Question of the Week: How do you recycle?
Posted on November 9th, 2009 - 10:30 AM
We put cans and bottle out for curbside recycling. We take electronics to a collection center. Kids collect newspapers to raise money for school projects. Share what you do. November 15 is America Recycles Day.
How do you recycle?
Each week we ask a question related to the environment. Please let us know your thoughts as comments. Feel free to respond to earlier comments or post new ideas. Previous questions.
Tags: America Recycles Day
| Permalink | TrackBack
Subscribe to this blog's feed
Follow us on Twitter
Question of the Week
November 9th, 2009 at 11:48 am
We have 4 bins bought from a container store section. They are divided into paper/ cardboard, glass, plastics, metals/ tins and naturally they’re dropped off at the local collection for recycling site innour township. It’s about an 8 mile round trip and this happens to be the most convenient way. At a previous address we just had to set out the tall red recycling containers, which were large in size and once full ere very heavy to move down the driveway. The gain was that they drove up and picked it all up. Advantage ? This at home method seems to be the only version we ( township ) have for now. It feels better knowing that we can participate in something that keeps the consumer in check.
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Portland, OR has curbside recycling. We get a huge rolling bin where we can co-mingle newspaper, cardboard, plastic bottles, scrap paper, cans and metal. We also have curbside recycling for glass and motor oil, each in separate containers.
Our regional government, Metro, also collects paint which it recycles into new paint. We painted our house with recycled paint last year and it looks fabulous!
Our family also composts kitchen scraps and we try to precycle by avoiding unnecessary packaging and using reusable products like cloth grocery bags.
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
We have a recylcing program at work. Recycling containers are conveniently placed throughout the building and outside areas.
The recycling is collected on a regular basis by the staff and taken to the recycling company. We have an account set up and all recycling payments goes on their books. They disburse a check to us upon request and the money is used for staff parties etc.
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Yes!! My wife and I try to recycle as much as we can, but it’s tough, especially since we live in an apartment and can’t always recycle things…like we’d love to compost BUT there’s no space for that. But we recycle all of our paper; we toss the credit card envelopes with the plastic and recycle the rest. This is all curbside once a week. My building where I work doesn’t recycle, so I sometimes take the paper that we don’t use and bring it home to recycle…and the bottles/cans. Also, FREECYCLE in Yahoo! is a good way to ‘recycle’ the things that you don’t use and feel bad about throwing away. And even using Craigslist is a good way to recycle things that you don’t want anymore…by selling or giving away for free.
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
recycling is not an easy thing,it is not just to collect plastics and think it is over,first we must think of the recycling industry and then proceed in recycling process.
so lets try to make products that are environmental friendly and also think of recycling industries before focusing only on recycling itself
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
for countries who do not have recycling indusries,what ideas can you give them
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
My current job duties are 90% recycling procedure.
At home, I am mostly concentrating myself on a clean environment hygienic.
When you own your property, it is always better to achieve certain project more efficiently.
Encouraging, anyone around me to continue in the same recycle way.
I dream to recycle in a large scale.
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Unfortunatley our community does not have a mandatory recycling program. However, our collection company now offers a service in whcih we can put all of our recyclables in one container-trash in another. The result is our recycling container is always full at pickup time and our “trash” container is only about 1/4 full. So we recycle cCorrugated cardboard, chip board - cereal, soda, shoe boxes etc, Newspaper, magazines, junk mail and light colored paper, phone books, plastics #1-#7, steel cans, aluminum cans and foils and glass - clear, amber, green.
We also compost for the garden and take any hazardous household materials to the local Household Hazardous Waste facility.
Our community has the resources if a citizen wants to recycle but it is purely voluntary…
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
We take used clothes and sell them to foreign countries and that
which is not sellable we turn into rags and sell as cleaning rags and
that which is not sold as cleaning rags goes to dump which opens
up a new market that this product could be burnt for energy, what do you think. Ken
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
LOOK FOR MORE THINGS TO RECYCLE!!!
Most things can be recycled in one way or another. Take a second look at your trash and see how it can be recycled.
JUNK MAIL - Before recycling your junk mail with your papers, take a second to see if you can be taken off their mailing list. This will save paper and your time!!
TINFOIL and FOIL COOKING TRAYS - Used tinfoil and disposable tin cooking trays can be mixed in with your aluminum can recyclables. After you unwrap those leftovers, toss that foil in the bin.
