Today, on World Environment Day, and joining the World Recycling Day writing challenge, initiated by the Spanish-speaking moderators ( @LightRich , @AlejandraMaria , @Jesi , @FaridTDF , @SilvyC and myself), I want to talk about the different categories we can find on Google Maps related to recycling places and when it is better to use each of one them.
Fortunately, more and more cities and towns in the world are implementing different types of initiatives to facilitate recycling, but adding those places in Google Maps can be a little bit confusing sometimes, as Google Maps currently has 3 different categories related to recycling.
I am writing this post, as in the city where I live (Buenos Aires City), people have been using these categories in an inconsistent way, so I would like to share my opinion about where to use each category.
The categories related to Recycling in Google Maps are the following:
- Recycling drop-off location (“Punto de recolección de reciclables” in spanish)
- Recycling center (“Centro de reciclado” in spanish)
- Bottle & Can redemption center (“Centro de reciclado de latas y botellas” in spanish)
Recycling drop-off location category
I use this category for places that collect different kinds of recyclables but not process them. I mean… places that are dedicated only to receive the recyclables but do not have the ability to transform them or separate them in any way.
In Buenos Aires City we have different kinds of Recycling drop-off locations. Some of them are just very big trash containers located every two blocks and other ones are much bigger even with people working inside them.
In none of these places the recyclables are stored for a long time, nor are transformed or separated. They are retired on a daily basis to move them to bigger recycling plants or fabrics.
In the self-service drop-off locations, you can only dispose of paper, paperboard, plastic, bottles, glass, and metal.
You can find this kind of container located in the streets (every two blocks), in the supermarkets or in big buildings.
The recyclables are retired by the city garbage trucks or by different urban recycling cooperatives. Afterwards, they are transported to the big recycling centers that the city has or directly sold to different fabrics that reutilize them.
In the ones where there are people working, are located in squares and parks and are called Green Points.
You can take the same recyclables as in the previous ones, and also, you can dispose of old batteries, used oil, old electronics devices, etc…
Recycling Center category
I use this category only for places where the recycles are processed in any way. Big places where they are separated, cleaned, crushed, packed, etc…
As you can see, Drop-off location places are different from recycling centers principally because in the second ones the recyclables are processed while in the first ones they are only received.
Buenos Aires City now has sixteen recycling centers like the one in the following image.
The recyclables are transported to these big centers by the city trash trucks every day and once there, they are processed by big machines first and then manually by different cooperatives that work together with the city employees. They are separated by item, crushed and then packed to be sold afterwards to different fabrics that utilize them as raw material for their products.
If you know spanish you can read about all the Buenos Aires City’s recycling circuits explained in this web site.
Bottle & can redemption center category
In these kinds of places a consumer can take their PET bottles (bottles like the ones you buy with your preferred soda), or cans and receive refunds for them.
In Buenos Aires there are not yet this kind of place, so I do not have photos to graphic them, so if you have seen one of these places in your town or city, perhaps you can tell us about them.
Does your town or city have recycling centers to fit into these categories? Are they similar or different to the ones in my city? Have you had to add any of those places to Google Maps? Have you used the correct category? Please let me know in the comments!
This post will be part of the 50th #AwarenessChallenge and #StateChallenge Meetup related to the impact of plastics in our oceans. Thanks @Denise_Barlock for selecting my post to participate in your great challenge! 
from Chittagong city,
re-used.
Little by little people is colaborating more and more, but not at that high level! So… congratulations!!!