Why Trash, Recycling, and Compost Signage Matters

We can’t expect everyone to know exactly what goes in trash, recycling, or compost bins. There’s no need to leave people guessing either. Printable recycling and compost signs can serve as guideposts that both educate people and make a difference in our carbon footprints.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 75% of the US waste stream can be recycled or composted; however, we’re only doing so for around 34% of it. Even more, there’s a phenomenon called aspirational recycling or “wishcycling” in which people toss items in the recycling bin in the hopes that it’s recyclable. Yet this can lead to recycling contamination, making many of these typically eligible items non-recyclable. We can prevent this.

Simply put, there’s so much more we could be doing for the environment and a portion of that is as easy as posting signs about what goes in which bin.

ZTERS free printable signage displays materials that are commonly misunderstood to go in a certain bin. It’s a small effort that can have a big impact. Learn more about sustainable waste practices on the ZTERS blog.