PLASTIC BAGS - Plastic shopping bags, Ziploc bags and plastic newspaper delivery bags can all be recycled. Use one of your reusable shopping bags to collect all of this waste and utilize the Plastic Bag Recycling Bins located at most super market chains on your next visit.
BATTERIES and LIGHTBULBS - All batteries (cell phone, laptop, regular AAA’s, AA’s, C’s, etc…) can be recycled along with old light bulbs (incandescent or CFL). Throwing away these things can risk dangerous heavy metals leaching into ground waters. IKEA and Best Buy are two popular main store chains that have special bins for these items.
CLOTHES - Before tossing those used threads, look for another option. See if there is anyone looking for some hand-me-downs or if there are local clothes drives. Some organizations will come around door to door collecting clothes on a preset date. You can also check your local paper or local house of worship bulletins for other clothing drives.
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
In my house separated: plastics, polystyrene, cans,
glass, wood and paper, these are delivered every 15
days the staff of a cooperative that provides the
recycling. Other types of materials considered waste
deliver every day to the staff of public sanitation. In time, with oil frying the mother of my wife makes homemade soap.
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
I use differnt bins for, paper, organic and glass. So difficult after to bring to the public container for it because is so far, but it worth the effort.
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Our community- Arlington, Virginia - just gave us full size recycling cans as big as the trash cans- yeah! We can co-mingle paper, cans and now plastics type 1 & 2. We pass clothes and other items around the neighborhood. I take plastic hangers back to the store- even if they were melted down for new items, I hate to see the embedded energy get wasted. I really wish the packaging industry would ease up- shrink wrap over plastic boxes even for for unbreakable items and clamshells that are impossible to open even after you purchase the items!
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
I recycle paper, newspapers, cardboard, shredded paper and plastic bottles to a local company who hires the handicapped and other people who can’t get regular jobs. Abilities will take all of the above. I drop them off once a week when I drive to town. I live in a rural area. The recyclers we pay taxes to recycle, doesn’t recycle the things we used to put in, so I started taking all my stuff to Abilities Unlimited. I encourage everyone who will, to do the same thing. The people who work there earn a living and we know that they recycle it. They also take old computers, tv’s and other appliances. No more throwing them in the trash. They also have a store on the square that recycles our books, clothes, and other things we don’t want to throw away..
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
We’ve had curbside recycling for years but what I am really proud of is this last year I convinced our family to start recycling food waste as part of the “garden waste” recycling program. We bought a new Simple Human kitchen trash can which has two divisions under one lid, and we line one with a compostable liner from Biobag. Every day or two I carry out the biobag — which takes care of the “yuck factor” for my wife. Shocking how much global warming methane our food waste makes when we throw it in the garbage!
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I am lucky in that my apartment complex has recycling bins in the basement for cans and paper goods. And thankfully my work Green Team now has drop off boxes for batteries!
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Besides the usual cans, plastic , bottles, newspaper, I use a shreder and use the paper in my compost bin. I place all organic leftover and cover with grass clipping and the shredded paper to make my own soil. I have red worms in the bin to help in the composting and they are fabulous.
[Reply]
November 9th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Unfortunately recycling isn’t manditory in our community - Hilton Head Island, SC - but our trash collection service offers recycling pickup for an additional fee. They take just almost everything although on occation they don’t take our cardboard and we wind up dropping that off at the recycling center. It’s too bad that recycling isn’t given a higher priority here and most people don’t opt for paying the extra fee to have recyclables picked up. I will say however, when I go to the recycling center it is quite busy. This is a resort community and the hotels and vacationers have no means of recycling which is a huge waste. The visitors to our island would love to be able to recycle but the town of Hilton Head can’t seem to move forward to make it happen. Seems like a no brainer to me but there is constant resistance from our local government.
[Reply]
November 10th, 2009 at 3:30 am
All paper is taken to a collection site. Glass and plastic are deposited in a special container at the local collection site. Newspaper are saved and deposited in the container at the collection site. Aluminum cans are saved and traded at the collection site. Electronic items, computers are taken to the special collection area and placed in bins or containers. Paint is taken to the county collection site and placed in special bins.
[Reply]
November 10th, 2009 at 4:01 am
We pour out waste materials every morning when whistle blower from local municipality comes to collect the same in a handheld trolly.
