Recycling Bin and Garbage Can go Head-to-Head

I'll bet many of you are finding that your recycling bin fills up much faster than your garbage can. Well, I'll probably get called out for my recycling and garbage choices, but here is a photo of tonight's recycling and garbage. The garbage can only goes out once per week. Remember back in the day when the garbage cans in DC were larger than the recycling bins? Maybe DC will keep going and start having twice-per-week recycling and once-per-week garbage collection?

Best Rechargeable Batteries

Really, rechargeable batteries have improved, retain their charge much longer, and, according to Tree Hugger, are much less damaging than disposable batteries to the environment over the entire life of the battery. They are also a good price. It is essential that one gets the right batteries (most recommended: hybrid Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) cells) and a good charger.

According to Metaefficient, here are the best rechargeable batteries:
1) Eneloop Rechargeable Batteries by Sanyo
2) Hybrio Rechargeable Batteries by Uniross

Here are the best chargers:
1) LaCrosse Technology BC-900 Alpha Battery Charger
2) Ansmann Deluxe “Energy 8″ Charger
3) Maha PowerEx “Ultimate Professional” Charger

Remember that rechargeable batteries must be recycled, rather than dumped. Luckily, DC has many options for this: Radio Shack at Eastern Market and other locations found at Call2Recycle.

How to deal with E-Waste

I think we have to get beyond the handwringing about e-recycling (but it all goes to Africa, but it is never recycled, but but but) and think about concrete steps to improve the situation. The Guardian is reporting on a new UN report stating that the amount of electronic waste being created around the world may increase by as much as 500% within 10 years as consumer demand for products outpaces recycling capabilities. This increased e-waste poses a serious threat to health and the environment.

How to deal with this?
1) Urge local governments and consumers to recycle old electronics, rather than dump them. It's best to have these electronics reused in some way, such as through Gazelle, BuyMyTronics, Apple, or Dell. The DC government also collects e-cycling every Saturday.
2) Support local informal recycling, where valuable materials are scavenged for resale and reuse. Use our very own FreeCycle.
3) Make producers take back their electronics for recycling. The European Union is doing this through its WEEE Directive.
4) Make producers responsible for dealing with environmental damage caused by production, which would motivate them to redesign the production of computers. Most of the environmental damage is done in the very production of computers.
5) Create recycling facilities, including in developing countries. Computer Aid and Digital Links deal with end-of-life computer recycling in Africa.
6) Enforce anti-dumping laws.
7) Any other ideas?

Airline and Airport Recycling

As many of you probably already saw in the Post, Green America came out with a report on the sorry state of recycling in the airline industry. Out of all the airlines, Delta and Virgin America earned the highest rating in the group, a B-, while United and US Air failed. No airline recycles all of the major recyclables: aluminum cans, glass, plastic, paper. The basic take away message is that 1) we should pressure the airlines to recycle and 2) in the meantime, if the flight attendant says they don't recycle, take your items for recycling off the plane and recycle them in the airport or at home.

Part of the problem is that most airports don't have recycling facilities. Earlier, I reported that in the DC area, the far-and-away leader in recycling is BWI Airport. BWI recycling went from less than 5% of waste in 2004 to 28% in 2006, which is extraordinary since only one or two US airports have over 25% and the percentage of total waste that is recycled in the United States is 32.5%. The BWI recycling program saves approximately $15,000 per year. Local recycling rules should apply to airports and airlines, which would legally force them to recycle.

Update on Hill Battery Recycling

I dropped by the Radio Shack at Eastern Market Metro to pick up used batteries they are collecting for us. They gave me a huge bag of batteries, which I delivered to our battery recycler and neighbor Cathy. It was so great to get this huge bag! Keep dropping off your batteries at Radio Shack, Brita water filters at Hill's Kitchen, and wine corks at Hayden's. See the addresses of these locations in the General DC Recycling Info column over to the right.

