Are you a SERIOUS recycler?

[Soundguy]

we do aluminum recycling. unfortunately, no paper or steel an drop offs anywhere near though.

we try to reuse all our old nwsprint for animal cage liners.. but the shiney stuff still goes out.. etc.

no glass drop offs near either.. only aluminum unfortunately..

 

[charlz]

Everywhere I have lived in the last 15 years has offered curbside recycling and we have always participated. Here where we live now we used to have the one bin for mixed recyclables but it always filled up fast. Then they switched to using the same 95 gallon carts that they use for trash (except blue) and we get it pretty full between pickups (every two weeks, trash is every week). They reported that recycling tripled since they switched to the larger carts so everyone must of been having the same issue.

Paper, plastics, tin cans, aluminum cans etc. get recycled but not glass. Glass is difficult to recycle because of its weight. In Boise proper they are/did start glass recycling up as there is a company that makes glass bead abrasives and they decided they can make the same product with recycled glass.

 

[JimRB]

Our county has recycle/trash centers. Glass, paper, plastic, cardboard and newspaper bins along with trash, bulk waste, tires and yard refuse. It annoys me to see cardboard in the bulk waste or hear glass in the trash. I was late to discover scrap metal pays a fair amount. So I recycle computers, copper wire, old fence wire and other old metal for cash. I found a place that does recycle styrofoam. That is my only losing recycle endeavor but it bothers me to throw away all that styrofoam from delivering new computers and monitors. That visit is a little over two miles off the beaten path.

I have no desire to see curbside pickup.

 

[hosspuller]

I am as conservative politically as they come... No tree hugger am I..
.
I recycle:

iron/steel/used filters/aerosol cans(punctured)
waste oil
paper/cardboard
aluminum
copper
insulated copper wire
brass
glass
plastic bottles
plastic bags
take apart all electronics to the metal, plastic and circuit boards
compost all kitchen scraps and dinner left-overs

Dump a single kitchen sized bag per month of non recyclable materials
Yearly trip to the county household haz waste site with circuit boards, paint, antifreeze.

The metal pays for the fuel to recycle.

Posted, not that I'm so great but with an effort, waste can be minimized. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[JDgreen227]

I am as conservative politically as they come... No tree hugger am I..
.
I recycle:

iron/steel/used filters/aerosol cans(punctured)
waste oil
paper/cardboard
aluminum
copper
insulated copper wire
brass
glass
plastic bottles
plastic bags
take apart all electronics to the metal, plastic and circuit boards
compost all kitchen scraps and dinner left-overs

Dump a single kitchen sized bag per month of non recyclable materials
Yearly trip to the county household haz waste site with circuit boards, paint, antifreeze.

The metal pays for the fuel to recycle.

Posted, not that I'm so great but with an effort, waste can be minimized. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

IMPRESSIVE....:thumbsup:

I too recycle plastic bags at my grocery store, and once per year the large center I use for most recycling has a "Clean Community Event" where county residents can recycle all scrap metals, hazardous wastes like nicad batteries and electronics, old medications, used motor oil, etc. Attachment shows my utility trailer loaded and ready for the last time I was a participant in the event, some of the scrap metal shown belonged to my neighbors.

 

[Bird]

You guys make me feel lucky. My city uses Waste Management, for which I am now charged $9.92 a month on my water bill. And they pick up both garbage and recycling material every Monday; two different trucks that come by. And I do mean every Monday, rain or shine, holiday or not, even when Monday fell on Christmas. And we can set out any kind of garbage cans or bags we went to, old appliances, furniture, etc. If 2 men can pick it up and get it into the truck, it's gone. Brush and limbs are to be tied in 4' bundles and that's about the only restriction, except for hazardous waste; tires, batteries, oil, paint and such that can be taken to the City service center one Saturday a year.

As for the recycling, Waste Management provides each home with a green 30 gallon wheeled cart to put "mixed recycling" material in. And they provide detailed written instructions as to what should go in the cart and what should not. Of course, cardboard can go in the cart, but if you have cardboard boxes and such, instead of breaking them down, you can just set them out with the cart and the recycling truck will take them.

