10 Examples of Non-recyclable Materials

The recycling is the process by which materials waste can be reused.

This reuse has the following benefits:

These three objectives are part of the calls Three green Rs, of which recycling is part:

There are some materials that are usually considered non-recyclable but in some places have the necessary facilities for recycling:

Examples of non-recyclable materials

1. The different types of adhesive tapes (insulating, masking, packaging, jacket) cannot be recycled. They are made from untreated rubber. The support on which the glue is spread can be made of a variety of flexible materials: plastic, cloth, paper, or metal foil. In addition to not being recyclable, most of these materials are not biodegradable, so they inevitably increase the amount of accumulated waste.
2. Fax paper and tickets. The paper used to print faxes and to print credit card receipts is not recyclable because it is thermal paper. This means that the machines do not print through ink but through the hot. That is why the paper must have special properties (a layer that covers it) that allows this type of printing.
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3. Laminated papers. The packaging of various products and magazine paper that is laminated cannot be recycled.
4. Carbon paper
5. Toilet paper and paper napkins. It is not paper itself but cellulose. It cannot be recycled but it is biodegradable.
6. Cardboard tableware. Although cardboard is recyclable, cardboard cups and plates have a waterproof film that allows their use, but prevents their recycling.
7. Any self-adhesive material. Post-its and labels cannot be recycled due to the glues they contain. For this reason, it is important to remove the labels from all the containers that we deposit in the recycling bins.
8. Photos. They cannot be recycled due to the plastic layer they have.
9. Expanded polystyrene. This material, which is also called Icopor, cannot be recycled despite being made mostly of plastic. When used with food, it becomes contaminated. Furthermore, for having been injected with gases its volume increases, which damages its recycling. Furthermore, it is pollutant and not biodegradable. For all these reasons, it can only be reused, for example as a ceiling base.
10. Mirrors. They are a type of glass with a special composition that cannot be recycled.
11. Ceramics (plates, cups, pots). It cannot be recycled due to the chemical process by which ceramic is produced: once the material has been fired it cannot return to its original state.
12. Any material that has toxic substances, paint or fuels.

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