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 Be mindful about wrapping materials this holiday season. Wrapping paper with plastic or metallic additives such as glitter and foil cannot be recycled. Tissue paper cannot be recycled. Bows can be reused but not recycled.
A common misconception is that all wrapping paper can be recycled. Read more at ecologycenter.org  Don’t put mixed recyclables in a plastic bag. Closed plastic bags with items inside are considered contamination at recycling facilities.
Plastic bags and curbside recycling don’t mix! Both plastic bags used to contain recyclables and those that are tossed into recycling bins are problematic for recyclers. If you use a plastic bag for storing household or office recyclables, open it and dump contents into your recycling bin so all items are loose. Save your plastic bag for reuse or recycle it at the supermarket. If neither option is viable, discard it in your garbage so it doesn’t cause costly shutdowns at the recycling plant. Single-stream curbside programs rely on mechanical sorting of recyclables. The business model for recyclers depends, in turn, on keeping the machinery running efficiently. Plastic bags slow things down in two ways:
Most supermarkets collect plastic bags for recycling, so returning them to the store where you got them is a good option. Alternatively, try to cut down on the number of plastic bags you use in the first place. When running errands, take along a reusable shopping bag instead! Read more at earth911.com  Focus first on waste reduction: reduce and reuse before relying on recycling
Reducing and reusing have greater value in terms of sustainability than recycling. Buying less new stuff and getting more use out of already existing stuff uses less resources and produces less waste. Recycling can be difficult to do correctly, and many materials remain unrecyclable. Despite this, there is a tendency for people attempting to be more sustainable to prioritize recycling over reduce or reuse. This behavior has been termed “recycling bias” and “reduction neglect.” The more effective way to reduce waste is to prevent its creation rather than relying on recycling. See more details in this 2023 article in theconversation.com by Michaela Barnett, Leidy Klotz, Patrick I. Hancock, and Shahzeen Attari.  Imperfect clothing, textiles, and scraps can be confidently donated to The Wardrobe in Upper Darby for their upcycling initiatives. Their mission is combating clothing insecurity.
Keep those items out of the waste stream and donate items in good shape, as well. Simply separate the imperfect items and scraps into their own bag or box. Local news outlets recently celebrated The Wardrobe for 30 years of success and growth in its outreach. Read more here: https://careerwardrobe.org/get-involved/clothing-donations/ https://careerwardrobe.org/faq/  Recycle both usable and worn-out shoes at the Swarthmore Food Co-op
Drop off your unwanted shoes into the box in the back corner of the store. Footwear of any style, even if it is worn-out and unwearable, is accepted. All donations are recycled through Native Shoes Remix Project. The donated shoes are reprocessed and repurposed for community projects such as seating, playground flooring, insulation, and other products. Learn more about the Remix recycling process.  Paper towels, napkins, and tissues cannot be recycled because their fibers are too short. Instead, compost them.
Papermaking fibers can typically be recycled five to seven times before they become too short to be recycled again. Paper towels and napkins are the last stop in the recycling chain. Also, only clean recovered paper that is free of food, trash, and other contaminants can be recycled at all. Read more at StanfordMag.org Photo by Susan O'Donnell  Staples has added surprising new categories to its recycling including single-use batteries, pens, markers, colored pencils, glue sticks, zipper binders, luggage, and more.
Now Staples can be relied on to recycle not just tech items but items we resorted to throwing out in the past. These include batteries, school supplies, bags and luggage. Gather items and bring them to the store. See the complete list on the Staples website. Photo by Susan O'Donnell  Swarthmore now has a glass recycling bin at our Public Works Recycling Center at 121 Dartmouth Avenue. This single-streamed recycling option is superior to curbside mixed-product recycling because it ensures that the glass will be used to make new glass products. Glass that is picked up curb-side is crushed and used to line landfills, a use which does not take advantage of the fact that glass is infinitely recyclable. Bringing your glass to the Recycling Center should also reduce the fees paid by the Borough for hauling and disposal, saving homeowners money, as glass is often the heaviest item we toss. You can drop off your glass in the big blue bin at the Recycling Center as you drop off your aluminum cans and cardboard and paper. All glass jars, jugs, and bottles of any color are accepted. Please make sure all vessels are empty. Do not deposit porcelain, ceramic, glass bakeware, mirrors, stemware, window glass, TVs, or light bulbs. Remove recyclables from the containers you bring them in - do not throw any bags or boxes into the bin for glass. The new glass recycling program is the Borough’s next step to a zero-waste protocol - part of our effort to be better stewards of the planet. Initially, the bin is a pilot for six months, after which time it may become permanent. Wherever possible, consider buying products in glass rather than plastic containers, and always recycle responsibly. More information here from the Pennsylvania Resources Council   Billions of contact lenses are thrown into sinks or toilets every year in our country which break down into microplastics and do not degrade. Dispose of contacts in the trash or through recycling programs now available in optometry offices.
The environmental impact of microplastics has been well-documented and its long-term impact on human health is being studied. Contact lenses are not innocuous despite their small size. Read more here  Give your recyclable containers a quick rinse in cold water before tossing in the recycling bin.
Chunks of food on containers that are tossed into the mixed recycling bin can contaminate the whole load. However, your recycling does not need to be scrubbed with soap until it is sparkling clean. Give your recyclables a quick rinse, just enough to remove the food residue. Leaving a thin film on the surface is OK. To avoid using extra water, rinse them in your dirty, soapy dishwater. Put the cap or lid back on bottles and jars and give it a shake. For more information, see this article. Photo by Susan O'Donnell |
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