On my street, we have a birthday party for the person our street is named after every year. We also have a lot of events in the community. So when I was asked to provide ideas on how to host a zero waste block party this year, the following is what I came up with.…
One of the more recent questions I’ve been getting is can my toothbrush be recycled. Probably not and definitely not in the blue single-stream carts. Most toothbrushes are plastic; however the bristles are nylon and the gripy stuff is a kind of polymer. So basically it’s a composite/mixed material and it’s not recyclable in most…
One of the questions I had recently was about baby formula canisters, like the one pictured here. Most of these containers are made out of liquid paperboard (LPB), a combination of paper and plastic (and sometimes also metal) to keep moisture out. In the City of Austin, these are not recyclable since they’re a composite/mixed…
Do you need a new car seat or an upgrade for your child or grandkid? April 22 – May 4, 2019 is this spring’s Target Car Seat Trade-in event! Quoting from Target’s website, “Guests who trade in their old car seats will receive a 20 % off coupon toward a new: car seat car seat…
More than you thought Cities are starting to provide Styrofoam recycling. Styrofoam can be melted down in a densifier into a block of material that can then be sold for reuse. The City of Austin and New Braunfels provides this service! I started a neighborhood Styrofoam collection last Christmas when I started to see all…
This article appears in the April 2019 edition of the Front Porch Flyer. It has been expanded here to address apartments, condos, and specific donation types. Approximately 6.6 million pounds of textiles are going to the landfill each year from ARR’s curbside customers. That’s 18,000 pounds of clothes going in the trash every day rather…
Top Contaminants in Mueller Recycling Carts This article originally appeared in the January 2019 edition of the Front Porch Flyer. It has been updated with apartment information and additional cities’ information. As amazing as Muellerites are at being green, we do have recurring “contamination” in our blue recycling carts. Below are incorrect items that are…
How to stop receiving unwanted mail Red Plum is the most widely received coupon circular. To remove a mailing address, folks should visit http://www.valassis.com/about-us/contact-us, and select “Remove Mailing Address” in the middle of the page. It can take up to 6 weeks, so be patient. ValPak is another coupon mailer. To opt out, visit https://www.valpak.com/coupons/show/mailinglistsuppression To…
Recycling plastic bags and plastic film One of the areas that I think is often overlooked in educating citizens is plastic bag and plastic film recycling. Per Austin Resource Recovery (ARR), these are “Those materials you can push your finger through that cannot be recycled in your blue [recycling] bins.” Plastic bags and plastic film…
The following information was shared with City of Austin Zero Waste Block Leaders in the February/March 2019 newsletter. This is long so bear with me. It’s an official response from Austin Resource Recovery/The City of Austin to citizen concerns. China’s program to stop importing recyclables, “Operation Green Fence,” was formally implemented beginning in 2013 because…