Can You Recycle Rubber Bands?
Rubber bands are part and parcel of our lives today. For this reason in this article we are going to investigate: Can you recycle rubber bands? Rubber bands are wrapped around letters and parcels delivered to millions of business and homes each day. They are also used to keep certain foods together and products you buy in stores.This means the likeliness of you having elastic bands lying around is high.
What are Rubber Bands Made From?
Rubber bands are produced from organic rubber due to its superior elasticity. The natural rubber is made from latex, which is a milky fluid containing water, rubber, and trace elements of resin, protein, and sugar.
In most cases, the non-synthetic industrial latex is derived from Hevea brasiliensis or the rubber tree. This tree can only be found in places with hot and humid climates, especially in areas near the equator.
Can You Recycle Rubber Bands?
Rubber bands are not generally recyclable or compostable. However, this does not mean that you should throw them away after unwrapping your things. Instead, there are many ways you can reuse them as shown below;
• If you have many rubber bands, donate them to schools or colleges. Educational institutions are always in need of rubber band supplies, whether used or new.
• You can use a rubber band on a soap dispenser to limit the soap dispensed by tying it on the output spout.
• You can wind the rubber bands around hangers to prevent clothes from slipping off.
• Wrap a rubber band around a jar lid to enable you to open the lid easily
• Use a rubber band to save a reading spot in a book.
• Organise your desk drawer by wrapping your pens, markers, and crayons using rubber bands.
• Prevent the spools of thread of sewing basket from unravelling by wrapping them with rubber bands.
Are Rubber Bands Biodegradable?
Eco Alternatives
Rubber bands are mainly used to hold things like file folders, post, parcels, newspapers, among other things together. Depending on your specific task, there are other alternatives to rubber bands such as:
• String
You can use a string to hold files, parcels, papers, and other packages together. Strings are even more flexible when holding large items compared to standard rubber bands. The best eco string because of their natural and renewable materials are:
– Jute
– Organic cotton
– Wool
• Paper Clips
Most paper clips are made from metals which are recyclable and come in various sizes, shapes, and colours. People often assume because they are reusable, they are economic however if you want to reduce your carbon footprint by buying them before they are melted and reformed you can purchase recycled paper clips from here.
• Staples
Staples are effective for joining stacks of papers together as you can read all the pages without undoing a bundle. However, Staple-less staplers are definitely the way forward. Not only is it better in the long run for your wallet it’s also great for the environment. A small staple may not look like much but every year more than a billion tons of steel are used to make staples alone.