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Earth Day Challenge: Test Your Recycling IQ

How good is your recycling knowledge? Participate in Earth Day and make our world greener by identifying which items are actually recyclable.

Thanks to today’s Google Doodle, I was reminded that it is Earth Day. The day was commemorated in 1970 to bring awareness to the damage being done to our environment. To further this message, notable companies like Apple and Microsoft have implemented plans to reduce their carbon footprint and use more renewable energy. 

If you’re looking to get involved and do your part today, look no further than your home, school, office and the many other places you visit daily to help out our environment. The possibilities are endless, but one of the most common options is to recycle.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, recycling can help conserve natural resources and energy, generating over $37 billion in wages. So in honor of Earth Day, let’s have a bit of fun and put your recycling knowledge to the test. 

Read more: Go Green and Save Green With Top Earth Day Deals on Eco-Friendly Products

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

To recycle or not to recycle? Let’s put your knowledge to the test

Pizza boxes?

Yes, according to the EPA, even grease-laden boxes can be recycled. However, food scraps like uneaten crusts must be removed, and boxes must be flattened.

Hardcover books?

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. Instead of recycling a hardcover book, try donating it to a school, library or nonprofit organization. Donating books can help people increase their vocabulary and improve their communication skills. Plus, it’s a good way of making more room on your bookshelves.

Paperback books?

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

Batteries?

Yes. According to the EPA, lead-acid batteries are among the most recycled items, including car batteries. However, batteries require special handling, so they must 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?

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?

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?

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?

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, these same shops will usually accept oil for recycling. Like batteries, motor oil should not be put in a household recycling 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?

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?

Trick question — yes and no. Shiny and laminated wrapping paper can’t be recycled, but there are recyclable wrapping papers available. The EPA says a recyclable wrapping paper alternative 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?

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

Read more: You’re Recycling Wrong. Stop Crushing Aluminum Cans

For more, here’s how to recycle old tech and gadgets for free, why you don’t want to hoard your old tech and how plastics recycling misses the point.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Dec. 26

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 26.

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? Some of the clues are tough today — I thought maybe 1-Across was referring to the Grinch, or even Oscar the Grouch, but was I ever wrong! 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: Furry and green, say
Answer: MOSSY

6A clue: State known for its potatoes
Answer: IDAHO

7A clue: Like a faithful friend
Answer: LOYAL

8A clue: Had a beverage
Answer: DRANK

9A clue: Pronoun frequently paired with «her»
Answer: SHE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Not spicy, as salsa
Answer: MILD

2D clue: Reasons for wrinkled noses
Answer: ODORS

3D clue: Words from a doctor checking your tonsils
Answer: SAYAH

4D clue: Comedian Gillis
Answer: SHANE

5D clue: Part of an egg used to make hollandaise sauce
Answer: YOLK

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Dec. 26, #459

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Dec. 26, No. 459.

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’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. That purple category once again has players looking for a different, but related, hidden word in four of the clues. 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: Big Apple jock.

Green group hint: College football fun.

Blue group hint: On the road.

Purple group hint: Hunt down a word in other words.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: A New York athlete.

Green group: Bowl games.

Blue group: Associated with a team road trip.

Purple group: Ends in a movement verb.

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 a New York athlete. The four answers are Islander, Net, Ranger and Yankee.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is bowl games. The four answers are Alamo, Gator, Liberty and Pinstripe.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with a team road trip. The four answers are bus, flight, hotel and visiting locker room.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends in a movement verb. The four answers are foxtrot (trot), newsprint (sprint), terrace (race) and thunderbolt (bolt).

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 26, #929

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Dec. 26 #929

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 full of fun pop-culture references. 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: Golden state cliches.

Green group hint: Funny films.

Blue group hint: Rock on.

Purple group hint: Not white.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: California-based character tropes.

Green group: Comedy subgenres.

Blue group: ’70s rock bands.

Purple group: Black ____.

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 California-based character tropes.  The four answers are movie exec, surfer, tech bro and Valley Girl.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is comedy subgenres. The four answers are buddy, cringe, screwball and stoner.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is ’70s rock bands. The four answers are America, Chicago, Foreigner and Journey.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is black ____. The four answers are Forest, Friday, Panther and Widow.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

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