Non-Recyable Product?

Question

I need a product that CANT be Recycled.

I know Plastic Bags cant, any others please.

Answer 1

Plastic bags can be recycled but most aren't .

Having thought about this for a while I have come to the conclusion that most things are recyclable if someone discovers a method/process to achieve it . one of the biggest obstacle's seems to be contamination of a material with an other .  other than that I don't know . try doing goggle/yahoo searches for products that you think cannot be recycled and you will be surprised just what can . If there is a product that you find cannot presently be recycled reduce your use of it and reuse it for some other purpose or of cause just find an alternative .

Answer 2

The biggest  challenge in recycling all things is that some things get completely comingled, and sometimes it is extremely difficult / impossible to separate the two thngs.  I've given some examples below.

Plastic containers that originally held pesticides are difficult/impossible to recycle.  The chemicals impregnate the plastic, so you can't reuse them to make soda bottles or other containers.  In theory, I suppose you could use them to make plastic lumber, but I'm not sure I'd want my child playing on playground equipment that was impregnated with toxic chemicals.

Certain medicines will get comingled with products and can't be easily removed.   Diapers from babies that have taken chemotherapy, for example, are difficult to recycle.    You can't easily separate the toxic medicines from the dirtied diapers.

Low grade nuclear waste, like smoke detectors or protective clothing that has been dirtied with radioactive dust is difficult to recycle.  The nuclear waste can not easily be separated from the materials, and even then I'm not sure how possible it is to reuse the radioactive material once it's beneficial properties have been consumed.

Even fabrics that are made of two very different materials - like a cotton / poly blend, can be difficul to recycle.  Because you can not separate the two different types of materials, you can not isolate enough of any one material to allow you to recycle it.

The three biggest challenges in recycling anything are a) the cost of recycling things that are difficult to recycle, b) the difficulty of separating things that are very comingled, and c) the hazards of separating and handling things that are very toxic.

I hope this helps.