You live in Chicago.

You drank this water.

Now what happens to it?

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Drop it in a black cart and it goes straight to...

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...a landfill. No rescue for recyclables. 800,000 tons of material ended up in black carts in 2017 — that's more than 90% of the residual waste stream.

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Drop it in your blue cart — but what else is in there?

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There can't be:

  • greasy pizza boxes
  • food or liquid
  • yard waste
  • plastic bags
  • clothing

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If there are non-recyclables in your bin, the whole bin could be labeled “contaminated” and…

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…sent to a landfill.

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If your bin isn't labeled contaminated, it goes to the recycling sorting facility.

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Non-recyclables are sent to a landfill.

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Items that pass a second sort are actually recycled.

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