recycle in US

[lovegem]

Maybe this is just me think so.. I just moved to Philly last week, and I found that there aren''t that much recycle program (or resource for recycle) here. For example, the buildings I live in doesn''t have any blue boxes or grey boxes for recycle. They only got one big bin so you can dump all your garbage. In the fast food places, there is no different bins to put in the recyclable and non-recyclable garbage. I am from Canada. I have to say that I am (was) already the least conserve person. I occasionally dumped recyclable stuffs into the garbage bins, and not feeling too guilty about it, because I thought I was only doing it occasionally. Now, I feel bad about dumping the recyclable stuffs into the garbage bins every time. So. Americans, do you recycle at all?

 

[CJ2008]

YES! In every city I''ve ever lived in we had recycling programs...both in New York and now in Florida. I recycle everything I can.

But - come to think of it, my sister who lives in Kissimmee does not have a recycling program - it bugs me so much!

 

[Skippy123]

I recycle, we have bins for cardboard, plastic, aluminum, magazines and junk mail. I am a huge recycler!!! Every little bit helps

 

[swingirl]

Californians recycle. Paper, plastic, glass, cardboard, computers, lawn debris, tree branches and batteries. Our waste disposal company picks up these things curbside. We can also drop off old paint. (they mix it all together and use it to cover graffiti)

 

[SarahLovesJS]

My hometown is huge on recycling and so is my University. And so is the city nearby..but unfortunately the apartment complex I am living in doesn't offer recycling. It drives me nuts!!

But generally, yes, almost everyone I know recycles regularly. I grew up with it, so it's weird to be in an apt complex without it. I've tried to change my habits by buying a water filter and using a reusable water bottle instead of throwing away *cringe* water bottles. I also try to take things to school to recycle or recycle while I am there. That makes me feel a bit better.

ETA: I am from Virginia.

 

[WishfulThinking]

I

to recycle! I always grew up doing it, and IMO it is one of the easiest things that someone can do to help the environment. I live in MA, and I find that we''re pretty good about recycling. At my Mom''s house they pick up the trash and recycled bottles/cans and paper all from the driveway, which is easy, and in the more rural place I grew up in, they had bins at the dump station for those things. My college is huge on the recycling, too. I am one of those people who sticks the bottle or papers into my purse or throws them in the car so I can recycle them later.

That''s really too bad about your building in Philly, lovegem. I know it might be a pain, but is there someplace you could take recyclables? If you got two baskets you could put bottles/cans and paper in them and every week bring them to be recycled?

 

[miraclesrule]

We do, but not to the extent that Canadians and Europeons recycle. When I traveled abroad in 1999, I was stunned to find that trashcans on the street corners came in three different colors with instructions, written and hand signs that designate which bin was intended for what item.

Oh sure, our cities provide us with three different trash cans for our personal use, one for yard/organic matter....one for recycling of cardboard, plastic, glass, and then the one we use for our catch all garbage.

But our city doesn't have public recycle trashbins....not on any street corner. Occasionally you might find a blue recycle bin at functions,events and some public areas, but rarely. Not as accessible and commonplace as in other countries.

Heck, we just started the trend of using cloth and reusable grocery bags. In 1999, people in Vienna didn't get to take their groceries home if they didn't bring in their bag. You had to go out and get one if your forgot. Nobody goes to the grocery store there without their grocery bags. It would be like us walking into the store without our purse.

We have hopped on to the bandwagon, but we aren't nearly as progressive in that regard as other countries....collectively speaking.

 

[WishfulThinking]

I definitely agree that we''re behind in terms of more general world trends toward recycling, but I have to say that while in Portugal last summer I was shocked at the lack of recycling. My cousins lectured me about American overuse of fuel and energy products and bragged about their wind power programs while I tried fruitlessly to find a recycling can on the street.

I figured since they were in Europe and concerned with energy conservation and alternate forms of energy that they could be bothered to recycle as well!

I hear other European countries do quite a bit better.

[Their wind power thing is sweet, though]

 

[oobiecoo]

My family has never recycled because it just wasn''t an option for us. We were never provided with recycle bins by the city and even if we purchased our own, the city wouldn''t pick them up. There is maybe one recycling facility in each nearby town but unless I had an SUV or truck, there is no way I could fit all of my recyclable goods into seperate bags or boxes once a week to take them to the recycling facility. My college campus only has maybe 2 recycling bin areas on campus which is NOT enough. I wish it was more easily accessible and common around here but it just isn''t.

