A recyclable item is able to be reused in its present state or form, or is able to be broken down and reformulated into another manufactured product. This is seen almost universally as a positive attribute. Yet, many companies are not fully utilizing the recyclable items that municipal sanitation departments are amassing through recycling projects, and even today many communities don’t yet have mandated recycling programs. Therefore, many potentially recyclable materials continue to be buried in landfills, shipped to and dumped in Third World countries or incinerated. Although recyclability is obviously an ideal, too much of the material that is called “recyclable” is currently not recycled because of cost factors, technological limitations and/or lack of interest.
