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Refuse & Recycling

 

Tips on Purchasing Recycled Content Products

 

Closing the Loop

Do you know why the recycling symbol has three chasing arrows? Each arrow represents one step in the three step recycling process that completes the recycling loop.

The first step is collection. This is when you put your recyclables into your blue recycling cart or take them to a drop-off site. The collected materials are then prepared for market and sold to a manufacturing facility.

Manufacturing is the second step in the recycling process. The recyclable materials are converted into new products and shipped to stores to be sold as new consumer goods.

The third step is where you, the consumer, purchase products made with recycled content. When you "Buy Recycled", you complete the recycling loop. Always check the % post consumer recycled content (% pcr) of the products you buy. A higher % pcr means more of the product was made from recyclables collected from residential or commercial recycling programs.

 

Examples of Recycled Content Products

A wide variety of products containing recycled materials are available. Some products, like those made from glass, steel, aluminum, and cardboard almost always contain recycled content. Many other products can be found that contain recycled materials if you look for them. The following table lists a few of the recycled-content products that can be found locally.

Recyclable Materials

Recycled Content Products

Brand Names

Stores
Glass bottles & jars Glass bottles & jars

Glass bowls, vases, & candle holders

 All brands All stores

Home Environment
Steel (tin) cans Any steel product All brands All stores
Aluminum cans Aluminum cans All brands All stores
PET plastic
 Carpet


Fleece jackets, hats & gloves

 Kid Tough, Radical,
Rockhill Manor

Patagonia Synchilla

 Menards, Home Depot


REI, Erehwon
HDPE plastic Trash bags


Plastic lumber

 Renew, Seventh Generation Kohls, Cub Foods, Copps,
Magic Mill, Whole Foods

Menards, Home Depot
Newspaper Cellulose insulation All brands Menards, Home Depot
Office paper Office paper Geocycle, Great White Office Depot, Best Buy
Office Max, Staples, Wal-Mart
Mixed paper Paper towels, Napkins,
Bathroom tissue 		Green Forest,
Seventh Generation 		Bergmann's Pharmacy, Cub Foods, Copps,
Kohls, Magic Mill, Whole Foods
Home Environment
Community Pharmacy
Corrugated cardboard Corrugated cardboard boxes

Cereal boxes

 All brands

All brands

 All stores

All stores

 

Recycled Product Resources

EPA Buy Recycled Fact Sheets

Buy Recycled Business Alliance

Treecycle Recycled Paper Products

Recycled Plastic Products Directory

California Integrated Waste Management Board Recycled Content Product Database

Minnesota Recycled Products Guide - Consumer Version

Minnesota Recycled Products Guide - Business Version

Minnesota Recycled Products Directory