Cans and bottles are easily recycled.
The best way to save on resources is to not use them in the first place; the second best way is to recycle. Americans recycle more than 60 percent of the food cans they use, but only about 48 percent of the beverage cans and less than 30 percent of recyclable plastic bottles and milk jugs, according to the latest government statistics.
The Town of Addison offers curbside recycling for all single-family residences every Monday, beginning at 7 a.m. The Town also provides green bins for recycling, which can be obtained by contacting the Public Works Department at 972-450-2840.
Place all recyclable materials in the green bin and place at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on Monday. All recyclables can be commingled together in the green bin. On windy days, please place a brick or board on top of the bin to keep your neighborhood litter-free.
For more information on curbside recycling, click here.
If you are new to recycling, make things easier on yourself by developing a cohesive plan. One way to get a grip on household recycling is to mentally divide these tasks into daily (milk jugs, aluminum cans), medium-range (batteries, ink cartridges) and long-term (carpet, electronics) categories.
Daily Recycling
Almost all glass, steel and aluminum, and much of the plastic and paper, can be recycled.
Plastic is trickiest because it’s got those inscrutable numbers on the bottom of containers that indicate an item’s recyclability. Here’s a short-cut guideline: If it’s a bottle – for soda, shampoo, milk etc. – it’s almost certainly a #1 (also known as PET) or #2 plastic (HDPE) and can be recycled. These plastics are reincarnated as clothing, fleece, fiberfill, tape, lawn furniture and décor items.
If the plastic container is an opaque tub, like those used for butter, cream cheese, yogurt etc., it’s likely to be #5 plastic. Some places will not accept #5, but Addison does.
Steel cans are easier. If you’re holding a metal can that once contained food, it’s almost certainly recyclable. The steel industry brags on the life cycle of food cans as the number one recycled material in North America. These cans are lightweight and easily reclaimable. Just get them in the bin. Same goes for those aluminum beverage cans. They’ve got a standing date with a reclamation center. Recyclers can handle even more than the 48 percent Americans recycle.
Glass recycling also is simple and effective. Out it goes, and back it comes to you, as glass. The glass industry has got a good recycling story because glass is “endlessly recyclable.” And manufacturers want more glass to recycle, so they can hit a target of having containers average 50 percent recycled content by 2013. The environmental savings are significant. One ton of recycled glass represents a ton of natural resources (sand, soda ash and limestone) saved, according to the Glass Packaging Institute, and using six tons of recycled glass during manufacturing cuts out one ton of carbon emissions.
Nor do you have to fuss much with those glass bottles or steel cans. Rinse out both cans and bottles, and remove the metal lids from glass jars and toss those in with the cans. It also is helpful if you take time to remove any paper labels.
Paper recycling is fuss-free when it comes to returning the newspaper, printer paper and basic cardboard to the recycling stream. Magazines can go there too. But pizza boxes or other boxes that have contained food are not eligible for the bin.
Medium-Range Recycling
Let’s move on to Recycling 102 by making firm plans to recycle those batteries, printer cartridges, light bulbs, paint cans, etc.
Remove the temptation of the easy pitch into the trash by making a home collection center. It can be a box in the office or bag in the pantry where you can keep used batteries, light bulbs (even CFLs, which require special handling) and ink cartridges until your next trip to the office or hardware store.
The Town of Addison partners with the Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center to handle its hazardous waste disposal. With a photo ID and a utility bill, Addison residents may now take their chemical products to the drop off center in Dallas at 11234 Plano Road.
(The collection center is located one mile north of 635, between Miller Rd. and Forest Ln. Look for a white building with bright turquoise trim. Entrance is the first driveway north of the railroad tracks on the east side of the street. Do not turn into the driveway closest to the building; it is the exit gate.)
The center operates on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
To find out what you can and can’t bring, click here.
Extended Use Recycling
These days refrigerators, computers, TVs and electronic gadgets have better destinations than the dump. When so-called durable goods go kaput, one tends to focus on securing a replacement, and not whether or how to kick the old standby to the curb.
Take a moment to check online – at 1-800-Recycling or Earth 911 — to find the closest place that collects retired big ticket items.
Check also at the store where you’re getting the replacement. Competitive retailers are increasingly taking care of this recycling for you, even though they may charge a fee. If fees annoy you, check with your city. Many cities hold special collection events to gather this would-be junk because the electronics and metals are reusable and the city landfill doesn’t need any more toxic contributions. Some cities will even pick up outgoing appliances and electronics or furniture on specified days if you a) get them to the curb or b) transport them to a collection center.
If you’re sending an old, inefficient appliance on its way, your local utility may even pay you a rebate for upgrading. Read more at the website of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.
Got more stuff that’s headed out? Here are some ideas.
- Carpet can typically go back to the retailer who has just sold you the new rug; but you may want to verify that this seller participates in recycling programs. You can study up at the the CarpetAmericaRecoveryEffort (CARE) website, where carpet and rug manufacturers share ideas and explain how they are recycling carpet fibers. The website lists retailers that support the CARE mission of increasing carpet recycling.
- Furniture – If you’re done with it, but it’s not falling apart, giving it to a charity like Goodwill, or list it on Freecycle or Craigslist. This is important because bad things happen when upholstered furniture decays in landfills. We’re discovering that all those flame retardants used to keep us from incinerating ourselves when we fall asleep with burning cigarettes (talk about solutions seeking problems) migrate out into the world from crumbling cushions. These PBDEs persist in the environment, where they act as endocrine disruptors creating havoc with aquatic life and on up the food chain.
- ReStores will take old light fixtures or the sink you bought that doesn’t fit. They prefer new items, excess inventory, but something you’ve used that shows little wear is probably acceptable too. These stores resell building supplies to help fund Habitat for Humanity and to promote reuse and recycling.
Tags: Addison Recycling, curbside recycling, Town of Addison, Waste Management
