REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLING - The How To and How NOT To

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I have received a lot of questions about what can and cannot be recycled. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, approximately 80 percent of what Americans throw away is recyclable. Recycling reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators thus providing us more land. Also, landfills are disgusting places that are horrible on the environment being that toxic waste from the landfills seep into the land and water supply poisoning our food and drinking water. It happens everyday. Recycling limits the amount of trash being sent to the landfill. •Prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials; •Saves energy; •Reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change; •Helps sustain the environment for future generations; •Helps create new well-paying jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries in the United States. Listed below is a general list of recyclables. Check with your local recycling company to see what they do and do not accept. Every city/state is different in what they are willing to take in for recycling.

PAPER
Here is the good news; paper accounts for more than a half of all recyclables collected in the US. Bad news is paper and paperboard products represent the largest portion of our municipal solid waste stream
• Shredded paper(place shredded paper ONLY in bag before putting in cart)
• White and Colored Writing Paper, Computer Paper, Magazines, Newspapers with Inserts
• Junk Mail
• Corrugated Cardboard
• Cereal / Cracker Boxes
• Phone Books
• Books (Hard / Soft Covers)
• Paper Egg Cartons
• Soda Boxes
• Milk Cartons / Juice Boxes
• Brown Paper Bags

Tin or Aluminum Cans (lightly rinsed)
• Food / Pet Food Cans
• Soda / Beer Cans
• Pots and Pans
• Small Metal Appliances

Plastic (lightly rinsed)
• Plastic Bottles
• Two Liter Bottles
• Milk Jugs
• Bleach Bottles
• Rigid Plastics (Crates, Hampers, Toys, Furniture)

Small Electronic Waste
• Cell Phones
• Cameras
• Peripherals
• Rechargeable batteries

Do NOT put the following items in your blue cart

• Hazardous Waste
• Medical Waste/Needles
• Light Bulbs
• Batteries
• Garbage
• Food
• Pizza Boxes
• Snack Food Bags (Chips / Popcorn Bags)
• Fast Food Containers, Cups, Wrappers
• Scrap Metal (Metal Pipe / Hangers / Wires / Auto Parts)
• Motor Oil Bottles
• Concrete / Rocks / Gravel / Wood
• Yard Waste (Grass / Leaves / Plant Trimmings / Tree Branches / Prunings)
• Styrofoam / Styrofoam Peanuts
• Plastic Film
• Plastic Wrap / Dry Cleaning Bags
• Computer Monitors
• TVs

Recycling 1 aluminum can = 3 hrs of energy to power a TV. -Can Manufacturers Institute
On average, recycling creates five times as many jobs as sending trash to the landfill. -EPA
For every 3' high stack of newspapers recycled, 1 tree is saved. -American Forestry & Paper Products


If you are not sure about what your city/state accepts as recycling or where to take your recyclables if your home does not have curbside pick up, check out these following sites for assistance; Earth911 1-800-RECYCLING.com