Hey Mr. Green,

I have been removing stickers/tape from boxes (except Amazon’s recyclable tape), but do I need to do this for all products, or am I wasting my time with something unnecessary?

—Brette in Chicago

This is one of the many questions about recycling that often puzzles people. The simple answer is contact your local recycler and ask about its current policy for recycling packing tape. Certain tapes are recyclable while others aren’t. 

Consider these three different policies:

Experts from your hometown of Chicago say, “It’s helpful to remove plastic packing tape from boxes but not necessary.”

But in Denver, officials suggest it’s not necessary to remove tape unless “the whole box is slathered.” 

And in San Francisco, one expert said, “All tape should be removed.”

Once you determine the latest local policy, try to follow the rules rigorously. For example, cardboard boxes must be flattened, not merely jammed into bins willy-nilly. If the lid is not closed, this could result in getting the cardboard wet, which might decrease its value.

Random mixing of very different materials results in more recycled stuff getting exiled to the dump instead of being reused or repurposed. China now refuses to take a big heap of US “recyclables” specifically because residents were mixing very different materials

During periodic inspections of recycling bins in my own neighborhood, I’ve observed a mix of plastic, paper, food, random slabs of metal, hoses, ropes, dead rodents, and unrecyclable plastic, often jumbled together in the same container, despite the fact that we have three very distinct recycling receptacles for paper, glass and metal cans and jars, and yard debris.