13 Items Now Banned From Recycling Bins in Michigan

Knowing what you can and can’t throw in your recycling bin can be a little confusing.

I mean, for the longest time, I thought I was doing everything right. Turns out, I wasn’t. I was tossing stuff in there that had no business being recycled. Then you find out that not everything even makes it to a recycling center anyway. Some of it just ends up in a landfill, and yeah, it's pretty annoying.

I actually stopped recycling for a while because of it. But the guilt got to me, so I finally looked into what is allowed and what is definitely not. Now I see where I went wrong.

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Recycling Rules Are Not Always the Same Across Michigan

Now, I get it. Rules can be a little different depending on where you live in Michigan. Some cities might accept a few of the items listed below. But for the most part, these are things that don't belong in your recycling bin and can actually mess up the whole process.

Why Putting the Wrong Items in Your Bin Causes Problems

This is the part that never even crossed my mind. Throw the wrong stuff in your bin, and it can contaminate everything else or straight up jam the machines at the recycling center. When that happens, there is a good chance the whole load gets tossed.

So yeah…even if you are trying to help, you might actually be doing the opposite.