Daily Loaf

We already know recycling helps reduce waste and prevents good materials from ending up in a landfill. It’s what we don’t know that can make recycling frustrating, inefficient, and more costly. Let’s make it easier and make recycling more viable in the process.

To all the recyclers out there, I applaud your efforts. You already take an extra bit of time to separate your paper, plastic, metal, and glass refuse from the rest of the trash so it can be reclaimed and reused as something else. But beyond the water bottles and soda cans, remembering what else gets recycled and in what condition your recycling facility expects it can get a little overwhelming. Plastics can be especially dubious due to the wide variety of plastic types. Even if you get that sorted out, you might be left wondering what to do with the unmarked bottle caps. Cardboard is a paper product, right? Can it go in the recycling bin?

Here’s how you can make it easier for yourself (and anyone else you’d encourage to recycle). The internet is a wonderful tool for finding the specifics of your local recycling services, everything from costs, pick-up times, and most importantly, what goes in the bin!  Residents of Tampa should already have curbside recycling at their residence.  Luckily, the recycling business has gotten a lot better at handling all the materials since I first started recycling, so there’s no need to sort by material any more. You can just toss all your recyclables into your blue bin and place it on the curb where the recycling truck driver will be able to see it. And, thanks to someone thoughtful at the Department of Solid Waste, they’ve gone ahead and created a PDF you can print out and hang near your recycling container inside. For most items you can look at the print-out and know what goes in and what doesn’t. For any lingering questions, there’s a page of FAQs with the details.

Some quick recycling tips for Tampa residents to remember: Read the rest of this entry »

People know all about recycling everyday items, right? Glass bottles, aluminum cans, newspaper, steel cans (where accepted), plastic bottles — these are pretty simple things to keep track of. How about those items you use every day but don’t really think about chucking until they’re dead? Television sets, DVD players and computers are all items we pretty much use on a daily basis, but when they stop working or you’re hankering for an upgrade, what should you do with them?

No matter what, do not throw them in the regular trash. Many of those circuit boards probably have lead or cadmium on them. (Sure, it could be zinc, copper, or something else less nasty, but do you really want to risk it?) When such elements aren’t disposed of properly or reused in a safe way, they can leach into the ground and cause all sorts of problems to the soil and water table. When life depends on water and a clean aquifer, this resonates with everyone who lives in Florida.

But fear not, intrepid recyclers! There are spots throughout the Tampa Bay area just itching to take in your old electronics, grind them up into their separate components, and redistribute the metals and chemicals as they can: Read the rest of this entry »