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 Recycling is the process of taking a product at the end of its useful life and using all or part of it to make another product. The internationally recognized symbol for recycling includes three arrows moving in a triangle. Each arrow represents a different part of the recycling process, from collection to re-manufacture to resale. Recycling reduces our waste sent to landfills, and making new products out of recycled ones reduces the amount of energy needed in production.
The U.S. EPA estimates that 75 percent of our waste is recyclable, which goes well beyond what you toss in your recycling bin at home or at school. Recycling serves two key purposes:
- It keeps valuable material such as aluminum and paper out of landfills, so this material can be reused in other forms and not wasted.
- It prevents hazardous materials and chemicals such as lead and mercury from ending up in landfills, which can contaminate soil and leach into our drinking water
Because of the second purpose, it's important to recycle lots of products, including those that you might not initially think of recycling. This includes batteries, electronics, motor oil, paint and any product that has "Caution" or "Warning" on the label.
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Best Buy stores have an e-waste recycling program that will take a lot of items - most of them at no charge.
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You can now recycle your corks, natural and synthetic, at the Windsor Recycling Center and at the Weathersfield Transfer Station. Look for the clear plastic jug and drop your corks into it. The corks are mailed to TerraCycle which has them "upcycled" into corkboards. The corkboards are sold through retail stores, such as Wal-Mart.
TerraCycle donates 2¢ per cork to a non-profit. So far, the collection jugs at the Springfield and Rockingham transfer stations have raised $72 for The Nature Conservancy.
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Want to turn your empty medicine bottle or used Brita filter into a toothbrush? Preserve can do that for you.
As a producer of recycled personal-care and kitchen products, Preserve has partnered with Stonyfield Farms for many years, refashioning its organic yogurt containers into a line of recycled plastic toothbrushes, razors, mixing bowls, food-storage containers, and more.
As of January 2009, Preserve has expanded its collection efforts with its new "Gimme 5" program, allowing you to recycle all of your #5 plastic – whatever its origin -- into Preserve products.
Mail your plastics directly to Preserve, or deliver them to participating Whole Foods Markets, which are serving as collection centers.
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 The energy saved from recycling one aluminum can is enough to run a TV set for 3 hours and a 100 watt light bulb for 4 hours. |
If you have a 1995 or newer wedding gown and wish to donate it for a good cause, contact Brides Against Breast Cancer. Donated new and used gowns are sold across the country to raise money to fund the wishes and dreams of women and men who are losing their fight against breast cancer. |
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