RECYCLING GLOSSY MAGAZINES. The Economist (September 29, 2018) had a special section devoted to recycling waste. The section cites Scott Smithline, who oversees recycling at California’s Environmental Protection Agency, to the effect that “many people do not know what is recyclable. Beer bottles and soft-drink cans are, he says. Egg cartons and glossy magazines are not, for there is no market for the materials of which they are made….It is hard to blame consumers for feeling increasingly baffled, he admits.”
I have been carefully recycling glossy magazines (including the Economist) for years. We read a lot of magazines. And then there are catalogues. I used to put glossy magazines in separate paper bags until our program switched to “single stream”. It seems that recycling glossy magazines does more harm than good.