{"id":9617,"date":"2025-07-28T05:28:40","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T09:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routeware.com\/?p=9617"},"modified":"2025-07-24T21:27:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T01:27:11","slug":"whats-the-real-cost-of-contamination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routeware.com\/en_gb\/blog\/whats-the-real-cost-of-contamination\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the Real Cost of Contamination?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recycling contamination costs the U.S. more than <\/span><\/b>$3.5 billion every year<\/span><\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/b>
\n<\/span>But what does that really mean for your city, your fleet\u2014and your bottom line?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Contamination happens when non-recyclable items end up in the recycling bin: greasy pizza boxes, plastic bags, garden hoses, Styrofoam, or even dirty recyclables like unwashed peanut butter jars. When these items mix with clean recyclables, they lower the quality of the material and can spoil entire loads, sending them straight to the landfill.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s Not Just a Messy Bin. It\u2019s a Multi-Billion-Dollar Problem.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

When contamination enters the waste stream:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n