Compost Kitchen Scraps

One way to keep a huge amount of material from landfills is to compost. DC Urban Gardeners has a great website about composting: Composting 101 for DC Residents. However, many in urban areas may not have the space to compost. Common Good City Farm on 3rd and V Streets NW will be collecting kitchen scraps and other compostable materials after February when they reopen the farm. Common Good City Farm is an amazing place. Since January 2007, they have provided over 400 bags of fresh produce to low-income DC families, taught over 600 DC residents in workshops, engaged over 500 DC school children, and hosted over 1000 volunteers. I'll bet that some DC residents compost, even though they don't have enough space to use their compost. Is there some place where people could donate their compost? To the DC city government? To local neighborhood associations?

Recycling an Ipod

Since we could no longer return this broken Ipod, we decided to recycle it (and its many cables). I first went to Gazelle to recycle it for cash, but I waited too long and now the Ipod isn't worth anything! But Gazelle and BuyMyTronics will reuse (and pay you money for) cell phones, laptops, desktops, LCD monitors, mp3 players, GPS, movies, gaming consoles, camcorders, calculators, and so on. After Gazelle rejected me, I went to Apple, which very helpfully emailed me a postage-paid mailing label (see photo), so I just place my envelope in the nearest USPS mailbox or USPS Post Office, or leave it for my daily mail pickup. So easy!

Battery, Cork, Brita Water Filter Recycling on the Hill

On my recycling travels around the Hill, I stopped by Hill's Kitchen to collect a couple of Brita water filters. Leah at Hill's Kitchen says that people are now hearing about the filter recycling there, which is great. Then I saw the manager of Radio Shack, and he said that he had batteries to collect. Finally, Hayden's Liquor gave me a HUGE bag of corks. So, keep dropping off things to recycle!

Buy Recycled Envelopes

The Stuart-Hobson Middle School on the Hill makes envelopes around of old wall calendars (Recyclelopes), which they sell for $5 per set at Riverby Books (419 East Capitol St SE). 100% of the funds goes to support the school. I'm going to have to go and take a look at these recyclelopes to actually report on them!

Holiday Recycling

What to do with your holiday cards? Recycle them! St. Jude's Ranch for Children in Nevada takes all used greeting cards and turns them into "new" cards. Their Recycled Card Program has received over one million cards, and you can buy cards through their website. They are Christian and thus deal with such holidays, but they also collect and sell birthday and thank you cards.

The DC government is collecting trees, wreaths, and other greenery to compost. Residents should place the greenery in curbside tree boxes from Friday to Jan. 10th. Residents can also drop off trees at the Ford Totten Transfer Station from Saturday to January 9th.

Yoga mat update

The Washington Humane Society also takes used yoga mats (see #14 in the General DC Recycling Info column to the right)!

Airport Recycling Competition

Let's just put it simply. In the DC area, the far-and-away leader in recycling is BWI Airport. BWI recycling went from less than 5% of waste in 2004 to 28% in 2006, which is extraordinary since only one or two US airports have over 25% and the percentage of total waste that is recycled in the United States is 32.5%. The BWI recycling program saves approximately $15,000 per year. According to GreenMiles in fall 2007, "Until recently, National didn't have any recycling at all." More info soon.

The House Office Buildings (and soon the Senate) compost

The House Office buildings have implemented some great practices that should be replicated in other government and commercial spaces in the DC area:
* Switching to primarily fresh, organic, locally grown food sources (within 150 miles of the Capitol, wherever possible), thereby reducing packaging waste and fuel burdens for delivery.
* Banning Plastics and Styrofoam from use in kitchen and cafeteria. All Styrofoam® and plastic food service items have been replaced with fully compostable, American-made plates, utensils, cups, water bottles and glasses.
* Sending all food waste and biodegradable food service containers to commercial composting facilities. The House Office buildings use Bates Trucking to haul the compostable materials to Recycled Green Industries, a composting facility in Maryland and within cost effective hauling range of Capitol Hill.
* Instituting a Pulping Practice to extract water from the food service waste stream, reducing the weight of the waste by up to 50% and thus the fuel used to transport it, and making the waste ready for composting.

Since initiation of this program, more than 660 tons of landfill waste has been diverted to regional composting companies in 2008. Do you know of a restaurant or other location that should compost? Let them know about Bates Trucking, Recycled Green Industries, and EnviRelation.

