Griffin Disposal and Recycling Services 1-800-693-0472 We ve all heard the term green or eco. If you are already recycling or composting, you have a head start on going green! Practicing the 4Rs Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Reclaim! By reducing what goes to the landfill you are taking important steps in saving our natural resources. We work to make recycling as easy and convenient as possible for everyone. Besides keeping valuable materials out of landfills, recycling conserves natural resources. It saves energy and lowers greenhouse gas emissions. And it provides industry with affordable resources for manufacturing new products. Thanks for doing your part. In general, the materials below are accepted in many programs. But some items don t belong in your recycling bin at all. Click below to read the do s and don ts for successful recycling and find out more. What do I do with my old Computer and Cell Phone or TV? Where can I take my hazardous waste? How can I recycle my batteries and fluorescent bulbs? You ve got question; we got answers! Paper and Cardboard Most of us use a product made of paper every day. Paper production represents about 1.2% of the world's total economic output and makes up more than 40% of the composition of landfills. The good news is, more and more Americans are recycling paper. Do s Corrugated cardboard (boxes) Magazines Office paper (all colors) Newspapers
Paperboard (cereal boxes) Paper cardboard dairy/juice cartons (in limited areas only) Unsolicited direct mail (even window envelopes are okay) Phone books Don ts Waxed paper not recyclable. Please check your pet food bag to see if it is a wax coated item or plastic paper. They are not recyclable. Metals Food-contaminated paper (such as a cheese-encrusted pizza box) Mixed metal and paper (like stapled paper just remove the staple and the paper can be recycled) Do you think of your empty soda cans and food cans as natural resources? They are. The scrap value of the 36 billion aluminum cans Americans discarded in one year alone was about $600 million. Apart from the economic impact, the environmental savings of recycling metal are enormous. Recycling steel and tin cans, for example, saves 74% of the energy needed to produce them in the first place. Do s Aluminum cans Foil and aluminum bake ware Steel cans and tins (rinsed-out soup cans, veggie cans, coffee cans, etc.) Wire coat hangers Empty aerosol cans Don ts Food-contaminated metals (like a half-eaten can of beans rinse out the beans and the can is good to recycle!) Automotive parts Plumbing parts Paint cans with wet or dried-on paint are not recyclable, but are disposable if prepared properly. Electronics can be recycled at your local municipality center or at an acceptable drop off site such as Best Buy or your local office supply store. Some charities hold electronic recycle drive to help their cause, check with your local communities for these events.
Glass Glass is endlessly recyclable, and most glass bottles and jars produced in the United States now contain at least 25% recycled glass which also requires 75% less energy to produce than glass made from new materials. One important thing to keep in mind as you recycle glass is that even small amounts of some materials (like ceramics) mixed in with glass can contaminate entire loads. Do s Clear glass (rinsed and frees of food debris containers, mayonnaise, pasta sauces, pickle jars, etc.) Brown amber glass typically used for beer Green bottles typically used for wine Don ts Any glass contaminated with stones, dirt and food waste Ceramics, such as dishware, ovenware, and decorative items Heat-resistant glass, such as Pyrex Mirror or window glass Metal or plastic caps, corks or lids Crystal Light bulbs; these must be dropped off at your local Home depot, Lowes and Menards. Check with any local hardware store near you as well to be sure if they are a part of the program or must be dropped off at your municipality recycling center Cathode-ray tubes (CRTs) found in some televisions and computer BEST Buy will recycle your old computers TVs and electronics no matter how old or how big, or these items can be dropped off at your local municipality recycling center Plastics The Plastic Recycling Code unlocked Did you know that every year we produce enough plastic film in this country to shrinkwrap Texas? Or that Americans discard 38 billion plastic water bottles every year? While plastic offers the advantages of being flexible and lightweight, manufacturing it consumes fossil resources and contributes waste to our environment. One important thing to keep in mind as you recycle plastics is that cleanliness is essential. One dirty product, or one with food waste still in it, can contaminate an entire bale containing thousands of pounds of collected plastics.
TYPES OF PLASTIC Sometimes plastic is the best or only choice for a product. Look for plastics that can be recycled in your residential recycling program and reuse if possible. How can you tell whether to put a plastic container into your recycling bin? Turn the product over and look for the recycling symbol, a triangle with a number from 1 to 7 inside. That number is the "resin identification code," or RIC. Each number represents a different type of plastic, and some are more easily recycled than others. Note that the same type of product may be packaged in different types of plastic. Shampoo, for example, is commonly packaged in bottles made of Code 2 and Code 3 plastic, depending on the brand. Check the code to determine. Typical Dos Make sure it s clean! Does that peanut butter jar still have some remnants sticking to the side? Don't recycle it until it's clean! Remove all paper and plastic labeling! Products labeled code 1 and Code 2 are widely accepted at recycling facilities. These typically include soft drink and soda bottles; plastics from cereal boxes; containers for salad dressing, vegetable oil, and peanut butter; oven-ready meal trays; butter and margarine tubs; and containers for laundry detergent and some household cleaners. We will take plastic bottle coded from 1-5 and 7 now and 1 to 4 & 7 are Biodegradable Typical Don ts Not acceptable items that typically include chemical cleaning bottles, bread wrappers, frozen food bags, dry cleaning bags, some straws, and prescription bottles.+ Plastic grocery and produce sacks are commonly, but not always, made from plastic types 2 or 4. These bags are often collected in barrels at grocery stores. We Accept Plastic #1: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or PETE) Common uses: 2-liter soda bottles, water bottles, cooking oil bottles, peanut butter jars. All residential recycling programs accept narrow-neck PET containers. Plastic #2: High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Common uses: detergent bottles, milk and water jugs, grocery bags, yogurt cups. All residential recycling programs accept narrow-neck HDPE containers. #2 bags can be recycled at large grocery stores. Plastic #3: Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC or V) Common uses: plastic pipes, outdoor furniture, shrink-wrap, water bottles, liquid detergent containers. #3 PVC plastic is not readily recyclable.* Plastic #4: Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Common uses: food storage containers, dry cleaning bags, produce bags, trash can liners. Many residential recycling programs accept narrow-neck LDPE containers. #4 produce bags can be
recycled at large grocery stores. We do not take grocery bags, please take them to your local store who will and do have a collection barrel set up for these bags. Plastic #5: Polypropylene (PP) Common uses: ketchup bottles, aerosol caps, drinking straws, yogurt containers. #5 PP plastics not readily recyclable.* Plastic #6: Polystyrene (PS) WE Do Not Take Common uses: packaging pellets or Styrofoam peanuts, cups, plastic tableware, meat trays, togo, clamshell containers, egg cartons, shipping blocks. Many shipping/packaging stores will accept polystyrene peanuts and other packaging materials for reuse we do not. Pizza Boxes, cups, meat trays, and other containers that have come in contact with food are NOT accepted for recycling.* Plastic #7: Other Common uses: 3- and 5-gallon reusable water bottles, Tupperware, biodegradable and compostable plastics. This plastic category, as its name of other implies, is any plastic other than the named #1 #6 plastic types. These containers can be several different types of plastic polymers. Biodegradable and compostable plastics are also labeled #7.