7 posts tagged “recycle”

Ever wondered what to do with those old prescriptions drugs?  First off, repeat after me, DO NOT FLUSH THEM!  It is terrible for the water table and for future generations of water drinkers.  So what to do?  Well the government finally released guidelines on what to do with those old drugs.  Pretty interesting.

Here's what the government suggests:

"...taking them out of their original containers, mixing them with an "undesirable substance" (such as kitty litter or used coffee grounds), putting the mixture in a Ziploc bag or a container with a lid, then throwing the whole package in the trash."

I wish that they would figure out a new way to deal with them that actually recycled the drugs, but at least we aren't polluting the water table.

Now you and I both know that having CFLs in the home is great because it saves energy and therefore requires energy companies to produce less energy and emit less carbon.  However, there is one draw back to these lightbulbs.  they contain mercury.  So that means that you can't just throw them away to be put into the dump, they need to be disposed of at a hazardess waste facility that can handle heavy metals.  I know that may seem like an extra amount of work, but think of it this way -  you don't have to change them out but once every three years so this won't be a lot of trips you need to take.

Not many people still get those annoying foam peanuts when they order stuff online or through the mail, but it still happens with those companies that haven’t woken up to the environmental message yet.  For those people that are not sure what to do with the annoying little things that seem to get stuck everywhere, call the Foam Peanut toll-free number 800-828-2214 that will tell you a place near you that disposes of the nuisance safely and hazard free.

Constantly people wonder, "how do I recycle my batteries?"  Well it isn't that hard and no you can't just throw them into the trash or recycle bin.  Since batteries have toxic chemicals in them that can leak into ground water it is important that you take your dead batteries to recycling centers that can handle hazardous waste.  Many cities have drop off points that are perfect for this and they don't cost a thing.  What I like to do is save my batteries in a box until the box is full and then find a recycling center that will take them by going to EHSO.com to find a recycling center near my home.  Try it out, it's much safer for future generations that will depend on that clean drinking water.

This is a model of a new boat that a man wants to make with 16,000 plastic bottles to sail from San Francisco to Australia to spread the world about the power of recycling and other things you can do with bottles than just throw them away.  I hope this guys does it and I hope that they turn this into a commercial industry so that anyone that wants a recycled boat can get one at a discount rate of course :)

So now that the holidays are long over, I have to ask the question, what did everyone do with all that holiday wrapping paper that was lying around the house?  I hope that you didn't just toss it into the waste basket so that it could become landfill like so many of the household items that we use during the holiday season.  There are so many useful alternatives for holiday wrapping paper.  For example you could RECYCLE IT.  I mean it is paper, seriously folks, we need to just think a little about that one.... Also it does make a great festive liner for your hamster cage.  I mean there is nothing better than mom's well wrapped present paper lining fluffy's cage.  Finally, many people may not know this, but holiday wrapping paper, like most papers is compostible.  So why not return the paper to the earth and grow some festive green beans?

Don't dump your medication in the trash or in the toilet!  Just like batteries the chemicals (although very different chemicals) in medication can seep into the ground water supply and do harm to the elderly, children, and even normal health adults.  Think of it this way, if you were a woman in your 30s would you want to drink water that had 3 parts per million viagra?  I didn't think so.  Thankfully most cities have medication recycling programs that allow you to get rid of the stuff and if your city doesn't just save it until your next trip to the doctor and bring the unused pills back.  That way you won't have people in your community getting weird side-effects from your dumped pills.