 

[Sabine]

My apartment complex charges extra if you want the recycling picked up with the garbage (we could take it to the recycling plant ourselves, but we don''t). I was also really disillusioned about recycling when I found out that a major university that had separate bins for recycling in every dining hall just dumped the recycling in the trash at the end of every night!

 

[fieryred33143]

I was always impressed with NY and their recycling program.

We don''t have one in Florida and sadly I don''t recycle (but I should).

 

[Haven]

We recycle in Chicago! Our waste management program does not pick up certain styrofoam products or metal hangers, but we just drive those things to the nearest collection center once a month to recycle them, it''s not a hassle at all.

I was shocked this summer when I went to Greece and St. John and learned that they don''t recycle ANYTHING in either place. NOT A THING. It broke my heart a little bit, actually.

lovegem--Here''s a link to information about recycling programs in Philly. Please check it out.

fieryred--Florida recycles! Go to the bottom of this page and enter your zip code to find the collection center nearest you. PLEASE!!!!

If your waste management service does not pick up recycling at your front door, the odds are that there are local centers for recycling in your area. It really is not that difficult to collect your recyclables and bring them to the local center. In fact, if you begin with just one type of product (e.g. aluminum cans or cardboard packaging) and then work up it''s not that difficult at all. Please do some research and find the local recycling centers near you.

When I was in high school our 4,000 student school did not recycle. I organized some friends to launch a little campaign to convince our school board to institute a recycling program, and four months later we had multi-colored bins all over our school and voila! We were recycling. As the ultra consumers that we are, we owe it to the environment to recycle.

 

[Haven]

Date: 8/7/2008 9:34:46 AM
Author: Sabine
My apartment complex charges extra if you want the recycling picked up with the garbage (we could take it to the recycling plant ourselves, but we don''t). I was also really disillusioned about recycling when I found out that a major university that had separate bins for recycling in every dining hall just dumped the recycling in the trash at the end of every night!

Sabine--That''s just an even more compelling reason why you should drive your own recycling to a collection center, not less! That example would make me disillusioned with the university, not with recycling.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Welcome to Philadelphia, Lovegem. There are several Pricescopers who live in and around Philly - I hope we can meet one day.

Here is a recent article from the Philadelphia Daily News about recycling:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/24005794.html

 

[fieryred33143]

Thank you Haven for that site! It took me to another site to recycle cell phones? I''m going to call them though and ask. I''m sure there is one in Miami.

 

[Tuckins1]

I recycle everything that I can!! My city has an amazing recycling program... You don''t even have to sort! You throw everything into the bin and they will sort it for you. They take ALL plastics, cardboard, whatever you have. If I have things that can''t be picked up at curbside, I drop it off at the recycling center. Yes it takes more time and I have to use gas to get there, but OH WELL!! I get so angry when I see people just throwing out plastic bottles (at the gym especially)! I think that recycling should be mandatory. If you don''t do it, you should get a ticket!!

 

[Haven]

Date: 8/7/2008 10:26:07 AM
Author: Tuckins1
I recycle everything that I can!! My city has an amazing recycling program... You don''t even have to sort! You throw everything into the bin and they will sort it for you. They take ALL plastics, cardboard, whatever you have. If I have things that can''t be picked up at curbside, I drop it off at the recycling center. Yes it takes more time and I have to use gas to get there, but OH WELL!! I get so angry when I see people just throwing out plastic bottles (at the gym especially)! I think that recycling should be mandatory. If you don''t do it, you should get a ticket!!

I get angry when I see people USING plastic water bottles!
Remember way-back-when, before Perrier launched that one-use water bottle campaign and we all had those big personal water bottles with the thick plastic straws that we used over and over again? Now we have beautiful aluminum water bottles that you can use over and over and over again.
Honestly, one-use plastic water bottles are HORRIBLE.

Sorry, I don''t mean to rant. It''s just so easy to cut down on consumption and so many people ignore it for the sake of what they see as convenience. (e.g. Use canvas bags to do your shopping instead of those flimsy plastic bags. Buy a Brita and an aluminum water bottle-->Use. Reuse. Repeat. Simple!)

It is so easy to conserve.

