QR codes with hyperlocal recycling instructions will soon show up on your milk cartons, ice cream tubs and more - meaning you'll be able to scan an item, type in your ZIP code and see if it's eligible to go in the blue bin.
According to America's nonprofit The Recycling Partnership, about 60 percent of consumers are confused about what and how to recycle. Understandably so, since the recycling rules differ based on where you live. And that confusion contributes to low recycling rates in the US - roughly a third of stuff that could be recycled is actually recycled. But for plastics, one of mankind's most toxic inventions, under 6 percent is recycled.
The good news for all of us who are regularly unsure what's recyclable, the nonprofit wants to change that and has launched a new program called Recycle Check. It's simple and clever. It will put a QR code on consumer products with hyper-local instructions about how to recycle the item.
Several larger brands have already signed up for the program, which will provide real-time instructions on how to recycle an item based on your ZIP code when scanned. And the information will update in real-time if a facility changes what materials it accepts or rejects.
It must be hoped (and expected) that more countries will follow this lead, so recycling rates can be turbo-charged.
Of course, recycling isn’t a perfect solution to the problem of waste and pollution around the world - even before we get to the act of recycling, we ought to first be doing our best to do the other “R’s” - refuse, reduce, reuse, and repair. Even better: the companies who produce it should be responsible for recycling it.