First, let me say that I loved my husband's debut on the blog (see below) so you should just read that again if you want to read something funny instead of something incredibly geeky.
From the day we moved to Memphis from Boulder and I started unpacking my moving boxes, I've been bummed that Memphis didn't recycle paperboard and corrugated cardboard. These are the BIG things that fill up your trash can (all those cereal boxes!). I even thought about using the Starbucks cardboard recycling bin, but decided that might be a little over the top.
Yes, I love the planet. But more than that, I hate to waste anything. So I'm really excited that the city is now going to recycle paperboard. That means all those boxes of Wheat Thins, Cheerios and granola bars are no longer going to the land fill. And moving boxes too!
So -- if you live in Memphis, please jump on the paperboard recycling train. Directions below. And thanks for allowing me to be a geek about this.
Memphis is adding cardboard to its curbside recycling program. The city currently recycles newspaper, office paper, mail, catalogs, jars, aluminum cans and plastics. "But so much paper was being left in the waste stream," said Andy Ashford, Memphis recycling and composting administrator. "This is something that people have been asking for and we've been wanting for a long time," he said. Now the city will take corrugated packaging and paperboard, including moving boxes, shoe boxes, gift boxes and cereal boxes. Exceptions include wax-coated juice and milk cartons and "contaminated" cardboard such as soiled pizza boxes. The expansion is a partnership between the city and International Paper, which first approached the city and worked out details of how to sort the cardboard during the processing. Cardboard collections will be curbside only. Drop-off sites are not set up to accept cardboard. The City of Memphis began citywide recycling program in 1995. About 33 percent of residents participate each week. Memphis receives $25 per ton for the recyclable material it sends to a private processing firm, FCR of Tennessee, said public works director Jerry Collins. The city saves nearly $20 in disposal costs for every ton diverted from landfills.
More info:
Remove box contents, including plastic.
Flatten the box, and cut or tear it (no folding) to no larger than 24 by 48 inches.
Put it in the recycling bin or stack it at the curb under the bin.
5 comments:
I proudly recycled my first batch of cardboard this week! (And if you're a geek, them I'm one too -- I tried to start saving all my paper, cans and bottles at work, but despite the notes I left on my grocery bag of recycleables, the cleaning lady kept throwing it away, so I gave up.)
Yes. I'm so glad I clicked to look at your blog before pickup day tomorrow. I continued to put cardboard out even though they never picked it up. Kevin finally lectured me that THEY DON'T PICK UP CARDBOARD so I finally stopped. Gotta crank it back up again tomorrow. Yea for Memphis.
I'm a geek about recycling, too! Now, we feel so weird about putting ANYTHING in the regular trash.
I wish I were brave enough to do cloth diapering---all those diapers in the ground. :(
Cheryl -
Some research on this says that cloth diapers aren't that much better, depending on how you look at it. Cloth diapers use more energy, disposable create more waste. I still think cloth is probably the lesser of the evils...but I, like you, am not feeling quite that noble!
Kate
Well, leave it to me to not even KNOW that Memphis didn't take cardboard until now. I've been tossing the cereal boxes in with the cans and newspapers for months! Whoops! At least now it's legit.
And on a random note: (Extra random b/c I am not a mom yet) I am a Method fanatic (a non-toxic cleaner brand that Target carries)...so much that I read their blog. They did a spotlight on a new kind of diaper that was environmentally friendly. It looked like it took a little guts, but saved a lot of waste AND energy. Just thought I'd throw that out there for you mommys. The website for the blog post is: http://peopleagainstdirty.typepad.com/people_against_dirty/2006/11/post.html
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