 

[KimberlyH]

We live in San Diego County and personally recycle 50% of our garbage. The city picks some of it up, we take the rest to a recycling center. I''d guess 80% of our neighbors recycle, based on the bins they place in front of their houses on trash day, to what extent I do not know.

 

[Elmorton]

It really depends on where you live. I live in a mid-size midwestern city, and I don''t know what the history is here, but it''s pretty recycle-friendly. Our recycling is picked up twice a week where garbage is once (I think...uh..I don''t really take out the garbage, DH does), and we can recycle pretty much everything (paper, plastic, cans, glass, colored glass). Also, all the local grocery stores and most large stores (Walmart, Target, etc) sell re-usable bags, which I notice most people have started using. The same also offer recycling for the plastic bags.

We definitely recycle more than we throw away, and I''m really proud that even what we throw away tends to be biodegradable (though I really want to start composting).

That said, my parents live in a smaller (yet growing) town where the property taxes (thus schools, and incomes) are much higher, and they''re JUST getting a recycling program this fall - they didn''t even have the big recycling center dumpster thingies - the closest was 15 miles away - AND my parents are considering not recycling because 1) they have to pay for it and they believe it should be free and 2) it will only be recycling paper and plastic. They''re sortof the least conservation-friendly people I know.

So...that''s my "it depends" for the US. Different states have really different outlooks. I think that states and regions who have more natural sites (for example, the west) tend to be a lot more conservation-minded.

 

[sumbride]

Baltimore started single-stream recycling at the beginning of the year, and we love it, especially not having to sort. We just toss everything into a big bin and they sort it at a fancy facility. What I am upset about though is that they DON''T take everything... You cannot recycle plastic food containers (yogurt? hummus? take-out soup?), polystyrene or any trays of any sort. In fact, though they say they take plastics 1-7, the items MUST be bottles or narrow-necked jars. I think it has to do with how the machine works. It''s really annoying because before we realized this, we were down to 1 bag of trash a week, most of which could be composted if we could do that in the city. Now that we have to toss out our plastics that aren''t bottles, we''re back up to 3-4 bags a week, most of which is not compostable. We''ve changed our buying habits, but there''s only so much we can buy in glass or paper.

Interestingly, our city sells all of our paper/cardboard to China. They bundle it up and ship it off. I''m not sure how much energy that saves, but they found a market. A lot of times municipalities won''t recycle because it costs money rather than makes money. They aren''t necessarily thinking about the greater good, or lack thereof, with these decisions. It''s mostly financial. They told us that''s why they can''t accept food containers... there''s no market for them. My office also will only accept bottles and cans, not plastic salad bowls or takeout containers, and this is in Washington, DC.

 

[sumbride]

Oh, and also, in my office building in DC, we can be fined if we don''t recycle. We actually have periodic inspections where they look in our trash cans! If you throw away a post-it note you can be slapped with a $500 fine, a PERSONAL fine, not just to the company. It put the fear of whatever into us, I tell you. Sometimes I take stuff home just because I''m not sure if it''s recyclable or not and I don''t want to get punished.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I have to say that in every office I''ve ever worked in, they have the blue recycling bins...but then the cleaning service always just throws them in the same trashcan as all the other trash, haha. I am not pro-recycling, so I don''t care, but I don''t get the point of making people think they are recycling.

I saw this on the T the other day, too. They have these bins for newspaper that are supposed to be for recycling, but when a janitor comes by to put a new bag in the bins, he just throws the old bag in the regular trash! What''s the point?

 

[Tuckins1]

I agree totally, Haven. I use a re-useable water bottle... I even take my friends' water bottles home with me from the gym instead of letting them throw them away! I also recycle all of my plastic grocery bags... One of the grocery store chains around here offers a recycling program, which is nice to see.

 

[diane5006]

Single streams recycling rules...it is great we had it in my last city a big 95 gallon can just like my trash can...everything in one place...pick up once a week...but not now

...we do have curbside...but not for as much stuff...and we have to take our cans to the store

 

[meresal]

Moved from Fort Worth where the recycling program was phenomenal, to Houston which is probably about 4 times the size, and there is NO recycling program (or one that is hardly mentioned). I am a religious recycler, and I now have to store my bottles, paper, aluminum, and plastic (etc.) in my garage and then drive it to the other side of the city to dump it in each of their respectable carriers.

