How to Use unrecyclable in a Sentence

unrecyclable

adjective
Definition of unrecyclablenext
  • They can’t be washed like EPS, and any food contamination makes them unrecyclable.
    — Camille Harmer, Fortune, 12 July 2018
  • The risk is that devices like old iPads could become unrecyclable, at least in economic terms, for scrap companies that aren't getting paid some other way.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 12 Sep. 2018
  • Executives admit the new cup isn’t perfect — it’s still lined with plastic, rendering it unrecyclable by most standards — and the lid is still plastic as well.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 15 Nov. 2019
  • Since then, Southeast Asia has seen a huge spike in waste shipments — much of it contaminated plastic that is unrecyclable — from developed countries.
    — Hillary Leung, Time, 25 July 2019
  • Housed in a plastic bottle—often fully or partly unrecyclable.
    — National Geographic, 18 Apr. 2019
  • While recycling cotton-poly blends would take a big bite out of the apparel industry’s overall waste problem, the materials in more technical apparel are, as of yet, unrecyclable.
    — Laura Onstot, Outside Online, 6 Apr. 2021
  • The change did also nudge many US cities to improve their recycling infrastructure to accept previously unrecyclable goods, like pizza boxes, but San Francisco leads the way.
    — Nathan Mattise, Rolling Stone, 15 Oct. 2021
  • Many toothbrushes are unrecyclable because the composite plastics most are now made of are difficult, if not impossible, to break apart efficiently.
    — National Geographic, 14 June 2019
  • Unfortunately, that means more unrecyclable refuse getting thrown in the recycling bin: items such as bubble wrap, cellophane, Christmas lights, ribbons, clothing, foam and electronics.
    — Brian Chasnoff, ExpressNews.com, 29 Nov. 2019
  • The company’s mission is recycling the previously unrecyclable, such as cigarette butts, contact lenses and chewing gum.
    — Laura Daily, Washington Post, 25 June 2019
  • The ocean protection agency suggested that California move this year to prohibit the sale and distribution of cigarette filters, electronic cigarettes, plastic cigar tips, and unrecyclable tobacco product packaging.
    — James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2022
  • Officials said a contributing factor is people mistakenly trying to recycle plastic bags and not rinsing their plastics, glass and metal — leading to contamination that makes materials unrecyclable and increases costs for local governments.
    — David Eggert, Detroit Free Press, 23 Apr. 2019
  • That includes improving waste collection and recycling, redesigning products to eliminate packaging made from unrecyclable plastics, expanding refillables, and in some cases substituting other materials.
    — Laura Parker, National Geographic, 6 Oct. 2020
  • Single stream is convenient and may encourage broader participation, but contamination can render materials unrecyclable.
    — Nara Schoenberg, Chicago Tribune, 6 Oct. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unrecyclable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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