Toronto is reminding the public that not all coffee cups are made equal and some should never be recycled.
You would think that a city with coffee shops on every block and a cup in seemingly every hand would know how to separate its plastic.
Well, apparently not because the City of Toronto took to Twitter on Tuesday to give residents a crash course on what to do when faced with the blue or black bin as far as their morning cup of coffee is concerned.
“Paper coffee cups are lined with plastic or wax so they can’t go in the Blue Bin,” the city tweeted.
“Put disposable coffee cups in the garbage. Non-black plastic lids and paper sleeves can be removed and recycled,” it continued.
“So just the sleeve is recyclable,” one Twitter user wrote.
“It’s 2023, and I’m seriously surprised any one of these major coffee chains hasn’t found a solution to this yet; like an all-in-one recyclable cup,” another said.
One user even pointed out that many bins in the city are in disarray and it’s hard to care about where materials should go when bins are having identity crises of their own.
A quick visit to the city’s website will open up a pandora box of other plastic materials that can’t go in the recycling bin and it might surprise you:
Plastic Packaging
- Any items that are black, including takeout containers, bags, plant trays and flower pots
- Any items that are labelled or marketed as compostable or biodegradable, including bags, containers, cutlery
- Stand-up resealable pouch bags
- Liner bags (e.g. from cereal, cookies, crackers)
- Wrapping around pre-packaged foods like meat and cheese
- Food wrap (i.e. Cling wrap)
- Bubble wrap
- Pet food bags
- Squeeze tubes for home and personal products (e.g. from toothpaste, lotion)
- Paint cans
Other Plastic
- Straws
- Clothes hangers
- Binders
- Toys
- Cassettes, CDs, DVDs
Aluminum
- Foil food wrap, potato chip bags
- Blister packs (e.g. from gum, pills)
- Metallic gift wrap and bows
Paper Products
- Tissues, napkins, paper towels
- Beverage cups
- Frozen food boxes (they have a lining or coating)
- Waxed cardboard
- Any paper with wax or plastic lining or coating
For the full list click here.
