Can't We Try to Recycle More?

It seems to me that we can all do a better job of helping the environment by recycling more. We live in a beautiful community that is built, in part, around the concept of environmental conservation. We have a nature center, the builder has taken efforts to preserve much of the natural environment, and we are a Certified Wildlife Habitat Community.
You would think with this kind of focus on the environment, that the people living within our community would also share, even a little, the principles that the Broadlands is built around.

Every Monday morning I drive down my street on my way to work and see empty boxes, paper, and other recyclables along with items such as clothes, bicycles, furniture, and other perfectly good household items. It seems to me that we can all do a little better.

On Thursday mornings (our recycling day), I also drive down my street on my way to work and I see relatively few recycling containers on the curb. Those that I see are small with relatively few items and next to them large garbage cans running over with garbage.

I am by no means the world’s best recycler and I am not an environmental zealot. I just think that we can all do more to reduce, reuse, and recycle. I have a recyclable container in my garage that is nearly as big as my garbage can. Each week it is completely full and I usually manage to have only 1 or 2 bags of garbage. With some effort, you will be amazed at what you’re throwing away. Much of what you put into the garbage now is recyclable and will end up in the landfill. Here are some tips that will help:

1. Call your trash company and request a larger recycling container. They are free and the small ones just don’t do.
2. Take a look at these guidelines (http://www.recycling-revolution.com/what-to-recycle.html) for what you can recycle and check every item before you throw it way.
3. Save your old batteries, cell phones, and small electronic items and take them with you the next time you go to Best Buy. They have a bin in their entrance way where you can drop them off.
4. Use the cloth bags for your groceries and if you don’t like that option, save your plastic bags and take them back to the store with you on the next trip. They all have bins inside to recycle them.
5. Before you throw away household items, clothes, books, etc., consider donating them. There is a clothes donation bin at the car wash on Ashburn Village Road (very close to Broadlands) and a Goodwill in Sterling. You can also call and have them pick it up. You can always sell it on EBay or Craig’s List or see if one of your friends or family might be interested. Think before you throw it away.
6. If you have a lot of boxes or items that can be recycled, wait to put it out on Thursday. Many people make purchases over the weekend and want to get the boxes out of the house or garage. Try to resist; waiting a couple of days isn’t the end of the world.
7. Remember that our trash company will not pick up yard waste in any type of plastic bags (even clear ones). Use the paper bags that you get at Lowes or Home Depot.

I hope that we can all do a little better to honor our community and our environment.

 

I agree and will say, as many have, that our recycling bins are overflowing come Thursday. So here's some good news. Patriot Disposal (703-257-7100) will deliver a 64 Gallon Toter for a one time fee of $10, paid by CC and over the phone. For SF homes, your toter is 96 Gallons, so this is smaller, but is on wheels, is marked for recycling and has a lid to avoid trash blowing all over the place. We currently use 3 recycling bins, so this will be a welcome change.

I just ordered mine!

 

Not sure how Broadlands' trash contract is setup, but some company's charge by the ton-age. BUT, recyclables are free of charge because dumps usually don't charge for recyclables. So depending how the trash contract is setup, broadlands can save money by making sure people are recycling at their max.

 

We couldn't agree with you more! Our recycling has to go out weekly b/c it's always overflowing the toter yet we could probably only put out our trash once every 3-4 weeks. Whereas we see the people with cardboard boxes out on Mondays.........especially right after Christmas. Just hang onto them for 3 more days, jeez!

Another thing that Patriot Disposal really helps with is composting food waste. Just drop it in the yard waste bags to go out on Mondays. I'm not sure what we will do when they stop picking up yard waste in the winter.

 

Dumps or recycling centers? Does anyone know where's our closest one is located?

 

I actually think it's time for a redesign of trash cans. Not the ones we put outside for pick-up, but the household cans typically found in our kitchens. At least I've never seen one design in the manner that I'm thinking. If a single trashcan had two receptacles - one for regular trash and the other labeled for recyclables, people might be more inclined to separate their trash at the point of discarding it rather than having to wait for trash day. With the way they're designed right now, if you want that ease in separating trash, you have to keep multiple trash cans in your kitchen and that's not really effective - at least I don't find it to be so.