Really we do not enquire how they handle waste materials.
We heard about waste management but don’t know if agency has taken initiative for proper disposal of waste material.
[Reply]
November 10th, 2009 at 7:10 am
Recycling of any products such as can, clothes, batteries, often result in production of hazardous things which might cause health problems. so an alternate method of recycling way should be found out, so that human life and environment will remain undamaged for a lot of years…..
[Reply]
November 10th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Yes, my wife and I recycle to the extent possible. We collect (using plastic bins provided by a local municipality) steel cans, plastic bottles, and glass containers. But when the bins are full we have to load them into our car and drive them (six miles one way) to a collection center. So, on the one hand we’re doing the right thing (recycling), while on the other, emitting air pollutants (like carbon dioxide) while driving a car to the recycling center. At least 500 other suburbanites do the same thing. And, believe it or not, here on the 10th of November folks are still outside with their lawn mowers, polluting the air with gases and noise, just to have the all-American lawn (and don’t get me started on the gazillions of dollars lawn owners spend annually to have chemical-based fertilizers dumped on their spreads).
[Reply]
November 10th, 2009 at 9:38 am
I am fortunate to live in a county with a waste-to-energy plant, Pinellas County, Florida. In this county, we practice TRUE recycling…recover, recycle, and reuse. The plant takes our garbage (+3,000 tons per day) and generates enough electricity to supply the 100% power needs of 15,000 residences. The electrical sales from the plant add $1.5 million dollars per MONTH in revenue to the county. It has been operating since 1983 and is equipped with air emissions control which exceed EPA standards.
The sad thing is, there are opponents to the plant who push “recycling”. We must remember that “Recycling ” means reusing the material we spend so much time recovering and sorting. A lot of what is being burned at the Pinellas plant is garbage which has been sorted by the citizen, collected by a separate carbon emitting recycled goods truck, sorted by material type (emitting more carbon), only to find there is no market for the good. That is, the good is not reused. Therefore, it is dumped into the incinerator where it is recycled…carbon to energy.
My point…recycling is not recycling unless a marketable good is produced and reused.
I think all the “recycling” proponents out there (and at EPA, FDEP) need to think about this! RECYCLING WITHOUT REUSE IS NOT RECYCLING (BY LAW).
[Reply]
November 10th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
We have no cubside recycling so we take plastic to a charity, newspapers to the local school or library. When we go into the city we take cans, glass and other plastic to the city recycle center. We take electronics, etc. to the e-cycling center open once a month. We donate clothes to charity. We shred the junk mail with out name on it and recycle the shreds with the newspapers. The food scraps go into the composte bin. Unfortunately, there are still some items that have to go in the trash. Maybe that will change in the future or it may go to a power plant to make electricity.
[Reply]
November 10th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
We, in Lakeview Terrace California, have an active community when it comes to recycling. We have large commercial bins delivered to us about twice a year to place things in, we have a local e-trash yard, we also recycle our horse poop for fertilizer, we have brown pick up cans for this, we have an active swap meet where neighbors recycle and trade. The closed Lopez Canyon Landfill is nearby and they are involved in many ways to recycle. They have programs and tours, and is working with our community. Our schools have programs, our neighborhood council distributes information, and we have accessible recycling sites around our community that makes it easy to drop off bottles, cans, and paper.
[Reply]
November 10th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
In building my house I used mostly recycled materials, low embodied energy materials (no concrete which does not degrade or lend itself to recycling ), and natural building materials adobe, straw, rock from on site. Since the house is small 300 sq feet, and the solar electrical system is 12v, many of the components recycled from old cars and buses, I saved a great deal of $. Particularly on used recycled lumber, keeping an eye out for toxics in selecting my materials. With cardboard for insulation in the walls and ceiling, a free, abundant, non toxic material, and a relatively easy to work with. I also found a bunch of old tin roofing that I high graded for siding, and roofing. For the interior I found a white clay that works for finish coat when mixed with wheat paste. Although in the US one would bump into numerous building codes, a form of enforced consumption if you ask me. Other wise the concept for my house is one that could be adapted to third world economic conditions with some technical support and micro financing.
[Reply]
November 11th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Our non-profit is partnering with the City Government to ban plastic bags. Public opinion is very good & a resolution will be introduced December 1, 2009. We currently have collections bins in different parts of the city & cooperation has been good.
