Top 10 Reasons to Recycle
Good For Our Economy: American companies rely on recycling programs to provide the raw materials they need to make new products.
Creates Jobs: Recycling in the U.S. is a $236 billion a year industry. More than 56,000 recycling and reuse enterprises employ 1.1 million workers nationwide.
Reduces Waste: The average American discards seven and a half pounds of garbage every day. Most of this garbage goes into to landfills, where it's compacted and buried.
Good For The Environment: Recycling requires far less energy, uses fewer natural resources, and keeps waste from piling up in landfills.
Saves Energy: Recycling offers significant energy savings over manufacturing with virgin materials. (Manufacturing with recycled aluminum cans uses 95% less energy.)
Preserves Landfill Space: No one wants to live next door to a landfill. Recycling preserves existing landfill space.
Prevents Global Warming: In 2000, recycling of solid waste prevented the release of 32.9 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MMTCE, the unit of measure for greenhouse gases) into the air.
Reduces Water Pollution: Making goods from recycled materials generates far less water pollution than manufacturing from virgin materials.
Protects Wildlife: Using recycled materials reduces the need to damage forests, wetlands, rivers and other places essential to wildlife.
Creates New Demand: Recycling and buying recycled products creates demand for more recycled products, decreasing waste and helping our economy.
Credit: National Recycling Coalition
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Recycling in Fairfax County
Here are some tips on what you can and can't recycle.
Can:
- All glass and plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Not the lids, just the bottles.
- All steel cans (like soup and vegetable cans).
- All mixed paper. This includes newspapers, regular paper, small boxes, phone books, anything that will tear. Put it into a brown paper bag. So long as it's smaller than 36"x 36", it's recyclable.
Cannot:
- Anything plastic that is not a bottle with a neck or a number 1 or 2 on the bottom.
- Glass windows, dishes, anything non-bottle or jar.
- Paper or boxes with a lot of food, wax or plastic content, like pizza boxes, paper plates or cups.
- Corrugated or 2-ply cardboard. This includes moving boxes, shipping boxes and other heavy-duty cardboard.
- Paper or hardback books. (only exception: phone books)
- Building materials, rocks, etc.
Since I added mixed paper to the recycles I put out, I've reduced our trash by at least 1/3. Most of our mixed paper is packaging from food, toys and other purchases; I also put out office paper, junk mail and not-so-junk mail without account numbers.
Click here for a great color flyer about dos and don'ts.
Click here for a full list of everything we can recycle, including stuff that can be dropped off at the facility on Ox Road.
Can:
- All glass and plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Not the lids, just the bottles.
- All steel cans (like soup and vegetable cans).
- All mixed paper. This includes newspapers, regular paper, small boxes, phone books, anything that will tear. Put it into a brown paper bag. So long as it's smaller than 36"x 36", it's recyclable.
Cannot:
- Anything plastic that is not a bottle with a neck or a number 1 or 2 on the bottom.
- Glass windows, dishes, anything non-bottle or jar.
- Paper or boxes with a lot of food, wax or plastic content, like pizza boxes, paper plates or cups.
- Corrugated or 2-ply cardboard. This includes moving boxes, shipping boxes and other heavy-duty cardboard.
- Paper or hardback books. (only exception: phone books)
- Building materials, rocks, etc.
Since I added mixed paper to the recycles I put out, I've reduced our trash by at least 1/3. Most of our mixed paper is packaging from food, toys and other purchases; I also put out office paper, junk mail and not-so-junk mail without account numbers.
Click here for a great color flyer about dos and don'ts.
Click here for a full list of everything we can recycle, including stuff that can be dropped off at the facility on Ox Road.
It's only windy on trash day
Is it just me or do extreme wind gusts only seem to happen on Tuesdays and Fridays?
It's always annoying to see flying trash in our common areas, lawns, shrubs and streets. Here are some tips on keeping it from happening.
(1) If you either don't want to use your trash can because you won't be home to pick it up, or think it might also go flying, just be sure to bag your trash and firmly tie or secure the top. An entire bag of trash, even light trash, is a lot less likely to fly around than the trash itself.
(2) If you have a trash can with a lid, make sure it's secure. Use its clips, handles, or whatever trick the manufacturer made to keep the lid closed.
(3) If you have an open trash can, put something big and relatively heavy on top, and/or bag your trash securely.
(4) Did I mention to bag your trash securely?
(5) Open-top boxes, shopping bags, bins, buckets and other open-topped items should either be bagged or secured with tape, something to keep stuff inside should it go flying.
(6) You can get great heavy-duty trash cans with lids from American Disposal. Call 703.368.0500 to find out more. Not only do these cans blow around less, because they are heavy, but their lids are attached and they have great wheels.
And if all else fails, pick one or two things up when you walk around the neighborhood. Just getting that big item out of the street will make life a lot safer and neater.
It's always annoying to see flying trash in our common areas, lawns, shrubs and streets. Here are some tips on keeping it from happening.
(1) If you either don't want to use your trash can because you won't be home to pick it up, or think it might also go flying, just be sure to bag your trash and firmly tie or secure the top. An entire bag of trash, even light trash, is a lot less likely to fly around than the trash itself.
(2) If you have a trash can with a lid, make sure it's secure. Use its clips, handles, or whatever trick the manufacturer made to keep the lid closed.
(3) If you have an open trash can, put something big and relatively heavy on top, and/or bag your trash securely.
(4) Did I mention to bag your trash securely?
(5) Open-top boxes, shopping bags, bins, buckets and other open-topped items should either be bagged or secured with tape, something to keep stuff inside should it go flying.
(6) You can get great heavy-duty trash cans with lids from American Disposal. Call 703.368.0500 to find out more. Not only do these cans blow around less, because they are heavy, but their lids are attached and they have great wheels.
And if all else fails, pick one or two things up when you walk around the neighborhood. Just getting that big item out of the street will make life a lot safer and neater.
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