Dear Toronto -

Six ways to go wrong when recycling
 • Single polyethylene plastic shopping bags, while recyclable, can clog sorting machines. They are picked out as garbage. Toronto advises stuffing many bags into one, and tying it shut.
 • Toronto has no current recycling market for plastic overwrap and plastic clamshell food containers, which differ from recycling-ready plastic items such as ice cream tubs or pop bottles. Clean polystyrene (Styrofoam) food containers are blue bin worthy.
 • Propane cylinders, of whatever size, will explode if processed at a recycling plant. Cylinders should be taken to a household hazardous waste depot.
 • Loose shredded paper cannot be sorted efficiently with other fibre products. Toronto asks recyclers to bag shredded paper before the blue bin.
 • Liquid and food residue contaminates otherwise recyclable containers. While trace amounts of waste can be extracted during the sorting process, a half-full bottle of soap, for example, will be sent to garbage. Scrub down liquid residue from food and detergent containers.
 • Glass from mirrors, windows, light bulbs and eye glasses have a different melting point than glass from food containers and jars, and cannot be processed by Toronto’s recycling facilities.