Your Questions About Recycling
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Filed under Recycling Q & A
Daniel asks…
Do you recycle post consumer waste ?
i try to cut back on packaged goods and but in bulk-i have glass containers at home
The Expert answers:
Yes, for the past few years…..!!
Susan asks…
Composting: Containing smell and keeping animals out?
I live in a sorority house and would like to start a sorority wide composting program. Recently our school cafeteria added a food waste container in addition to the recycling and trash. I thought this was an excellent idea as I know each of the houses probably throws away quite a bit of food waste. I wanted to work with the cafeteria so that we would collect the food waste and they would take it off our hands and combine it with theirs.
The problem is, I’m not sure how to go about the logistics of collecting and storing the waste. If we kept it outside it might attract animals which would be an issue. If we kept it inside it might get gross. They have some small odor reducing containers for home use on the market, but they all seem pretty small and we have about 20 girls in each house so we would need something a bit bigger.
I’d really appreciate any ideas or resources to solve this problem so that we can get the program going as soon as possible. Thanks!
The Expert answers:
The only food waste you’d want to put in a compost bin are things like egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit peelings, tea bags etc no meat no grease and you’ll have to mix it with some grass clippings and leaves from outside, you can get larger compost bins for outdoor use and if you add the right ingredients animals and things won’t be attracted to them.
John asks…
paper ice cream containers and fast food cups – compost or recycle or ??
I’d like to send as little off to landfill / the incinerator as possible and I was wondering what to do with rinsed paper products.
Also, any links with tips about waste reduction would be appreciated!
Thanks
The Expert answers:
Paper recyclers are very picky about what they will accept, so any treated paper is usually rejected.
So it is either compost or send to the landfill, where it will either be composted or incinerated.
Donald asks…
Recycling paper/cardboard and making it easier?
So really, i have nowhere to amass paper goods and keep them somewhat organized prior to pickup on a weekly basis. we go through newspapers, cardboard can soda containers, etc.
all these things either stack up or get in the way, most often get in the way. it’s such a nuisance! the recycling company has purposefully not picked up my paper stock because it cannot be contained in a box. it must be wrapped, etc. i know it’s just a few minutes more of my time but running a house is difficult…
my question is:
does anyone have any little tips or tricks for keeping your paper recycling together/bound for the week before waste management comes to scoop it up on the street?
thanks 🙂
The Expert answers:
I just moved here from Oregon & recycling is different here, but I’m learning. I just fold my news papers in half & store them in a plastic store bag. Then when I make a trip into the Soo , I drop them off at the Recycling Center on (I Think ) on Easterday St.
Carol asks…
Is Yahoo sending the free bulbs in the mail or sending coupons?
It doesn’t make sense for Yahoo to send people light bulbs. The cost of the shipping containers is wasteful. Now I have all that packaging to deal with, too. I hope they are sending coupons we can use at the big box store instead. Let’s not forget a part of recycling can be never accumulating the waste in the first place.
The Expert answers:
Better yet, I think they should email us a coupon and we could print it out on 100% recycled paper instead of wasting an envelope and postage, too.
Linda asks…
what outdoor container/shed can i use to store recycables?
my school is trying to start recycling our waste. there’s only 1 problem: we don’t have any place to put the recyclables. we need some sort of out door storage unit to put the trash in till the center comes to pick it up. any suggestions???
The Expert answers:
Do you mean the school has no place to store the waste, or you have no place?
Why not garbage cans for each type of recyclable?
Maybe the center has some dumpsters it can lend the school, if it’s the school that has no storage units. Or if you get some businesses involved, any of them may be able to lend or donate containers. You might put an article in the newspaper about your school’s plan and ask for help in the article.
Hope this helps. Good luck with this worthy
project.
Sharon asks…
Someone help, what’s a better way to write this?
lol I didn’t write this but i need to re-write it for them… Someone help?
”I commit to placing a recycling container in all rooms that i generate waste including in the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms and homework areas”.
Haha, It just doesn’t sound right… what’s a better way to put it so it doesn’t sound disgusting?
