Living Frugal on Cape Cod

SAVE the Planet..Recycle today!

recycle Whether you have your trash picked up by a local trash company such as Nauset Disposal or you bring your trash to your town dump you must have heard people talking about recycling. I know a lot of people who just do not want to take the time to recycle, but in reality it does not take that long at all. Instead of placing your recyclable trash in your trash bin, you just place it in a recycling bin. It’s as easy as that. Not only will you not have to take your trash out as often, but you will have less trash as well. Have you noticed how much space a milk carton takes up? What about cereal boxes and soda bottles. All these items and more can be recycled at your local transfer station and through your local trash pickup.

I feel so lucky to live in the town of Eastham where I see lines of people waiting to recycle their household items at our transfer station. Each time I go to my dump I have to wait in a line of cars to recycle and I am so happy that other people feel the same way I do about our environment. I like that the profits from the soda bottles and cans that I recycle for towards community evenst and school organizations. I like helping to keep our environment clean so that we can live here as long as possible.

Now I know that some people are saying, I don’t have the time to recycle, or I don’t feel like recycling, but once you start doing it you will feel good about it. I actually enjoy going to my local dump and recycling and seeing what other people are recycling. You can find some cool things at your local dump, you know what they say “ones mans trash is another mans treasure”. This is true sometimes, and when it is you can get a great item for FREE.

To begin recycling you will need to:

For people who have a dump sticker: Call your local transfer station and ask if they offer recycling (they SHOULD) and ask what they take for plastics, paper, metal and more.

For Trash pickup Customers: Call your trash service provider and ask them how you can start recycling.

Then you need to have a system for recycling. All you need is a plastic bag or trash bin to put all of your recyclable items into.

Next, RECYCLE.

Here is a list of items that are recyclable and you may be surprised at the list of things that are recyclable. You will be surprised at the size of your trash once you start recycling.

Rechargeable Batteries: The following rechargeable battery chemistries can be recycled – Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), Lithium Ion (Li-ion), Nickel Zinc (Ni-Zn), and Small Sealed Lead* (Pb). You can find rechargeable batteries in: cordless power tools, cellular and cordless phones, laptop computers, digital cameras, two-way radios, camcorders, and remote control toys. Check out this website to find a local drop off for your rechargeable batteries.

Electronics: Such as computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, and fax machines.

Metal: Steel and Aluminum Cans—Beverage cans, food cans, aerosol cans. Also clean Aluminum Food Packaging—Pie plates, dinner trays, foil. Just rinse your tv dinners in the sink and recycle.

Paper: Newspaper, magazines, catalogs, phone books, bulk mail, junk mail, office paper, computer paper, envelopes, gift wrapping paper, cardboard, food boxes, cereal boxes, shoe boxes, paper towel and toilet paper tubes, paper egg cartons.

Plastic: The plastics that can recycled are numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6, and 7. Most transfer stations and trash companies only accept numbers 1 and 2. I am lucky that the Eastham dump allows all plastics 1-7. Below is a list of plastics by number to make your recycling that much easier, I know it seems like a long list, and it is, but once you start recycling you will remember what you can recycle like the back of your hand! Most all of the items listed below will have a stamped number on them, so you will not need to remember all of them.

Plastics number 1: Soft drink, water and beer bottles; mouthwash bottles; peanut butter containers; salad dressing and vegetable oil containers; ovenable food trays. These plastics are recycled into polar fleece, fiber, tote bags, furniture, carpet, paneling, straps, (occasionally) new containers.

Plastics number 2: Milk jugs, juice bottles; bleach, detergent and household cleaner bottles; shampoo bottles; some trash and shopping bags; motor oil bottles; butter and yogurt tubs; cereal box liners. These plastics are recycled into laundry detergent bottles, oil bottles, pens, recycling containers, floor tile, drainage pipe, lumber, benches, doghouses, picnic tables, fencing.

Plastics number 3: Window cleaner and detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, cooking oil bottles, clear food packaging, wire jacketing, medical equipment, siding, windows, piping. These plastics are recycled into decks, paneling, mudflaps, roadway gutters, flooring, cables, speed bumps, mats.

Plastics number 4: Squeezable bottles; bread bags, frozen food bags, dry cleaning bags and shopping bags. These plastics are recycled into trash can liners and cans, compost bins, shipping envelopes, paneling, lumber, landscaping ties, floor tile.

Plastics number 5: Some yogurt containers, syrup bottles, ketchup bottles, caps, straws, medicine bottles. These plastics are recycled into signal lights, battery cables, brooms, brushes, auto battery cases, ice scrapers, landscape borders, bicycle racks, rakes, bins, pallets, trays.

Plastics number 6: Disposable plates and cups, meat trays, foam egg cartons, carry-out containers, aspirin bottles, compact disc cases . These plastics are recycled into insulation, light switch plates, egg cartons, vents, rulers, foam packing, carry-out containers.

Plastics number 7: Three- and five-gallon water bottles, ‘bullet-proof’ materials, sunglasses, DVDs, iPod and computer cases, signs and displays, certain food containers, nylon. These plastics are recycled plastic lumber, custom-made products.

Once you have decided to start recycling pat yourself on the back and tell all of your friends to do the same. You will help the planet and your landfills and you will feel much better about yourself (as if you don’t already ).