Why it is important to Recycle?

There are many reasons to recycle

1. It costs you less money!!

              Recycling is useful material to many industries                  and therefore it costs you less money to get rid of it.

2. It helps extend the life of a landfill

Recycling helps keep useful material out landfills, keeping more space available for other material and therefore increasing the lifespan of a landfill and lowering the need for more landfills.

3. Recycling reduces our need for new raw materials.

Extracting raw materials from the environment is expensive. It also uses up a lot of water and energy. When we recycle, we extract less, which conserves many natural resources, including trees, water, oil and metals.

4. It helps maintain quality groundwater

Landfills can often be left untreated and accumulate harmful chemicals that seep into the groundwater over time.  And therefore, recycling helps to keep out contaminants from getting into water supplies.

5. It helps the economy grow

There is an entire industry dedicated to the use of recycled material. This industry has not only created new jobs, it has lead to many creating solutions that would not otherwise be needed. Many unique and inventive products have been created because of the demand for recycled products.

What can be recycled?

All Recycling should be clean and falls into 6 categories:

Plastic, Paper, Aluminum, Metal, Cardboard, and Glass

- Plastic includes such things as: plastic water/soda bottles, milk cartons, and detergent bottles.

      - In order for plastic to be recycled, it must be labeled as #1 or                     #2 as illustrated in the picture above.

- Cardboard includes such things as: cardboard boxes or cereal boxes

- Paper includes things such as: Newspaper, printer paper, and notebook paper 

- Aluminum cans should be separated from other aluminum such as aluminum foil and other household aluminum

- Other metals include such things as: tin/steel cans used for food products and pet food

- Glass includes such things as: Glass bottles, Mason jars, Alcohol bottles, and drinking glasses

What shouldn't be put in with recycling?

As illustrated in the picture to the right; there are some things that are made of recyclable material, but can cause problems with machinery used during the sorting process.

Things such as: electronics, pots and pans, Christmas lights, appliances, motorized equipment, Styrofoam, Window glass and mirrors, Electronic waste (TVs and computers), Motor oil containers, Yard waste, Chemical containers, Shredded paper, Plastic bags, Ceramics or dishes, Food waste, Scrap metal, Monitors or other items can be taken to our drop off centers and broken down into recyclable components. These Items are listed as unacceptable by our transfer station

Composting

Composting is also a great way to "recycle" food waste. We have a compost pile at our drop off center in Waldo, where it is free to deposit your food waste.