured junk removal and disposal team will call 15 to 30 minutes before we arrive at your home. And, once we’re there, we’ll give you a free estimate based on how much room your bulk trash will take up in our truck, along with any other junk items you want to get rid of.

So, ready to get rid of all your junk with a green company? It's as easy as 1, 2, 3!

Just make an appointment by booking online above or by calling 1.888.888.JUNK (5865).