Technologies

You Might Be Recycling Your Plastics the Wrong Way. What to Know

Earth Day is today. Make sure you’re recycling your plastics the right way.

April 22 is Earth Day, and if you’re looking for ways to start helping the environment, recycling your plastics is a great start. Note that simply tossing any or all of your plastics into the recycling bin isn’t what you should do. Instead, you need to know which plastics are recyclable and which should be tossed in the trash. Once you’ve learned these important details, you’ll be helping to reduce waste.

Plastic that isn’t recycled is either put in landfills, incinerated or finds its way into the oceans. Incinerating plastics produces carbon dioxide, which is responsible for the total energy imbalance causing the Earth’s temperature to rise, according to NOAA Climate.gov. If placed in a landfill, plastic can take anywhere from five to 600 years to decompose, depending on what type it is. The average time it takes a plastic bottle to decompose is 450 years.

Here’s what the experts have to say about recycling plastics. For more information, here’s which takeout containers are recyclable.

How to recycle plastic

Recycling plastic is more difficult than you think. You need to rinse out any food and liquids (other than water) from the containers before you can put them in the bin. If the plastic isn’t clean, a recycling center employee told CNET, it could contaminate an entire load of plastics, causing the recycling center to send the entire batch to a landfill.

When recycling plastic bottles, check to see if they say «crush to conserve» on the label. If so, remove the lid and crush the bottle by twisting from the top and pressing it down. After it’s crushed, place the lid back on the bottle so it can also be recycled.

Know which plastics are recyclable

All plastics are not equal. Many people toss all their plastics in the recycling bin without knowing if it’s recyclable or not. If it’s not an accepted plastic at the recycling center, the employees will toss it in the trash.

So how do you know which plastics are accepted? Contact your local recycling company to see if they accept them. Many recycling companies have additional information on their website for items that can and cannot be recycled. If your local disposal company provides your recycling bin, it may list the information on the bin’s outside.

Plastic containers will typically have numbers on the bottom that denote which kind of plastic it is. For example, #1 and #2 plastics are almost always recyclable, while #6 plastics aren’t always accepted. Also, if the plastic says «compostable,» it must be composted and not recycled.

What else can I do?

The first step to preventing plastic waste is to limit your use of non-reusable plastics, like plastic bottles. Instead, opt for glass or hard plastic bottles that you can refill and use daily. Here are other ways to help.

Use reusable straws instead of plastic straws.
Avoid using plastic utensils unless they can be washed and reused.
Recycle plastic bags, see if your local grocery store or recycling center will take them.
Use cloth shopping bags.
Stop wasting Solo cups and choose glass or reusable plastic cups instead.
Reuse plastic items. Tobias Haider, a research associate at PlastX, told CNET in 2022 that «plastic products would not be a problem if we reused them.»
Remember that plastic foam isn’t recyclable and that includes egg cartons, packaging and peanuts. If you have quite a bit of plastic foam lying around your house, contact schools in your area to see if they can use it for projects.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 15, #538

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for March 15, No. 538.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today is Selection Sunday, and the Connections: Sports Edition puzzle is all about the NCAA basketball tournament. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Oops!

Green group hint: Not the second word.

Blue group hint: They direct the team.

Purple group hint: They made it to the Big Dance.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Basketball fouls.

Green group: First words in NCAA tournament rounds.

Blue group: Women’s college basketball coaches.

Purple group: Teams qualified for the 2026 Men’s NCAA tournament.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball fouls. The four answers are block, charge, hold and reach-in.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is first words in NCAA tournament rounds. The four answers are elite, final, second and sweet.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is women’s college basketball coaches. The four answers are Auriemma, Close, Ivey and Staley.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is teams qualified for the 2026 Men’s NCAA tournament. The four answers are Gonzaga, High Point, Queens and Troy.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, March 15

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 15.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Today’s wasn’t terribly tough, but read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: On-call doctor’s device
Answer: PAGER

6A clue: Amazon virtual assistant
Answer: ALEXA

7A clue: Host of the 2026 Oscars
Answer: CONAN

8A clue: Stumped on a puzzle, say
Answer: STUCK

9A clue: Aves. and blvds.
Answer: STS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Election-influencing groups, for short
Answer: PACS

2D clue: Quite a few
Answer: ALOT

3D clue: The «Tyrannosaurus» of Tyrannosaurus rex
Answer: GENUS

4D clue: Right on
Answer: EXACT

5D clue: Puts in order from best to worst, maybe
Answer: RANKS

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for March 15, #1008

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for March 15, No. 1,008

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough, but the yellow category has some fun options in it. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Mine, all mine!

Green group hint: A part you might use to build something.

Blue group hint: Blended words.

Purple group hint: Not a cow, but close.