This practical guide to recycling includes a look at how recycling actually works, how to better handle the waste we produce, the way rules differ in every municipality and which common household objects can or cannot be recycled. "Taking readers on a quick but informative tour of how recycling actually works...gives straightforward answers to whether dozens of common household objects can or cannot be recycled, as well as the information you need to make that decision for anything else you encounter. Jennie Romer has been working for years to help cities and states across America better deal with the waste we produce, helping draft meaningful legislation to help communities better process their waste and produce less of it in the first place. She has distilled her years of experience into this non-judgmental, easy-to-use guide that will change the way you think about what you throw away and how you do it"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes "sources for further reading" pages 245-247. Includes index.

Introduction: How to use this book -- Introduction to the recycling system -- Other waste processing and disposal -- Individual items: can I recycle this? Bags and boxes ; Beverage containers and drinkware ; Single-use foodware and packaged food containers ; Home goods and personal items ; Tools -- The human impacts of shipping recyclables internationally -- Plastics in the ocean (and everywhere!) -- Personal solutions -- Policy solutions.