w Identify a container to collect used batteries and CFLs for hazardous waste disposal. Many recycling centers have special containers for this sort of waste.
w Compost yard waste.
BE A SMART SHOPPER! In addition to looking for the symbols on plastic, consider the paper products you are buying. Ancient and endangered forests are being destroyed to make toilet paper, facial tissues, paper towels and other disposable paper products. We can each have an impact by making smart shopping decisions. Look for products that have a high
recycled content, including high post- consumer content (these are fibers recovered from previously used paper). And buy products that have not been treated with chlorine to make them whiter. Chemicals end up in our air and water and are toxic to people and fish. So look for products that are chlorine-free (PCF or TCF). Here’s a quick reference list of good choices, and a list of no-no’s.
Paper products which have 100%
recycled content, 80% post consumer content, and are chlorine-free are: w Atlantic
w Earth First w Earth Friendly w Fiesta w Green Forest w Natural Value w Seventh Generation
w Marcal & Small Steps are 100% recycled, 60% post consumer content and chlorine free
Products with no recycled content and which are bleached with chlorine are listed below. These products use virgin materials (trees) and contain chemicals. w Paper towels – Bounty and Viva
w Toilet paper – Charmin and Cottenelle w Facial tissues – Kleenex and Puffs w Paper Napkins – Bounty and Kleenex
According to the National Resources Defense Council, if every household in the U.S. bought just one recycled product in each of the above categories, we would save more than 1,800,000 trees!!
DON’T LITTER!!
Everyone should know not to trash up our beautiful countryside and roadways. It’s unhealthy, ugly, a threat to waterways, animals, fish and fowl. And litter includes cigarette butts! They are not biodegradable and take many years to decompose. Meanwhile, their chemical content leaches into soil and water and are a threat to wildlife. Cigarette butts have been found in the stomachs of fish and birds. Nothing could be easier than NOT throwing trash and butts out the window!!
AN EFFORT WORTH MAKING
Recycling in some rural areas, such as parts of the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula, is made more difficult because facilities are not readily available. In more urban areas, households are provided with single-stream recycling bins which go to the curb on trash day. If we are without that convenience, we need to make a greater effort. I hope you agree that it is an effort worth making. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is a habit you can easily get into that, after a bit,
The House & Home Magazine
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