Spring, a season to Recycle

Many people are welcoming spring with open arms and an abundance of trash as they do an annual round of spring cleaning. The Raleigh County Waste Authority offers up some ideas on how to remain green, while you clean and disperse of no-longer wanted or needed household items.

They drive home three straightforward, but often overlooked points: For every load of trash brought to the disposal at the landfill you can also drop off recyclable items. All newspaper, cardboard and aluminum can be, and should be, recycled. Last, the metal from old appliances can be melted down and reused in order to create new products.  Raleigh County Officials have crushers on standby to recycle old appliances. They’re also are encouraging residents to donate anything that is unwanted and in decent condition to the new Second Chance Mercantile at the Solid Waste Authority.

It is likely that your town has its own “green” offerings when it comes to recycling and spring cleaning. Reach out to your local Waste Authority to discover what they’re encouraging local residents to do. Being green doesn’t need to be complicated, let’s bring it back to simplicity.

Click below to access the article,

http://www.wvnstv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=55025

Get in the zone – The Green Zone

Michigan residents can now benefit from trekking their recyclables to Recycle Here! The Green Zone Shoppe recently opened a new facility carrying Michigan Green Safe Products – one can go there to retrieve toilet paper and paper towels made from 100 percent post-manufacturer materials. Not to mention, all-natural soaps and cleaning products, biodegradable “plastic” bags of all sizes, as well as cutlery and utensils – there’s a plethora of all the typically thrown-away, chemically-laden products used by the majority of households.

The main Holden Recycle Here! facility sees an average of 600 drop-offs a week. Matt Naimi, director of operations of Recycle Here! and co-owner of Michigan Green Safe, says The Green Zone Shoppe’s opening was all about demand. Naimi hopes The Green Zone Shoppe will reel in many more individuals, encouraging more people to make the effort. The Green Shoppe additionally carries “Bee Green” merchandise, featured by a local artist, and Naimi says the shop would be open to selling locally-made green products if appropriate.

Is your city in the zone?

 

For further reading, check out these sites:

http://www.recyclehere.net/

http://www.modeldmedia.com/developmentnews/greenzone18309.aspx

 

Call for Local Recycling

A recent announcement from the Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA) points out that most Americans recognize a huge significance in eating produce from local farmers, and purchasing from shopkeepers close by.  By doing so, they’re keeping dollars within the community and reducing fuel use and transportation issues at the same time.  Recycling materials locally has its benefits as well. 

“People care about jobs.  They care about the environment.  But they don’t often see them as the same problem. And they are,” says Patty Moore, president of Moore Recycling Association and a member of NCRA  “When we fully integrate recycling into our local economies, we create jobs and protect the environment, solving two problems at once.”

NCRA, compiled “Point of Return,” a 17-minute video explaining what happens to the recyclables that we collect, only to lose the economic and environment benefits when we export these supplies.

“We have so much to gain by keeping our recyclables closer to home and out of the ground,” says Steve Lautze, Green Business Projects Manager with the City of Oakland, CA  and past president of NCRA. 

If you’re interested in learing more, you can watch the video here.