ALL TOGETHER NOW!

Recycling got easier in Maplewood! Beginning January 01, 2009 Maplewood went single stream, which means you are now able to toss all of your recyclables in just one container. That’s right! Take just one dumpster out to the curb. Our combined recycling now includes: newspapers (black/white and colored), magazines, flyers, junk mail plus envelopes (with and without windows), boxes (including food boxes for cereal, cookies, etc….), cardboard (unless there’s food on it),  aluminum, and plastic. 

To be clear—and joyfully emphatic—“Dump it in!” Even cardboard can go in there, but any that does not fit must be flattened and tied into bundles, as before. Actually, you can use more than one bin; the only constraint is that each bin cannot exceed 35 pounds. 

And, about plastic—Maplewood accepts plastic 1-7, but ONLY if they are in the shape of a jug or a bottle.  In other words, the neck is narrower than the body  If your plastic is not in bottle or jug shape, then it can't be recycled in our program.  That means no plastic bags, no plastic wrap, no plastic "clam-shells," no yogurt, cottage cheese or butter tubs, no tupperware or similar container, no styrofoam, no platters, no packaging, no shower curtains.  Sounds like a lot of "no"s, we know.  Just remember -- if the neck is narrower than the body, you can recycle it.  For those number 5 in shapes other than a bottle (tub-shaped containers, etc.), you can take them to Whole Foods for recycling.

To cap it off, by recycling (and precycling, i.e. bringing less non-recyclable packaging into the house) you can reduce your regular household trash to one garbage can picked up twice a week. Find out how….

Click here to download the "Recycling Cheat Sheet," which tells you what to put into your recycling container.  You can print up a copy and put it on the recycling container in your home so everyone knows what goes in.  

PRECYCLING

Precycling refers to thinking ahead about the life cycle of any object you purchase or acquire. In precycling all the tenets of recycling are there: reduce, reuse, and rethink. It is really waste prevention not waste management. Think about it this way: what you don’t bring into your house, you don’t have to recycle out of it. Precycling is streamlined and economical, and here’s how to do it. 

Buy in bulk quantities whenever possible. Bulk means less packaging per unit; this reduces waste, plus manufacturers extend their cost savings on to you. On the opposite end, avoid single-serving sized products, which are much more wasteful, costing manufacturers more money to produce, which you then pay for. The same goes for disposables. Choose reusable or refillable products whenever possible to save the environment—and your  wallet.  You can cut down on your junk mail by going to Ecocycle and stop the mountains of catalogs by going to Catalog Choice.