Photo by inueng @ 123RF.com

We all know how mail tends to pile up. You may get paper bills in the mail that you never even open. Or you get a package and toss it aside to be taken care of later. You may not even be sure of how to get rid of some of these packing materials. Do you toss them in the trash or the recycle bin?

Are padded envelopes recyclable? You can recycle a paper envelope easily. But if the envelope is constructed from mixed media, you have to separate it first. You must remove the bubble-wrap from the paper envelope to recycle.

Taking care of the world around us is critical. We should strive to leave it better than we found it, but in saying that, we must give people the necessary information to live a greener life. When it comes to packing materials, your first instinct may be to throw it out with the trash. Let’s change that by simply informing people how best to dispose of the different materials they may have around their homes.

Can you Recycle Yellow Padded Envelopes?

It can be a little tricky, deciding what can be recycled. We all receive a lot of mail, and some aren’t sure how to dispose of it.

Padded envelopes can be recycled if it’s made from the same materials, but if you have an envelope made with mixed media, you will have to separate the different parts. For instance, a bubble-wrap mailer has to be separated. You must first remove the bubble-wrap from the paper envelope.

The Best Ways to Reduce or Reuse Envelopes

When possible, it is important to find ways to reduce your waste and in some cases even reuse material. Here are a few things you can do to accomplish those goals:

• Buy envelopes or packing that are made of one material so they are easily recyclable.
• Buy sturdy brown envelopes that are rugged and recyclable, when possible.
• Look for compostable envelopes like these.
• Use your mailers multiple times. Just place your new shipping sticker over the old label.

Steps to Figure Out How to Handle that Mailer

If you aren’t sure how to figure out the proper way to clear out your mail or other packaging, you may need a little guidance. Here are some places to start:

• Check to see if the envelope provides information about recycling on it.
• Be sure to investigate how your local community deals with recycling. All of them are different.
• Check with the manufacturer. Their websites may be able to provide you with suggestions.
• Ask your local post office. They may be able to help you find a place to recycle.

What Mail Can I Recycle?

It can be hard to figure out what you can easily throw in your recycling bin. There are some exceptions to what can just go out curbside, so we need a little more clarification. Here’s a list of things that can go out with your curbside bin:

• Advertisement mail excluding foil or certain coatings.
• Envelopes with address windows.
• Boxes
• Catalogs and Magazines
• Newspapers
• Cardboard boxes
• The yellow envelope once you remove the bubble-wrap

This article has a detailed list of how to dispose of all of the different Amazon packaging materials properly.

What About Recycling Other Household Packaging?

You can recycle a lot of the other packaging that you bring into your house, such as:

• Glass
• Aluminum
• Plastic

Try to clean any food containers or anything that may help in the process!

Recycling the Plastic Bubble-Wrap

Bubble wrap can be recycled with other plastic films such as grocery bags. You could also reuse those grocery bags for carrying things or if you need to have a doggie bag with you on a walk.

However, you can’t just throw those plastics in your recycling bin, but you can likely find local drop-off locations. It might be a little bit of an extra step, but if you find something to collect a lot of them in, you can choose how often you go to the drop-off site. Also, consider purchasing reusable bags to take to the store with you.

Here is a website to help you: Find a Drop Off Location

What Happens When We Put the Bin Curbside?

When you put your recyclables by the curb, they are picked up by a private company and taken to a sorting plant. At the plant, the recyclables are sorted into different materials. Once upon a time, people had to do this sorting themselves. They had to have separate bins for plastic, glass, and paper. Thanks to technology, this process can be done for us!

Now equipment can do this for us. Waste management companies utilize several different technologies to accomplish the sorting:

• Magnets – Help to sort metals. If the magnet picks it up, that product contains iron and is less valuable than the other materials.
• Electric Currents – allow the sorting of iron and aluminum. The electrical currents will enable the plastic to be sorted from the metals that aren’t picked up by a magnet.
• Infrared lasers – Radiation is used on the plastics while they move through on a conveyor belt. A computer then reads the radiation given off. The machine is programmed to recognize the different plastics based on the typical radiation it reflects.

Why You Should Recycle That Envelope

Recycling is an easy way to make a positive impact. It’s crucial to our world and us. We are continually creating more waste. The growth is exponential. These increases can be attributed to:

• Ability to buy more products. If we have more money, we are likely to spend more money.
• Population Growth. We live longer, and new babies are born every day, which means there is more to add to the waste.
• The growth of the fast-food industry. It is so easy nowadays to just run through a drive-through or go out to eat. These places have to use products that add more to our growing waste problem.

And it all adds up.

How Waste Impacts our World

Waste is a massive problem for our world. It significantly affects our natural environment. That is why we must get more people recycling. It took a lot of us to create the problem, and it will take a lot of us to work on the solutions. Even that padded envelope in your hand, when recycled correctly, is a step in the right direction!

Our environment can be negatively impacted in numerous ways:

• Pollution results from harmful chemicals and greenhouse gases that emit from the waste in our landfills.
• Global warming
• The destruction of habitats.

How Does All of This Affect Us?

You may be wondering how all of this waste affects you and the implications it has for humankind. After all, don’t we all want to leave a better world for future generations?

The immediate impacts are geographical. Our landfill sites are being filled up and we are running out of space. Fiscally, we could see benefits economically by reducing the financial expenditure by better utilizing recycled products in the place of new materials. It will also save energy and preserve some natural resources by doing this.

Keep Working Together For a Better Tomorrow

So, be sure to recycle that yellow padded envelope and any other mail you may have piled on your table. It piles up quickly. To do better, we need to communicate and educate each other on how to accomplish our shared goals effectively.

It is not enough to just tell people to recycle. Information like this is intended to help provide easy steps to help it to be a nearly second-nature response. Now that you know how to recycle (and reuse!) that envelope, you can be part of the lasting solution.