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Earth Day: Do You Know If These Items Can Be Recycled or Not?

How many can you get right?

Earth Day was started in 1970 to make people aware of damages to the environment. Since then, companies like Apple have introduced plans to reduce or eliminate their carbon footprint, and some companies, like Microsoft, have introduced product settings to use more renewable energy when it’s available.

There are many ways you can help the environment, too, and one of those ways is by recycling certain items. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, recycling can help conserve natural resources and energy, and the practice can generate over $37 billion in wages. But do you know what items you can and can’t recycle?  

Test your recycling knowledge with this list of common household items and whether or not they can be recycled.

Note: Recyclable items may vary by location, so check with your local recycling center or government agency.

Pizza boxes?

A person holding two boxes of pizza

Yes, even if the boxes have grease in them, they can be recycled, according to the EPA. However, you have to get rid of any food scraps, including uneaten crusts, and you have to flatten the boxes.

Hardcover books?

Four hardcover books stacked on top of each other

No, hardcover books can’t be recycled. The covers are usually made of different materials, including plastic and leather, which aren’t recyclable. The glue that binds the books together can be hard to separate from the pages as well. Besides, why recycle a book when you can donate it to a school, library or a nonprofit organization? Donating books can help people increase their vocabulary and improve their communications skills. Plus, it’s a guilt-free way of making more room on your bookshelves.

Paperback books?

A person holding a paperback book open

Yes, you can recycle paperback books, even if they’re beyond repair. Like hardcover books, though, maybe consider donating the books if you want to get rid of them. 

Batteries?

Six batteries lined up together

Yes. According to the EPA, lead-acid batteries are one of the most recycled items. This includes car batteries, too. However, batteries require special handling, so they need to be recycled at separate locations and can’t be recycled in your home recycling bin. This tool can help you find a location to recycle your batteries.

Receipts?

A person pressing a receipt onto a stack on others

No, you can’t recycle receipts. Most receipts are coated with Bisphenol A, a plastic compound more commonly known as BPA. This compound makes the receipts unrecyclable, and it could be bad for your health, according to the Mayo Clinic. The best way to dispose of receipts is in the trash, but you might want to shred the receipt before throwing it away for financial security.

Stickers?

A roll of multicolor stickers

Stickers can be fun, but unfortunately you can’t recycle them. The glue that holds stickers in place can gunk up recycling machinery, and some stickers, like vinyl stickers, can be harmful to the environment.

Carpet?

A person cutting a square of carpet

Yes, carpet can be recycled. Nearly all kinds of carpet can be broken down and used to make new products, and the complex fibers of carpet make it nearly impossible to break down in landfills. However, the infrastructure required to recycle carpet isn’t widely available, and you can’t put carpet in your home recycle bin. The nonprofit Carpet America Recovery Effort is one group working to put the necessary infrastructure in place to recycle carpet everywhere. For now, use this tool to find a location that will recycle your carpet. 

Motor oil?

A person pouring motor oil into their engine

Yes. Many garages and auto shops recycle your old oil when you take your car in for an oil change. If you perform your own oil change, usually these same shops will accept oil for recycling. Like batteries, motor oil should not be put in a household recycle bin. The used material from one oil change is enough to contaminate one million gallons of fresh water, according to the EPA. Use this tool to find a location that will recycle your used motor oil. 

Compostable plastics?

A plate, spoon, knife and fork that are compostable

No, even though they’re made from renewable materials, like corn, cellulose and soy protein, compostable plastics can’t be recycled. «Compostable plastics aren’t meant to be recycled and can contaminate and disrupt the recycling stream if mixed with non-compostable plastics,» according to the EPA.

Wrapping paper?

Wrapped gifts

Trick question — yes and no. Shiny and laminated wrapping paper can’t be recycled, but there is recyclable wrapping paper available. The EPA says a good wrapping paper alternative that is recyclable is newspaper. Plus, using newspaper as wrapping paper gives the gift recipient something to read while they wait to open their gift.

Bonus round: Aluminum cans?

Four aluminum cans

Yes, empty aluminum cans can be recycled, but the cans can’t be crushed. The EPA says crushed cans are harder to detect when being sorted within recycling facilities. All those shows and movies showing people crushing cans to take to the recycling center lied to us. 

For more, here’s how to recycle old tech and gadgets for free, how to use Best Buy’s recycle-by-mail program and how plastics recycling misses the point.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 28 #635

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Nov. 28, No. 635.

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is pretty tricky. If you’re not familiar with certain superstitious beliefs, you might not find all the answers. And some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: If all else fails…

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Don’t tell, it won’t come true.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

  • GLUB, RATS, TARN, DALE, FONT, FOUNT, LASH

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

  • DANDELION, STAR, COIN, FOUNTAIN, LADYBUG, EYELASH

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is MAKEAWISH. To find it, start with the M that’s three letters down on the far right, and wind backwards.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 28, #901

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 28, #901.

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. If you need help sorting the answers into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now 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: Appropriate.

Green group hint: I win!

Blue group hint: Musical instrument.

Purple group hint: Time to talk.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Fitting.

Green group: Achieve victory over.

Blue group: Parts of an electric guitar.

Purple group: Phonetic elements of speech.

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

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is fitting. The four answers are fair, just, proper and right.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is achieve victory over. The four answers are beat, best, take and worst.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is parts of an electric guitar. The four answers are fret, peg, pickup and string.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is phonetic elements of speech. The four answers are intonation, loudness, rhythm and stress.

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Technologies

Anker’s New MagSafe Car Mount Keeps Your Phone Cool While Charging, and It’s 30% Off for Black Friday

Get wired-like charging speeds and MagSafe compatibility with Anker’s wireless car charging bundle for $62.99.

Black Friday is the best time of the year to upgrade the little essentials that make your everyday tech life more pleasant. I’ve found the perfect deal to amp up the phone charging setup in your car. This Anker MagSafe wireless car charging bundle is 30% off for the holidays, and it gives your iPhone a fast and steady way to power up while you navigate. It delivers up to 25-watt wireless charging speeds and with onboard active cooling, your phone stays comfortable to the touch.

Get it now for $62.99 verses the list price of $89.99.

What sets this charger apart is that its performance and cooling tech is built into a surprisingly compact package. The stand uses an ultra-strong Qi2 magnetic lock to keep your phone secure through bumps and turns. You can even tilt the mount and switch between portrait and landscape modes for navigation without blocking the view. The bundle has everything you need to get started including a 60-watt dual-USB-C charger, an adequately long USB-C cable, and cable organizers for a clean setup. Anker also includes a two-year warranty for peace of mind.

If you are getting your car prepped up for driving to a holiday vacation or just need a faster charging mount for your daily commute, this deal makes a lot of sense. CNET’s experts are also tracking more Black Friday and Cyber Monday picks across Apple products, headphones, and more, so you can score more savings before the sales season wraps up.

MOBILE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

A high quality charger is a great addition to any car to speedily top up your phone on the go. You will especially want to look out for options from a top-tier brand like Anker for its fast charging speeds and reliability. This Black Friday deal is an excellent opportunity to save big on a staple car accessory. With holiday shopping heating up and tech accessories being one of the most popular categories, we expect the deal to sell out quick. So don’t wait too long before jumping on it.

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