Yoga mat recycling

Yoga charities all across the United States desperately need your donated yoga mat. Donate your gently used yoga mat to The Bolder Mat Company, and they will refurbish it and donate it to yoga charities. Your mat will then be used to teach at risk populations about the benefits of yoga. The Bolder Mat Company also sells yoga mats and eco-friendly yoga mat bags made from T-shirt scraps.

Cork recycling clarified

Cathy gave over 10 pounds of corks to an artist in town last week. We usually ship our corks to Yemm and Hart, which now pays for corks and turns them into tiles. Terracycle (and the local artist) also collect plastic corks. So, there are many people that want your wine corks! Relatedly, World Wildlife Fund has asked everyone to buy wine with natural corks.

“Cork harvesting is an environmentally-friendly process during which not a single tree is cut down. Synthetic and screw top closures are more harmful to the environment because they use more energy in production and are oil-based products” World Wildlife Fund, May 15, 2006. Did you know that the Cork Montados, the cork oak savannahs, are the continuation of an ancient practice and multi-dimensional use of land around the Mediterranean Sea? The Cork Montados actually protect the biodiversity and certain wildlife that is endangered or on the brink of extinction and are a hedge against desertification caused by global warming as the Sahara creeps into Europe. Real cork is sustainable, synthetic and screw caps are not.

Andrew very intelligently asked, doesn't recycling corks undermine cork agriculture? My answer is that 1) recycling keeps cork and other materials out of landfills, 2) recycling cork through Yemm and Hart helps to build a new market with sustainable materials but does not infringe on the wine cork market, and 3) the amount of cork we are recycling is so small comparatively. So, buy wine with natural corks and recycle all corks. Don't toss your corks because many groups want them.

Whole Foods on P St recycles Brita water filters and more

Whole Foods on P St recycles Brita water filters, batteries, cell phones, and clothing. They also compost! Thank you, Whole Foods!

Capitol Hill Radio Shack now recycles batteries!

Yes, the Radio Shack right next to the Eastern Market Metro (717 D St SE) is now collecting regular and rechargeable batteries for recycling. Just give your used batteries to the sales associates, and they will collect them. Of course, you can always recycle your batteries through DC government e-recycling, but this means driving to the Fort Totten Trash Transfer Station. Now you can just walk by our local Radio Shack. The DC Recycler will be regularly picking up the batteries for recycling. If you want your local Radio Shack or hardware store to collect batteries, just ask them! They may want to recycle them themselves or you can pick them up on a regular basis and recycle them yourself. It's an easy way to help keep batteries out of landfills. Thank you, Capitol Hill Radio Shack!

DC Recycler is thankful for the DC government's recycling program

While the DC government could do so much more, it is doing a great job collecting and composting leaves this year. This project alone keeps thousands of pounds of material out of landfills and reuses this usual "waste" for gardening, etc. According to the DPW website, DC residents may pick up mulch March through November at New Jersey Avenue and K Street, SE, from 7am to 3pm, Monday through Saturday. Residents are allowed to take up to three 30-gallon bags (large trash bags). The mulch is free, but residents must bag it themselves. Interestingly, through its Helping Hand Program, the DPW will even provide mulch and tools for large-scale neighborhood beautification projects, who knew? Of course, the DC government is getting us to do its dirty work, but, if you want to get something done, sometimes you have to do it yourself. In any case, thanks to the DC recycling program for composting and recycling. Let's work towards expanding recycling in the District.

My personal recycling center

Some might think that collecting recycling at holiday parties veers too close to collecting garbage. However, with this very attractive "personal recycling center" on my shoulder, I will discretely collect wine corks, Brita water filters, and batteries that my friends and neighbors bring to holiday parties. It's easy and oh so "chic."

Holiday Recycling

Holiday gatherings are a great opportunity to collect items for recycling. For example, our block is having a progressive cocktail party, where we move as a group from house to house. I'll be collecting Brita water filters, non-plastic wine corks, and batteries for our group. As part of the DC Recycler recycling circle, Kim collects the filters, Cathy collects the batteries, and I collect the wine corks. See the July 25th posting below about starting your own recycling circle. It's easy and interesting.