Yes, you can recycle your yogurt lids. And you can do this because the lids are made of recyclable materials. This is why many recycling companies love the idea of having them in their recyclable items.
Make sure the item is clean and empty before placing it in your recycling. If the item has a flat, plastic lid, separate the lid from the item and put both in your recycling.
Foil lids should be rinsed and recycled too. If possible, ball-up several lids or place them inside an empty aluminum can. This will make them easier to recover for recycling.
Lids for dairy products are usually die cut aluminum lids with a seal layer that encloses the aluminum. The seal is heated in order to fasten the lid to the yoghurt container so that nothing drips out. Lids have been made this way for more than 50 years, but naturally the process has been improved and enhanced as well.
Yogurt containers are made of plastic, which will not biodegrade in landfills (but will give off toxic chemicals if incinerated). That plastic can be recycled into new products and reduce the need to divert petroleum resources for that purpose. Yogurt containers can also be reused around your home in a variety of ways.
No, there's no need to cut these off. Please recycle with the lids on to prevent any residual yoghurt or baby food squirting out!
As with glass jars, they are more difficult to recycle because they aren't made of a single material. Even if they are put in recycling containers, they will end up being incinerated or landfilled.
“Lids for dairy products are usually die cut aluminum lids with a seal layer that encloses the aluminum. The seal is heated in order to fasten the lid to the yoghurt container so that nothing drips out.
Seal it tightly
Use an airtight container to protect your yoghurt from strong odours. You can keep it in its original pot, but make sure you use the lid to close it, rather than just the foil seal.
Yoghurt pots should be disposed of in your local council's kerbside residual waste bin.
Aluminium Lids
Be sure to fold the can so the lids don't fall out. You can also wrap aluminium bits and pieces into your aluminium foil ball, which has to be at least the size of your fist before recycling.
Coffee cup lids don't fare much better – due to the low quality of the plastic, they aren't particularly attractive to buyers of secondhand plastic, and in any event they tend to fragment into small, unusable pieces. Some curbside programs recommend putting them straight in the trash bin.
Glass jars are collected as part of your recycling collection. This does not include glass cookware (Pyrex), ceramics and vases. You can recycle all types of jars lids as long as they're not black.
It just needs to pass a basic test: If it sticks to a magnet, it's steel. If not, then it's aluminum. Your bottle caps should then be grouped in cans of similar metal so they can be processed all together, so put your aluminum caps in an aluminum can and your steel caps into steel.
Guidance. The lid or cap of a recyclable items can go in the recycling bin. So that means things like jam jar lids and plastic bottle lids can be recycled. It's helpful for the recycling process if lids are removed from containers.
To keep yogurt safe to consume as long as possible, store it in an airtight container and make sure the lid is properly sealed. Yogurt can easily pick up other flavors due to its consistency if it does not have a tight lid.
When stored properly, the shelf-life of yogurt is seven to 14 days. Storing longer than that allows molds, yeast and slow-growing bacteria to grow and spoil your yogurt. If left out of the refrigerator for two hours or less, yogurt can safely be put back in the refrigerator to eat at a later time.
“Once the product is opened, the foil can be completely removed and discarded,” he said. So go ahead and rip that foil cover off. It does nothing once the product itself has been opened, since it no longer provides an airtight seal.
Inspired by the water-repelling qualities of the lotus leaf, the texture of this aluminum yogurt container features microscopic bumps to prevent liquids from sticking.
Start by folding the foil lid so that two of its rounded edges meet one another in the middle. Next, fold the lid in half so that there is a crease through the center between where the already-folded edges meet. Then, pinch or twist one end of the lid so that you've created an easily-grippable handle.
I know you are probably thinking, “Hold on; you're telling me the liquid on top of my yogurt is actually healthy for me?” Well, yes, and here's why. The liquid you are seeing is known as “whey” and contains protein and calcium, both essential nutrients.
Food tubs—Containers for sour cream, yogurt and the like, along with their lids, are a great thing to recycle at the curb or the drop-off, as long as they're empty and clean.
If your container is made of plastic #1, or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), you shouldn't reuse it according to the Sierra Club's plastic guide—instead just recycle these containers. Similarly, plastics #3 and #6 (#6 is styrofoam) should not be reused—they also cannot be recycled.
“It's not necessary to pour it out prior to eating your yogurt, as the whey has beneficial nutrients and helps enhance the creamy texture of the yogurt.” So not only does this stuff add nutritional value, but it also enhances the flavor and feel of the gut-enhancing snack.