Recycling

This passage is about how different materials are recycled.

Lexile Level: 370L

Categories: Science & Technology Animals & Nature

Most people want to be good to the earth. You probably recycle. You put bottles and cans in a bin. A truck empties the bin. But what happens next? Glass is sorted by colors. Then it is crushed. Some crushed glass is used to make roads. The rest is melted. Then it is made into new bottles. Aluminum cans are also melted. Plastic is hard to recycle. There are many different kinds of plastic. Each kind is recycled differently. Plastic bottles have identification codes. Look at the recycling logo on a bottle. There is a number in the middle. People sort the plastic by these codes. It takes a long time. Paper is easier to recycle. It is shredded and mixed with water. Grocery bags and phone books are also easy to recycle. The egg carton in your refrigerator might have been the newspaper you read last month!