I think it's 12 to 15 miles to the Waste Management landfill and we can take things there ourselves at no charge, if we wish; just have to show a drivers license and water bill. So, when I prune my trees, it's usually easier to pile the limbs on the pickup and take them myself than to tie them in bundles, so I've been doing that once or twice a year.

It can vary, but usually we only set the recycling cart out once every two weeks, and one 30-33 gallon black garbage bag of garbage each week. But if we mow with the grass catcher, or pick up leaves in the Fall, and put out 20 to 30 contractor bags of trash, we get no complaints.

 

[Combustix]

We have a transfer station close by, and I take the recyclable stuff there, but go to the land fill with regular garbage, as they are much cheaper. I have 8 barrels so I don't have to make the trip that often

 

[JDgreen227]

Interesting post, Bird...our trash pickup service costs me $4 a week whether I have one bag or five, because $4 is the minimum charge per week. As we live in a rural area there is no curbside pickup of anything except trash, and certainly not for yard waste...I and five of my neighbors use my brush pile for that purpose. The center I use for most of my recycling also has a secondary location for yard waste but it's not cheap to drop off things there.

Hmmm...you pay close to $10 per week for garbage and recycling both, and I think I would be willing to pay that much more for the convenience of having all my recyclable materials picked up. It's too bad services such as you have are not more widely available.

 

[dmccarty]

The reports I read state that most recycling programs cost more than they earn. It got worse when the economy took a dive since the price of the recycled material dropped. Materials were still being "recycled" but they were put in the landfill. If the materials are not bringing in the revenue to cover the expense of pick up then the only savings would saving the cost of putting the materials in the landfill.

When we lived in the city, two garbage trucks were used. One to pick up garbage, the other was for recycling. No way was having two trucks and crews on the same route being green much less saving money.

In the country things are different and I think recycling saves money since we have to take our garbage to the transfer station anyway. The county collects, metals, glass, newspaper, magazines, electronics, used motor oil, and used fry oil. Since we do the separation of materials and we have to go to the dump anyway, there is no cost to gather the material much less an extra crew and truck to pick up.

Having said that, I have checked the county's garbage budget and it is not clear to me that recycling IS saving money. They have the budget numbers mixed up so you cannot see the costs vs revenue from the materials. Which makes me suspicious that the program is a big charade.

Later,
Dan

 

[bp fick]

The reports I read state that most recycling programs cost more than they earn. It got worse when the economy took a dive since the price of the recycled material dropped. Materials were still being "recycled" but they were put in the landfill. If the materials are not bringing in the revenue to cover the expense of pick up then the only savings would saving the cost of putting the materials in the landfill.

When we lived in the city, two garbage trucks were used. One to pick up garbage, the other was for recycling. No way was having two trucks and crews on the same route being green much less saving money.

In the country things are different and I think recycling saves money since we have to take our garbage to the transfer station anyway. The county collects, metals, glass, newspaper, magazines, electronics, used motor oil, and used fry oil. Since we do the separation of materials and we have to go to the dump anyway, there is no cost to gather the material much less an extra crew and truck to pick up.

Having said that, I have checked the county's garbage budget and it is not clear to me that recycling IS saving money. They have the budget numbers mixed up so you cannot see the costs vs revenue from the materials. Which makes me suspicious that the program is a big charade.

Later,
Dan

I agree Dan. The rural, transfer stations are far cheaper to operate, which is why we will never approve "curb" side pickup of anything here. Don't even have curbs anyhow, but.....

Our township has offered to get rid of our re-cycling. It just, sort of breaks even. That's fine. We don't approve squat in this conservative, back woods township, but re-cycling is widely popular and we support it with a 1/2 mil or something. It's the nature of conservative, country people to "waste not", I think. Just a theory, with no research, but somehow, re-cycling works on the community spirit here. We have active scrap yards too.

Re-cycling isn't just for the uppity areas.