Category: Recycle

Recycle old shoes

3/14/2025

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.

Compost paper towels, napkins

2/21/2025

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

Expanded recycling at Staples stores

2/7/2025

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

Recycle glass jars and bottles at the Swarthmore Recycling Center

1/10/2025

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

Recycle or trash contact lenses

10/25/2024

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

Rinse before recycling

10/4/2024

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

Choose materials that can be repeatedly recycled

8/30/2024

Aluminum, other metals, and glass can be recycled infinite times; paper about five to seven times; and plastic once or twice, if at all.

Recyclable plastic is generally recycled down or “downcycled” so a water bottle may become synthetic fabric, insulation, or plastic lumber but cannot be recycled further. By contrast, metals and glass are infinitely recyclable.

Read more here at Earth911.com

Photo by Ty Nigh, Flickr

Dispose of fishing line properly so it does not become a hazard to wildlife

5/31/2024

Marine birds, mammals, and other wildlife can become entangled in abandoned fishing line, resulting in injured limbs, starvation, and a slow death. The material in fishing line takes 600 years to break down, so proper disposal is crucial to protecting wildlife. The best practice is to cut old fishing line into pieces no longer than one foot to prevent accidental entanglement and collect it in a bag. The most common types of line, monofilament and fluorocarbon, are recyclable (braided line is not). Many boat launches, piers and fishing access locations provide fishing line collection sites. Some bait and tackle shops also have fishing line recycling bins.

Learn more about recycling fishing line at takemefishing.org and BoatU.S.Foundation websites.
Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Keep plastic utensils out of the recycling

4/26/2024

Recycling mystery revealed: plastic utensils are not recyclable.

Plastic utensils are not recyclable. The majority are made of polystyrene (#6 plastic, same as Styrofoam). Some are made of #1 plastic but are not labeled, so we have no way of knowing. The odd shapes also jam machinery. Replace plastic utensils with compostable or reusable ones.

Read more here.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Recycle electronics to save resources and keep toxins out of the waste stream

12/16/2022

Recycling old electronics allows for reuse of their component parts for new devices. Reusing these materials reduces the metals and toxins that would otherwise end up in the waste stream and reduces the energy input for manufacturing new plastic and glass. Citing a 2006, U.S. Geological Survey publication, the EPA reports that:

Recycling one million laptops saves the energy equivalent to the electricity used by more than 3,500 U.S. homes in a year.
For every million cell phones we recycle, 35 thousand pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered.*

If your unwanted electronic device is still functional, consider donating it so it can be reused. Computers may be given new life with a hardware upgrade instead of complete replacement. Best Buy accepts many electronic devices for recycling and offers gift cards to trade-in qualifying devices. Retriever.com will pick up electronics from your doorstep for recycling. Keep an eye out for periodic recycling events in the area. E Force Recycling posts a list of their events on their web page. Check out the aFewSteps Recycling page and search our recycling list for how to handle specific items.

*”Electronics Donation and Recycling.” Last updated on August 23, 2022. https://www.epa.gov/recycle/electronics-donation-and-recycling

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