A recycling review now and then is probably a good thing. This article and the next one are going to cover many of the recycling habits the residents of Fillmore County should have. Each paragraph is in the form of a question and then comments and information concerning the question.
Do you recycle junk mail? The plastic window on the envelope does not have to be removed. An envelop containing bubble wrap is not recyclable. Magazines, inserts, advertisements, phone books, catalogs, most greeting cards, and brochures should be recycled. And, of course, all newspaper should be recycled. All colors of paper are recyclable.
Do you recycle paper bags, corrugated cardboard, notebooks, paper milk cartons, juice cartons, and fridge packs? Along with these items, you have paper towel tubes, toilet paper tubes, bath soap boxes, tissue boxes, as well as mac and cheese boxes, pasta boxes, bath soap boxes, and of course, all those cereal boxes. The waxy bag inside the cereal box and cracker box should be placed in your landfill garbage.
Do you know that your paper egg cartons are now recyclable? The paper ones are, but the styrofoam are not. As always, no form of styrofoam can be recycled in Fillmore County. It all goes to landfill, so use as little of it as possible, including those thousands of coffee cups that are so handy to have around. Please think about using a plastic insulated coffee container or one made of metal.
Do you recycle a lot of plastic? Now that number “5” plastic is to be recycled in our county, a lot more plastic should be going into your bin. All those yogurt, margarine, butter, cottage cheese, peanut butter, grape jelly, mayo, and other plastic tubs should not end up in landfill any more. Please remember that even though there are chasing arrows and a “6” on the bottom of a piece of styrofoam, the chasing arrows do not make it recyclable.
Do you recycle plastic bottles, but not the plastic caps? Plastic bottles and plastic jugs are very recyclable. However the caps are made of a different form of plastic, melt at a different temperature, and cause all kinds of problems with the making of new plastic items.
Do you put plastic bags in the container with my recyclables? I would hope not. Plastic bags are to be kept out of recycling containers at home, the rural containers throughout the county, on the curb, or at the Recycling Center. You should either landfill them (hundreds of them a year) or the better solution is to keep them clean and dry and take them to a store that accepts them and then sends them to a recycler. As much as most of us dislike all those bags, I will have to admit that many of us use them once in a while just as a convenience.