This is an issue that of course occurs. Different municipalities handle that scenario differently. Of course the ideal situation would be dry cardboard. You can check with your local program to see how they handle wet and soggy cardboard due to rain exposure.

To answer your first question, yes, many products are turned into different products in the recycling process. Sometimes it is the same type of product, but it varies by material. And to answer your second question, that depends on if your program is a single stream program or dual stream program. Single stream programs allow all recyclable materials to be placed in the same bin, while dual stream separate paper and cardboard materials from everything else. In some locations glass can have a separate pick-up altogether. You should check with your local program to see the specifics of their program requirements.

Mostly receipts should go in the garbage. Many receipts are made from thermal paper, which is not typically accepted for recycling. Only bills that are 100% paper would be considered recycling, but regular paper is not the norm for bills and receipts. You should also not toss anything less that 2″ in diameter into recycling as the sorting machines can not deal with very small items. So if paper is ripped into bits, it is not suitable for recycling because it will just get lost along the way.

We can’t do much about items getting wet from rain, but hopefully you are able to keep most of your recyclables dry in a bin.

What do we do in the rain. Everything will get wet? Is recycle activites halted during bad weather

Yes, for the most part. Black plastics are often not accepted in recycling programs. There are a few areas that do accept it, but for the most part, there is not much of a market for black plastic because the pigment will mix with all the other plastics and any company that buys that post-consumer plastic will have to make their product in black because you can’t remove the color.