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Jan 04
2010
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Holiday Trash? Recycle It!Posted by: Jennifer Davidson |
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Want to sustainably rid yourself of waste that accumulates in the home and office after gifts, parties, and the holiday season? For our American audience:
Any UPS Store will accept clean boxes, bubble wrap, styrofoam peanuts, etc. Locations: go here
Most grocery stores (Safeway, Whole Foods, etc.) recycle thin-film plastic bags, including
- Clear, thin newspaper bags
- Thicker newspaper bags, bread bags
- Bubble wrap (may also contain nylon)
- Dry cleaning bags
- Consumer paper packaging (i.e. toilet paper packs, paper towel packs)
- Most grocery bags
- T-shirt bags
- Bags with sealed air for packaging (i.e. air cushions)
Bags don't have to have a number on them to be recyclable! For more info: go here
For those living in San Francisco, the blue-cart recycling program has expanded to accept the following plastic items:
- Bottles and bottle caps (ok to leave plastic caps screwed on the bottle)
- Tubs and lids (i.e. yogurt containers)
- Cups and lids
- Clamshells (i.e. "to-go" containers from salad bars and restaurants)
- Molded packaging
- Buckets and flowerpots
- Broken toys (as long as they do not have metal parts, batteries, circuit boards or wiring)
Of course, the best way to rid ourselves of unnecessary packaging is to not purchase it or create it in the first place. Write to your favorite consumer advocacy group and urge more responsible business practices for corporations and government. Then buy in bulk and buy locally, taking your own bags. Or better yet, grow it, make it, use it and re-use it yourself!
One last wasteful topic: junk mail. Nobody wants it, but we all receive it. 41 pounds is the weight of junk mail received by the average adult every year. Eliminate nearly all of it with a single action: visit www.41pounds.org and sign up.
Say "good riddance" to waste in 2010!
(My thanks to friend Anthony Henin for much of the research on this entry.)
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