In fort worth ALL houses were given large receptacles (sp??) to take to the curb, one for trash and the other for recycleables. It was very well organized and communicated throughout the city. Here in Houston, I went and bought my own receptacles, house them in my garage, and stuff them all into my 4-door sedan every Saturday morning to take them across the city to the public drop off. It means alot to me, so I don't complain. It's worth it.

I can't believe that a city of this size can't get their crap together!! I work directly with all municipal bonds for Harris County (where Houston is) and they have VERY, VERY LITTLE investment into their Waste Management program. Very dissapointing. However, I have successfully converted C's family to recycling (the HARD way), which they have never done in the 30 years they have lived in the area.

 

[phoenixgirl]

In Richmond they pick up recyling every two weeks, but for some reason, they didn't pick up from our condo. The maintenance guys supposedly recycled paper and glass, but I am almost positive they just threw it out to save themselves time. So I stored it up and then drove it to a center every so often. Now that we have a house we just put it out every two weeks (but unfortunately this week we will miss the second pick up in a row, so when we finally get ours picked up we'll have six weeks' worth of recycling saved up). We don't have that much trash to put out since most things can be recycled.

At school one of the clubs sponsors paper recycling every few weeks, so I have a recycling box in my classroom. I'm the newspaper teacher, so at the end of the year I lug a gigantic cart of papers to the end of the hall, where some kindly teachers with vans and trucks load it all up and take it to the center. Unfortunately, there's no plastic/glass recycling, mainly because of the coordination and storage issues. The kids throw crap in the recycling box as it is; I'm sure they wouldn't clean/empty their stuff properly and it would be like storing a bunch of teenagers' foul smelling trash in a corner of your classroom for weeks (this is if we did it ourselves like we do now with paper--the maintenance staff should develop some drop sites).

On a side note, it's fun to walk around the city in an area waiting for recycling pick up. It's such a snap shot into people's lives--this person drinks sparkling water like it's going out of style, that person had champagne last night (I wonder what the occasion was?), this person eats Kashi cereal, that person has little kids what with the diaper boxes and baby food, etc.

 

[deegee]

We don''t have any kind of a recycling program. You have to cart everything to the recycling center yourself, and they don''t have great hours. It''s hard to get there while they''re actually open. They don''t supply any kind of containers either. They make it really tough. My hubby and I have just started to recycle plastic bottles but I don''t know where to take them! Once we get that figured out, we''ll start recycling other items as well.

I have a coworker who, out of the goodness of her heart, started a recycling program at work. She bought containers to put throughout the office, and packs everything up in her car every two weeks to haul to the recycling center. An office generates a whole lot of recycling! I get aggravated with people at work who are too lazy to walk a few extra feet to put their plastic bottle in the recycling bin and toss it in the trash instead. I have found myself picking cans and bottles out of trash cans at work and taking them to the recycle bin.

 

[TravelingGal]

Our apartment does not have a recycling program so when TGuy moved here, he was horrified. I guess Aussies are much better recyclers than we are.

I swore to him that my stuff did get recycled because people dumpster dive every day at our apartment and pick out the recycling (putting it in boxes beside the trash can makes it easier for them). He felt better but then we decided to do it ourselves to make sure that everything gets recycled so that is what we do now. Honestly, it kind of drives me crazy because TGuy only goes to do it once every few weeks so we essentially have a "trash" corner in our tiny apartment full of bottles and cans. I deal with it because I know it''s the right thing to do.

 

[CJ2008]

Date: 8/7/2008 11:31:59 AM
Author: NewEnglandLady
I have to say that in every office I''ve ever worked in, they have the blue recycling bins...but then the cleaning service always just throws them in the same trashcan as all the other trash, haha. I am not pro-recycling, so I don''t care, but I don''t get the point of making people think they are recycling.

I saw this on the T the other day, too. They have these bins for newspaper that are supposed to be for recycling, but when a janitor comes by to put a new bag in the bins, he just throws the old bag in the regular trash! What''s the point?

Why, NEL? Is it just something you don''t believe in/don''t see the benefits? I''m curious.

They used to do that in my office back in Great Neck (New York). We would take the time to put the recyclable stuff in the bins, but the cleaning people would just throw it out into the garbage can...

 

[neatfreak]

It''s unfortunately not national policy so it depends greatly on the city...my city is wonderful with recycling, but other places I have lived have been horrid.