Recycling Rules

I am an environmentally conscious person and one who is college educated but despite my desire to do it right I cannot figure out what I am supposed to be recycling and what should end up in the trash. Paper can be recycled although I'm not sure about paper-towels, soda cans should be recycled but how about aluminum take-out containers, glass bottles should be recycled but how about a broken wine-glass? How about non-rechargable batteries, used bulbs and wood?
But with all that said the one that causes the most headache is plastic. The recycling people think they have made it easy by putting some little number on the bottom the issue is that nobody knows what any of those symbols mean or more importantly which you can and which you cannot recycle. I hear you can recycle a water bottle but not a yogurt cup, you can recycle certain food containers but not the plastic utensils, plastic shopping bags can be brought back to the grocery store but the blue bags my NY Times gets delivered in makes it to the dump. How about bubble-wrap, packaging material and plastic toys?
Why can't this be slightly easy or clear?



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