A STEP BEYOND OUR COMFORT ZONES - WEEK 4

Week #4

Day 1

This week I report some restrictions on recycling. All this time I have been recycling I never had the time to fully understand these restrictions and recycled guilt free some items I shouldn't have throughout the years.

YOU DON’T HAVE THE TIME? 
FOLLOW MY POSTS THIS WEEK TO LEARN WHAT YOU CAN RECYCLE

TERRACYCLE OFFERS FREE PROGRAMS TO RECYCLE HARD-TO-RECYCLE ITEMS: JOIN, COLLECT SHIP FOR FREE OR COLLECT AND GIVE THEM TO ME

Solo® Cup Recycling Program (#6 plastic cups), PUR® Recycling Program (Pur pitchers and filters), Energy Bar Wrapper Recycling Program: LÄRABAR®, Brita® Recycling Program (Brita pitchers and filters) and many other FREE PROGRAMS

NO NON-RECYCLABLE PLASTICS

Many plastics are still not recyclable. FOAM (Styrofoam®) and any other plastics not listed in the recycling guidelines are not recyclable because stable markets do not exist for these materials. Similar guidelines exist in Denver. 

There are recycling centers for this material such as the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) in Boulder or SustainabilityRecycling Center in Denver. 

They accept electronics, appliances, #6 white block foam, plastic bags, bubble wrap, mattresses, yoga mats, cooking oil, bicycles, clean porcelain toilets and sinks, plate glass windows, scrap metal and more for recycling and reuse.  

Day 2

NO PLASTIC BAGS

Plastic bags are the WORST contaminant in the recycling bin. When placed in a curbside bin, they get wet and dirty and cannot be recycled. Plastic bags with a #2 or #4 can be recycled at the CHaRM if they are clean, dry and empty. They may also be recycled at participating grocery stores; find a list of participating stores. 

See why plastic bags are the #1 contaminant. https://youtu.be/g1adTbOMl9k

NETTED PRODUCT BAGS that resemble fabric fishing nets, like the nylon bags used for citrus or potatoes ARE NOT RECYCLABLE, because they can get tangled in the sorting equipment at recycling facilities. Netted produce bags made from nylon and other fabric-like synthetics are trash and should be placed in the black bin.

Cheese wrappers, Ziploc baggies, the plastic wrap that comes around your toilet paper CAN NOT BE RECYCLED. GOOD NEWS is that many drop-off sites also accept these items and more. These are made from polyethylene, just like the grocery bags.

NO MATERIALS IN PLASTIC BAGS

Workers have to slow the conveyor belts to rip open bags that contain recyclables and then add the bag to the heap of bags bound for the landfill. These inefficiencies waste time and money.

Please review Earth911.com and PlasticFilmRecycling.org to see where and what bags/wraps/film are accepted and to learn what is collected curbside in your community. 

I saw this plastic bag during my morning run. One wonders where these bags will end up.

YEAH! NOW YOU CAN RECYCLE COLGATE PRODUCTS FOR FREE Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Program

Day 3

NO SHREDDED PAPER 

Shredded paper is too small to sort—the pieces fall through the cracks of the sorting machines, stick to the belts and end up all over the floor. 

Please avoid shredding when possible because it destroys the potential for recycling. Compost shredded materials in your curbside compost bin (if you have one) or recycle them with paperboard at the Longmont or Boulder Recycling Drop-off Center and recycling section in Denver. 

Please search online for your own city if do not live in these cities.

NO SCRAP METAL

Scrap metal items of any size should not go in your curbside bin. These items cause excessive damage to the recycling equipment. 

Please take these materials to the CHaRM in Boulder or the Longmont or Nederland Recycling Drop-off Center-look for the bin marked "Scrap Metal." 

In Denver area, Denver Metal Recycling accepts scrap metal. 

Please search online for your own city if do not live in these cities. 

YES, ALUMINUM FOIL CAN BE RECYCLED. REUSE IT FIRST. AND CLEAN BEFORE RECYCLING. same for foiled yogurt lids.

Day 4

NO HAZARDOUS WASTE

Hazardous waste such as paint, automotive fluids, car batteries and pesticides must be taken to the Boulder County Household Hazardous Waste Facility, not the Recycling Center. Learn more about what's considered hazardous and how to properly manage it. 

For Denver you may look at the trash and recyclingsection of the city web site. 

Please search online for your own city if do not live in these cities.

NO DIAPERS OR OTHER BIO-HAZARDOUS WASTE

Syringes and needles, diapers and other sanitary products are not recyclable. Check out the A - Z Recycling Guide for information about handling sharps safely.

Day 5

NO FLATTENED CONTAINERS

The single-stream sorting equipment separates "flats" (paper) from "rounds" (containers). When containers are flattened, the equipment mistakenly sends them to the paper side of the facility, significantly contaminating the paper we're sending to market.

NO CAPS OR LIDS ON GLASS BOTTLES OR JARS

Metal lids can be removed and recycled loose in the bin. Plastic lids and caps from glass bottles and jars should be thrown away.

REDUCE OR BUY REUSABLE PENS, MOST PENS CAN NOT BE RECYCLED. TERRACYCLE recycles pens if you pay.

Hoewever TERRACYCLE offers many recycling opportunities for FREE, for example:

DETERGENT BOTTLES (TIDE)- Products they can be made into are limited

Day 6

NO LIQUIDS

When we compact bottles for shipping, liquids drip, splatter and explode all over the floor, creating a sticky, smelly mess on the sorting floor. Please completely empty and quickly rinse out all containers before recycling.

NO CERAMICS OR NON-RECYCLABLE GLASS

YES, GLASS CAN BE RECYCLED but NOT BROKEN GLASS or LIGHT BULBS OR MIRRORS

Ceramic, china, dishes, mirrors, light bulbs, Pyrex®, porcelain and window glass should not go in the bin! Their different melting points and chemical compositions will ruin new glass bottles. If our buyer sees just one of these on the top of a load of glass, the entire load could be rejected.

NO FROZEN FOOD CONTAINERS

Paperboard boxes that were designed for freezer foods, such as frozen pizza and entrées, have a plastic polymer sprayed on them to protect against freezer burn. That same coating prevents the box from breaking up in the recycling process. These materials are not recyclable OR compostable.

Day 7

RECYCLE YOUR FABRIC. BUT THINK DONATE FIRST

Only about 15% of the 14.3 million tons of textile waste generated yearly in the U.S. is recycled as reported in Recycle Nation.  5% of the waste in landfills is textile as estimated by The Council for Textile Recycling.

Even though most curbside recycling doesn’t collect fabric there are many organizations throughout the country who does such as GrowNYC, East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse in Oakland, CA, the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse and Eco-Cycle in Boulder.

My dress from when I was 1 year old. Watch this autobiographical movie I made using this very dress.