Your Questions About Recycling
by
Filed under Recycling Q & A
Mandy asks…
Should grocery stores start charging for shopping bags?
I think that most people have hoards of grocery bags under their sink or above their fridge or going out in the garbage or recycling every week. I think that if stores charged for them, people would re-use their bags. I don’t know how much stores spend of bags, but I imagine there would be some cost savings by reducing the number of bags they purchase.
The Expert answers:
They are charging for the bags. It is part of the overhead tacked onto the price of the items. This is America. Most people do not care about the plastic waste. Some communities do collect used bags for recycle (in fact our local Kroger has bins for bags as you enter the store). I am told by some of the store managers that there can be problems with people bringing in bags and attempting to shoplift.
We would save more oil (used to make plastic and fuel) if people would just stop shopping more than once a week or so). A single small item n a bag is a real waste.
Ruth asks…
what is the best way to recycle plastic bags?
I have a ton of plastic gorcery bags. I try to reuse them by lining my small garbage cans, those end up in the garbage anyway. What about the rest of them? should I take them someplace? I just read that it takes 1000 years to break down a plastic bag. maybe I should switch to just paper, or bring my own cloth bag!
The Expert answers:
A lot of grocery and chain stores now offer a bin to recycle your plastic bags, I recycle mine at my local Safeway. Also a very good idea to purchase cloth grocery bags and help stop the cycle. I’ve seen them for sale at lots of stores for about $1 each. My grocery store also gives you a few cents credit for bringing your own bags.
George asks…
my roommate keeps wanting to do everything separately.. dishes, garbage, recycling, sorting dishes?
i feel like she wants me to not exist and wants to live as if she’s the only one there.
i’m thinking it’s maybe because she’s an only child so she isn’t used to sharing stuff..
but it’s really annoying, she actually goes out of her way and picks my recycling out of the bag.
i don’t want to talk about it with her because .. well i dont know, i feel like it won’t completely solve anything because i dont like her anymore, and i dont think i ever will.
she will also piss me off so i dont want to talk about it..
but what other options do i have?
what are your experiences with roomies liek this?
any input is greatly appreciated 🙂
we’re first years
The Expert answers:
Honestly…waht is she gaining by taking your recycling out of the bag except more owrk for herself???
Anyway, I ha a roomie that was a really big witch…I just finished out the year and separated EVERYTHING. I kept my stuff in my space, hung out at other friend’s dorms and the year ended in no time at all. You just have 2 months.
If I were you, I would challenge her at the end of the semester and just say, what did you accomplish by pushing me away…at least sharing recycling and trash isnt something that would hurt either of you.
Just do what she wants and keep to yourelf…pretend that you live alone…I know it suck and its awkward…but trust me…its easier that way
Lizzie asks…
Can I throw away my computer in the garbage or do I need to smash it up first?
it’s a piece of crap with 10002320392099 viruses on it and it’s old. I dont want to donate it or take it to a computer recycle depot cause i dont want ppl looking at my files and stuff so can I just throw it out in a garbage bag on garbage day? Any suggestions?
The Expert answers:
Some parts, like monitors, contain mercury and other hazardous substances and should not be disposed of in the normal garbage. I don’t know the exact details since I’ve never actually thrown out a more or less working computer part of any kind, so consult with someone in your area who knows something about waste management.
If you’re concerned about someone reading your files, I suggest taking out the hard drive and having some fun with it; physically dismantle it in some way, whether it involves a screwdriver or a sledgehammer.
Daniel asks…
we reuse plastic grocery bags for taking out used cat litter. will they be recycled by our garbage service?
The Expert answers:
No they will go into the landfill with the cat litter.
James asks…
How much of NYC recycling actually gets recycled?
I’m asking this because my uncle works at a landfill in Pennsylvania, and he told me that a good 50% of the garbage they get from NYC is the sorted recycling (from apartment buildings) in clear plastic bags. Anyone know?
The Expert answers:
NYC is only recycling what makes a profit. That is why the stopped collecting the leaves and a few years ago stopped collecting plastic. Paper still makes a profit as does glass. Metal has value. Plastic is only good if giving it separate treatment means it does not cost something to dispose of like the rest of NYC garbage.
Mark asks…
How to recycle cardboard?
Yea, this sounds stupid but i wanna make sure im doing it right….
So we got a lot of cardboard that my dad is to lazy to put in the recycle bags himself
And i put it in the clear blue garbage bags right?
The Expert answers:
Get rid of it in the same way as you would get rid of paper.
Jenny asks…
How much garbage do you have?
On average, how many bags of garbage does your family throw out a week? How large is your family? Do you recycle? If so, what do you recycle?
The Expert answers:
About 6 a week and sorry but i don’t recycle and i have 4 people in my family but a lot of people come over so it makes a big difference.
Michael asks…
Recycling Project question? 10 POINTS!?
We have a month long project on recycling. On the first week that we began the project, my family had used approximately 8 large garbage bags.
We don’t drink soda, so we don’t have cans/bottles.
We have home cooked meals, using maybe 2 canned veggies a week.
We re-use the milk jugs, except for maybe 2 a week.
With all of this information, if we were to start recycling, about how many bags would we use each week, instead of our regular 8 bags?
The Expert answers:
While all of us are talking about recycling solid wastes, how bout recycling (rather re-using) water at home? Waste water from kitchen and bathroom (known as gray water) can be used to water your lawns and gardens. Harvesting rain water is another way to re-use fresh water. All these help conserve gallons of fresh water, especially in a time when fresh water shortage is a growing problem across the globe. Water re-using will not only help conserve water, but also reduce your water bills!
Powered by Yahoo! Answers