Are refrigerator water filters recyclable? With the increasing popularity of eco-friendly lifestyles, recycling has become a regular practice in many households.
One way to be eco-friendly is by recycling and reusing items that can be recycled, such as water filters for refrigerators. Is that item recyclable? Read this article until end to know the answer for it. In this blog, we also have an article about midea brand refrigerator review that you might want to read about it.
Are Refrigerator Water Filters Recyclable?
When purchasing a new refrigerator, one of the last items on your mind may be the need to change the water filter, which should be done about every six months.
Refrigerator water filters aid in the removal of impurities from drinking water. While these filters guarantee that the water from your water dispenser or ice maker is safe to drink, they are another source of trash that may rapidly accumulate.
Although many people just put water filters in the garbage, which is normally disposed of in a landfill, many of the materials used in refrigerator filters are recyclable, and some may be recycled multiple times.
One of the most shocking things I discovered was how few manufacturers provide free refrigerator filter recycling programs. You would almost expect recycling them to be a regular and readily available service in this day and age, but I have discovered that this is not the case.
What Are Water Filters For Refrigerators?
A refrigerator water filter is a device that cleanses distributed drinking water from the refrigerator. The majority of refrigerator filters are NSF 42 certified, which means they remove just chlorine from water. Eliminating chlorine is beneficial since the majority of drinking water is treated with it. Additionally, removing chlorine improves the taste and fragrance of the water.
However, many contaminants are just too big to be removed by a refrigerator water filter. Lead and chromium-6 are two of the most often seen contaminants on that list. For instance, there are still instances of lead pollution in various areas of the United States.
Over 286 million persons in the United States get their drinking water through EPA-approved community water systems. These facilities adhere to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and Safe Water Drinking Act purification criteria.
Each year, over 30 million Americans get ill as a result of drinking polluted water, according to a research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP).
Materials recyclable from refrigerator filters
Refrigerator filters are manufactured from a variety of recyclable materials. Filters may be made of plastic or metal and can be filled with activated carbon. All of these materials are recyclable and may be repurposed into a variety of useful (and saleable) goods.
Carbon
Used activated carbon may be cleaned and regenerated (re-activated) commercially several times, enabling it to be reused indefinitely. Recycling materials are often used for the following purposes:
- Adsorption of contaminants in commercial establishments (e.g. waste disposal areas)
- Contaminated groundwater treatment
- Using different adsorption medium to remove vapors and particles
Plastics
Plastics are removed from refrigerator filters, sorted, and pelletized first. These polymers may be transformed into an almost infinite variety of items. Certain items, such as park seats and outdoor furniture, may then be recycled (twice recycled). The following list is just a sampling of the products that can be manufactured from recycled water filter polymers, but it illustrates how diverse they can be:
- Brushes made of plastic
- Handles for razors
- Cups
- Boards de coupe
- Benches in parks
- Furniture for the outdoors
- Racks for bicycles
- Containers for watering
Metals
Aluminum is a common metal found in the casings of several refrigerator water filters. Aluminum is a valuable metal and one of the most recyclable elements available.
Aluminum is readily recycled into new aluminum, which saves more than 90% of the energy required to manufacture new metal aluminum. It retains its quality throughout the recycling process, enabling it to be converted into a wide variety of recyclable items.
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