The Bite:
It depends on your recycling program. Figuring out exactly what's recyclable can be harder than navigating the shoe section during clearance season, but our cheat-sheet makes at least one of these tasks a whole lot easier.
Can you chuck your yogurt carton into the recycling bin?
05.03.2007
Submitted by tmeronek on Thu, 05/03/2007 - 12:01am.
The Benefits:
- Less confusion. Proper disposal ensures that your recyclables end up in the right place.
- Save energy. Recycling an aluminum can takes 96% less energy than creating a new one.
- Less landfill. According to the EPA, 75% of Americans' trash can be recycled, but only 25% actually is.
- Cleaner groundwater. Most landfill liners are just 1/10th of an inch thick, so toxins from garbage often leak into the groundwater.
Personally Speaking:
Bozeman Biters are lamenting that the city just stopped recycling glass due to the expense of shipping it to a recycling facility. Need to kvetch or create an action plan to green up your town's recycling options? Join the discussion in today's blog.
Wanna Try:
General
- Earth911 - local listings of where you can recycle anything under the sun.
- You don't need to remove labels from cans and bottles, but you do need to remove plastic caps (and throw them away).
- Your recyclables don't need to be spotless - just not moldy or full of food. Save water - don't rinse 'til clean.
- Unbroken bottles are easier for workers to sort than broken ones.
- Most containers, such as tins and cans, and aluminum foil.
- Newspapers, magazines, photocopies, shoe boxes, envelopes (including ones with glassine windows).
- Plastics #1-#2 – recyclable in most areas. Usually found in 2-liter and detergent bottles, milk jugs and food containers.
- Plastics #3-#7 – more difficult to recycle, they are found in Styrofoam, pipes, shrink wrap, padded envelopes, trash liners and more. Check with your local facility to see if it recycles these plastics.
- Yogurt Cups - recyclable in most areas, especially the #2 plastic kind.
- Grocery Bags - reuse them first! You usually can't recycle them curbside, but some supermarkets have recycling bins in-store. Try to avoid them altogether by bringing your own Biter bag to the store.
Laura Dicterow and Kim Hamer
Cocktail Fact
Apparently not recyclable: when the U.S. Forest Service's mascot, Woodsy Owl, got an extreme makeover, it required old costumes "be destroyed beyond recognition."
Bang For The Bite
Recycling's one of the eco-friendliest things you can do with already-purchased containers, and it's easy once you learn the ropes.
Tips Like This
09.07.2006
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