Your Questions About Recycling
by
Filed under Recycling Q & A
Daniel asks…
What time and day do the parks staff on the Toronto Islands change the bags in the big blue recycling bins?
On the Toronto Islands, especially Centre Island, there are big blue recycling containers, like roll carts, with big clear plastic recycling bags in them. I’m wondering at what time and what day of the week the park janitors unload them and change them. They are intriguing because they are so big.
The Expert answers:
They are emptied using a hydraulic arm, mounted on a garbage truck. They are way too heavy to lift manually.
They get serviced every day, usually in the morning, by parks staff. Then they go on to do other work on the park gounds.
Jim B. Toronto.
William asks…
How much would it cost to put recycling bins around Los Angeles?
For example around bus stops…the recycling containers would be similar to the ones in Cal state LA…How much is it for each container…or what website,phone number can I contact? what are the benefits of having these containers?
The Expert answers:
Recycling is a giant scam
James asks…
Can I recycle containers with residue in them?
Like glass cleaner, shampoo, etc.
If it depends on the number, what do the #’s mean?
If there is no recycling symbol on thew package, does it mean it can’t be recycled?
The Expert answers:
Yes, they will clean them before recycling.
I still clean out glass so it won’t smell too bad in the recycle bins.
Nancy asks…
Can you put used motor oil in the same recycling container as restaurant grease?
I’ve got gallons of used motor oil.At work we have a container outside we dump all our grease in to be recycled. Can I just dump the motor oil in with the rest of the fryer grease?
The Expert answers:
You don’t want to mix the two types of oil. You don’t want to take the chance of screwing up a legitimate fryer grease processor, as that would really cause problems for them.
Now, if you’re simply asking whether you can use a container that once held grease to then hold motor oil, I wouldn’t see a problem with that except that the container couldn’t be used for fryer grease again.
The processing that used oil undergoes would separate out contaminants like water and other materials. And if the grease stays blended in with the used oil – probably not a problem because 80+% of used oil in the United States is burned for energy recovery.
Kudos for the other poster mentioning earth911 – excellent site- i’ve worked with the people who set this up.
John asks…
When recycling food containers…?
My local recycling centre generally wont collect plastic food containers! Im really puzzled by this and im also out when they come around so i cant ask. Could it be because they havnt been washed out properly? Whats the problem?!
The Expert answers:
Call your local recycling center and check which number plastics/containers they DO collect.. Most plastic containers have a triagle w/ a number assigned to it… Some is recycleable others are NOT and you may have to find another use for them… Also, if they are NOT clean they might NOT take them as well… Just call you local recycling center and they will tell you….
Good luck
Steven asks…
Does recycling PET bottles as liquid containers causes cancer?
The Expert answers:
Most definitely NO.
Lisa asks…
If you throw a plastic soda bottle into a recycling container what actually happens to that bottle when it?
leaves the container? How does it get recycled?
The Expert answers:
The best explanation I have found is at http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/
This is more about the plastic water bottles than the “Returnable” Deposit bottles. It is what happens to the majority of the recyclable bottles from what I understand.
Paul asks…
Where can I recycle plastic food containers and tin foil?
I want to do my bit by recycling plastic food containers but the local council only take plastic bottles. They take both PET and HDPE bottles but will not take plastic food containers made from the same material. They also take aluminium cans but not foil.
The Expert answers:
I take my used foil and twist it into thin “ropes” I then stuff these into aluminum soda cans before I crush then and toss them into my recycle bin.
I can’t help you with the food containers. I expect that they don’t recycle them because they often contain food scraps (the cost of cleaning them would be higher than the value of the plastic they contain).
Jenny asks…
do you need to wash recycled containers?
Do I need to wash out the recycle food containers out before discarding them?
The Expert answers:
It is preferred that you rinse them out, but not a requirement to be picked up by the recycle collectors.
Powered by Yahoo! Answers