What happens to that plastic bottle of laundry detergent or shampoo after you toss it into the blue recycling bin? Unfortunately, according to our waste management company, Recology, plastic is not an easy product to manage in terms of recycling. And, we all know the saying, diamonds are forever, well, so is plastic. This is why it’s imperative that we try our best to reduce single use plastic and keep these containers out of the landfill altogether. 

The Plastic Pollution Coalition wrote up an eye opening piece on What Really Happens to Your Plastic Recycling. The sad fact is that we’ve been led to believe plastic is recycled by the companies that make plastic, and we know what plastic is made from, petroleum. I recommend that you do your own research on the topic to better understand what happens to the things we throw away. I can say that from my own research, it’s not a pretty picture. 

This is why we opened up our refill store in Morgan Hill, we wanted to give residence the opportunity to reduce the amount of plastic headed to the landfill. It’s strange, but now, every time I see a plastic bottle of shampoo or hand soap or water or laundry detergent in the store, I cringe, knowing it’s going to get used one time, and then discarded. Now, I’m not perfect, when it comes to zero waste living, but every little bit helps. But, don’t take my word for it, do your own digging into this topic. Find out for yourself what happens to the things we throw away. Let us know what you find, email@fillerup.shop.