 

I don't know if it is the closest but there is one on Gum Springs Road by the school. I only know that because I drive past it every day.

I "think" there is a center on Evergreen Mill but I have not actually seen it from the road.

 

We keep our recylcing bins in the garage and throw all reclycables out there.

 

this is interesting to me... 3 of us in our house, we don't recycle much (I know, slap me) but we put out trash an average of once a week- NEVER over flowing. now and then we actually do put out trash twce a week, but not often. i think our recyclable waste would fill a plastic Wegmans bag, maybe 2, if we paid attention to it. but we simply don't generate THAT much trash!

ever think about how to make LESS trash...? just a thought.

 

I guess that's what happens when you eat out all of the time! I kid, I kid!!!

 

ZZZING! lol

that WAS part of it but in the past few months we've been cooking more at home. i reuse a LOT of stuff like jars, boxes, bags, etc... the Man actually makes fun of me for it. maybe it looks like less trash b/c we break down the boxes, and stack things like plastic cups before we trash them. i'm more apt to use real plates, flatware and cups than paper or plastic, though we use those as well. maybe b/c we're buying more fresh veggies and fruit, we rarely have cans to throw away, just flat plastic bags. b/c the boy is 10 and is a sports nut, we rarely buy toys or playthings that come with all that crazy plastic packaging.

all i know is- we do't make a lotta trash.

 

Generating less trash overall will have a greater impact on the enviornment, in my opinion.

We also only put our trash out once a week and our recycle bin is not overflowing...but we don't produce that much trash in the first place.

 

There are a couple that are close:

Arcola Community Center, 24244 Gum Springs Road (Rt. 659)

Loudoun County Solid Waste Management Facility, 21101 Evergreen Mills Road

Also, here is a link: http://www.loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=750

 

I completely agree. Reducing our consumption is way better than recycling. Buying things that have minimal packaging has a profound impact. It's nice to have a little bit of my own judgment thrown back in my face. It keeps me on my toes.

 

If I owned a garbage company I would give everyone a 96 gallon recyclable container and a little bucket for trash. I think they may have it wrong.

 

We have modified a small cabinet in our home. It is now a pull out with two 13 gallon cans, one behind the other, landscape if you will. We use the front for trash and the back for recycle. It's made by REV-A-SHELF. When the cabinet is closed, it looks like all the others.

Also, We LOVE our new toter for Recycling, it replaced 3, count 'em, 3 small bins.

 

Here's a snap for you.

 

If only more manufactures would cooperate and use less packing this would help us out.

Who is the jerk who designed those nuclear-blast proof, bullet-proof armoured plastic bubble packaging?

I really should not need an industrial laser to open up a stupid package.

And do the manufactures even care what this packaging does to the environment? :scaredeyes:

I know that shoplifting is a serious issue, but I am sure there is another solution other than impregnable packaging.

 

I have the solution. shelves with high risk items show only a display of that item. you take a ticket to check out, they store them at a counter at the front of the store, and the customer picks in up on the way out the door. problem solved, no ridiculous packaging needed. oh no- people might have to add an additional 2 minutes to their shopping experience... WAAHH. i'm sure some smart manager can find a way that the storage counter is alerted so there is no wait for a pick up.

 

We always compact plastics where we can - they're less apt to blow away on a windy day but then again, we set the paper recyclables on top so everthing is held in the container.


The other day, the owner of the green drycleaners next to Safeway mentioned a program on the Discover network that showed the bottom of the ocean (where, I don't know), piled with plastics. She said she thought of about me because I always ask them to NOT cover my clothes with the plastic bags. She said that many customers get upset when they cover 2 articles of clothing with one bag instead of separately. So, I think people need to think outside of their cocoon and develop an awareness that every decision made, no matter how benign it seems on the surface, ultimately will have far reaching consequences. Think globally!