It’s for a sustainability committee so SERIOUS answers please.
The Expert answers:
I promise to place a recycling bin in all utility rooms,homework areas & bedrooms.
Mark asks…
can anyone help me to conclude my recycling essay and if you can give me some tips on how to make it better.?
My purposes are
Saves Energy
Saves Environmental Conditions and Reduces Pollution
Saves Natural Resources
Economic Benefits
Saves Space for Waste Disposal.
The word recycling or going green has been said many times thorough out the years. If you ask a random person what they think about recycling, they might say, “Well, it’s good for the environment.” The matter of fact is, it is good for the environment, but it is also very beneficial to the creatures and humanity. Even though many things has been said about recycling, not much has or being done. Recycling is one of the best ways for you to have a positive impact on the globe which we live. “Why should you recycle you ask?” Well, according to massrecycle.org and recycling-guide.org UK, recycling is crucial because recycling saves our environment, energy, natural resources, and it is critical to the people.
Recycling is effective by reason of reducing greenhouse gasses and help end the source of global climate change. For example, on August 28th, 2005 hurricane Katrina hammered the southern coast of the United States with devastating effects, which killed more then 1,800 people and more than 81 billion dollars of damage occurred, according to hhs.gov.
Possibly a more important reason to recycle is because it will reduce pollution risks in our society. The most obvious way is by keeping waste out of landfills, which introduces contaminants and other toxins into groundwater systems. Recycling also keeps materials out of incinerators, which pollutes the air and create severe ash residue, which is very dangerous for the health. Furthermore, it reduces financial output in the economy, making products from raw materials costs much more than if they were made from recycled products.
What can you do to recycle? Here are three easy steps you can do. Firstly, you can separate plastic, aluminum, glass, and paper, into different container or bags. Secondly, you can turn the water off when you’re not using it. Thirdly, you can switch to energy- efficient light bulb, which saves you money.
In conclusion, Recycling is one of the best ways for individual to have a positive impact on the world in which we live. Recycling Saves Energy, Environmental Conditions and Reduces Pollution, Natural Resources, Economic Benefits, and Saves Space for Waste Disposal. Therefore, I think we should make more of effort to recycle.
Thanks.
The Expert answers:
You can talk about how recycling keeps trash out of the ocean (there is a great Pacific Garbage patch in the middle of the Pacific ocean the size of Texas) animals eat pieces of trash and die by choking or they can’t fit anything else in their stomach, or the garbage tears up their intestines.
You talk about more than just recycling. Switching to CFL bulbs is an example of reducing, not recycling. Turning off water when not using it is also reducing, not recycling. Recycling water would be like installing a gray water system that waters the lawn with the water that you take a shower in. What is the goal of your paper? Strictly recycling? Recycling is good, but reducing is even better. It saves 70 times as much energy and resources if you don’t consume an item as opposed to recycling it. Energy and resources have to go into mining the resources, transporting the resources to the factory, making the product, transporting the product to the store, you getting to the store and taking the product home, and then when you are through with it, the recycling truck has to come and pick up your recycling, take it to the recycling facility, separate the recycling, take your recycling to a factory where it can be turned into something else, and taken to the store, where someone else goes to buy it, and the cycle continues. Reducing eliminates all of that! That’s why it’s first in the Reduce, Reuse Recycle slogan, but people often forget about the first two because they feel they are doing a good thing for the environment by recycling, which they are, but we Americans are overconsumers and we need to start reducing our consumption. Americans have 5% of the world’s population, yet we consume 25% of the world’s resources. We are using 5 times our share! That’s not fair!
Lizzie asks…
recycling razors?
Is it possible to recycle razors and/or blades? It seems like such a waste–especially for disposable razors. Could we utilize “Sharps” containers like hospitals for curbside?
The Expert answers:
It does seem like a waste but you can’t safely recycle it. It really isn’t a lot of metal. And handling is a hazard. Hospitals have “sharps” containers so that people taking out the trash won’t cut themselves.
Have you ever been to a home in Japan or even Tokyo Airport? You don’t have trash bins, only recycling bins for paper, plastic, cans, etc.
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