Many people recycle thinking that they are doing a great service to the environment, but it turns out that some people may be recycling incorrectly. The fact that some people are recycling incorrectly is causing problems for recycling facilities because they are becoming less profitable. Another issue that is causing a loss in profit for recycling facilities is the decreased demand for certain materials from foreign nations. Based on a study by the State Recycling Program in the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, the USA Today states:

The average market value of a ton of mixed recyclable material arriving at a recovery facility in the state dropped from just over $180 in early 2011 to less than $80 at the end of 2015. That value has since rebounded a bit, Taylor found, to a little over $100, but it still leaves the industry struggling to extract profit from the millions of tons of recyclable material Americans throw away every year.

Some examples of items that are recycled, but that should not be recycled, are garden hoses and Christmas lights, which get stuck in the sorting machines and cause the recycling facilities to completely shut down in order to untangle the items from the machines.

It may be time for recycling facilities to do more educational programs to teach people what is and what is not allowed to be recycled.

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