[Reply]
HCM reply on November 13, 2009 3:55 pm:
It is really disappointing to me that the issue of plastic verses paper bags often continues based on emotion rather than facts in most communities. Before I would ever vote for a ban, I would ask to see a full life-cycle study of plastic vs paper to see the true energy uses in production, transportation, recovery, etc. The lighter product usually uses less energy and emits less to the atmosphere (in this case, plastic bags). Plastic often uses less water too. Sometimes “feel good” solutions like legislation and bans create larger problems
[Reply]
November 12th, 2009 at 12:58 am
We take our used household batteries about a block and a half away to the city library and recycle them there at the city’s collection center. We have also started a program for people who need to do insoline shots to collect and recycle the needles. There is also a motor oil collection program here. And used electronic equipment and things like printer cartredges can be taken to the computer store and turned in. Mission Viejo is one of the top seven communities in the country when it comes to recycling and residents making use of recycling programs. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.
[Reply]
November 13th, 2009 at 11:28 am
We take our paperboard, cardboard, plastics, glass and paper to our regional recycling center.
It’s great to see so many others bringing all their recyclables to the same place knowing all that is there at the recycling center and NOT in a landfill!
[Reply]
November 15th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Many vegetable and fruit cans today have curved bottoms not the rough seamed bottom of the older cans. If the bottom of the can is smooth, chances are it is aluminium and can be re-cycled accordingly…
[Reply]
November 16th, 2009 at 7:30 am
We also send plastic bottles for recycling. But before that we damage the plastic bottle to avaoid refilling of fake products.
[Reply]
November 16th, 2009 at 9:07 am
we don’t use recycling method in my living city. I think it’s important problem.
[Reply]
November 16th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
I am a university student and on campus last spring an exchange student was searching for a place to recycle her plastic soda bottle. I quickly glanced around and realized that there was not a recycling bin in sight. We began discussing the difficulties we face as students in finding ways to properly recycle. The university offers recycling bins in populated areas of campus, but in many of the off campus areas in which students live, recycling services are not provided.
I lived in an apartment a few blocks from campus and did not receive recycling pick-up. My roommate and I would have to drive our recyclables to the recycling center if we wanted to recycle. I must admit that we did not recycle as much as we should have simply because it was incredibly inconvenient and time consuming. We had every intention of doing the right thing with our plastic bottles and aluminum cans — letting them pile up for weeks in paper bags in the corner of the kitchen — but when it came down to it, we would throw them in the dumpster 3/4 of the time.
I was raised in a family that always recycled their paper, glass, and cans, so when I would throw the recyclables in the dumpster I would feel guilty. I wish that recycling would become an amenity that was offered everywhere. The infrastructure needs to be revamped so that recycling can become as convenient as throwing the trash out for all residential areas.
[Reply]
November 17th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Our township recycling coordinator hosted an event that was successful on many levels and will be repeated and perhaps instituted as a permanent feature. A “Recycle Sap ‘n Shop” was held in October where folks brought usable items of all sorts to the “Environmental Center” and either donated or swapped them for other things. It was a day full of stories of individuals delighted to find things and groups sending them overseas to communities in need - such as in Africa and the Philippines. Helping the climate is a growing effort everywhere and for all ages.
For a small donation, we gave them a large recycled-from-plastic shopping bag to fill up. The bag has the township logo the Energy Commission’s logos on the sides to remind people to “Reduce, Ruse and Recycle.” Reusing already produced items is the ultimate in recycling!
[Reply]
November 18th, 2009 at 9:16 am
The town we live in has recently begun a recycling program and has distributed tall trash containers to all homes. We recycle all cans, plastic, cardboard and paper trash in our home. We also try to bring home plastic containers and cups from take out restaurants to recycle. This has reduced our regular landfill trash by almost half.
We also save batteries to be returned to the recycling center and compact fluorescent bulbs to be returned to Home Depot. We bring used clothing and household items to Goodwill and donate old bicycles to organizations that repair bicycles for the needy.
There are a lot of uses for things we might have thrown away in the past and sometimes it just takes a little thought.
[Reply]
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:01 am
i take the cans we save down to the metal recycling center. thats all we can recycle because our communities recycling center was tooking away
[Reply]