When we lived in Portland, we had a comprehensive recycling program. It was a huge success. Part of the reason it was so successful, was that garbage service was not part of our taxes, it was a separate utility. In the 90′s, a resident had to pay $35 month for a single large garbage can. More garbage than that and you were charged for overages. With that can you got free curbside recycling pick up. If you wanted to get rid of a couch or clean out that storage unit, you had to take that garbage to the dump. It made one creative when it came to reuse and recycling. If you had old doors, windows, or furniture it cost to throw them away, but free to donate to charity. You could even get paid for some things at resale shops or salvage yards. This system also allowed for inexpensive ways to find building materials or used products that were of a higher quality. That is why I like Cleveland’s new garbage and recycling program, if they would just finish the roll out! As I have mentioned, they are in the process now of deciding how long it will take to roll out this program city wide. I urge you to call or email your councilperson and let them know that you support the city wide program and insist it rolls out sooner, rather than later. be sure to send a note to the mayor’s office and the waste disposal department as well.
Okay. Now that we have the politics out of the way, let’s talk about recycling and how our local program works. If you are lucky enough to already be a participant in the pilot program, then you know that you have two garbage cans. These garbage cans hold the equivalent amount of several regular garbage cans. One is for recycling and one is for trash. If you aren’t a part of this program, then you need to find a recycling dumpster near you. These dumpsters are located throughout the city.
Now, what to recycle. Cleveland recycles quite a lot, but not as much as it could (in my opinion.) Here is the lowdown:
Paper-Most normal paper and corrugated cardboard can be recycled. This means all your office paper, newspapers, magazines, junk mail, cardboard boxes, posterboard, and boxes. There are exceptions. Any box that is waxed (like the kind frozen foods often come in, or some produce boxes), boxes that are contaminated by food and grease (like pizza boxes), and detergent boxes all need to go into the garbage. Phone books need to be recycled separately. Save them for the annual phone book drive, or drop them off at the zoo. There is a phone book recycling drop off in the parking lot.
Metal-Cleveland recycles most steel, aluminum and tin. Rinse out your cans, but the label doesn’t need to come off. (I remember the old days when you had to cut off the tops and bottoms and flatten them!) Do not recycle hangers, car parts, aerosol cans, appliances or things with circuitry (like stereos and cell phones.) Things like cookware need to go to a scrap metal place. I usually leave them on the tree lawn in summer the day before garbage pick up and they are always gone before the garbage men come.
Plastic-The general rule is if it has a number on the bottom inside a recycle symbol, it can be recycled. Plastics are numbered 1-7 and do not have to be separated. Things like plastic lawn furniture, PVC pipes, and vinyl siding are purely landfill fodder though.
Glass-Bottles should be rinsed and do not have to be separated. Do NOT recycle window glass, light bulbs or glass ware.
What about some of the other more difficult items? There are answer! Motor oil, transmission fluid, oil filters, car batteries and the like are recycled at most auto parts stores or oil changing places (like lube stop). Check with your favorite auto parts stores first-you may find that will have a new favorite! If you can’t find a spot, these items and things like paints and stains, chemical cleaners and such can be disposed of via the Hazardous Waste Program. Tires can be dropped off at the dump, but try places like Goodyear first, as they are mosre likely to retread or recycle them. Compact Fluorescent Bulbs contain mercury and should be disposed of safely. Most Home Depot stores and Ace Hardware stores are recycling them now. Products with complex circuitry, like computers and cell phones, are loaded with heavy metals. They can be recycled at many electronics stores. Cleveland also has a Computer Round Up program annually. Better yet, cell phones and computers can be donated to schools and other charities. Check out your local firehouse for a drop off box for cell phones, and for computers, find your favorite program from this list.
That about covers it. But remember that recycling does little good if you do not close the loop. Look for products that you purchase that have a content of recycled materials. Reduce the amount of packaging and materials that you consume. Reuse things if you can, before throwing them out or recycling. Why buy canisters if you are recycling perfectly good jars? Why buy tupperware and throw out perfectly good plastic containers. If an item is broken, consider repairing it before replacing it.
Tags: environment, recycling, reuse
Great info, thanks!
Watch out for plastics with recycling code #6!
Foamed polystyrene, (what we normally think of as “styrofoam”) — is not recyclable and should not be included in your recycling. Non-foamed (more “plastic-y”) #6′s are recyclable and accepted by the City.
I was just at Bar Cento last week, and really glad to see they use paper-based boxes for doggie-bagging. Remember to thank them when you box up your pomme frites, and encourage other restaurants to switch away from foamed polystyrene…
Bar Cento Rocks! Check out the post I wrote about them. They use local ingredients, recycle and reuse. The Greenhouse Tavern (also by Jonathon Sawyer) is set to be a great “Green” restaurant. In addition to all the good stuff we already know about, I hear they are using some stuff from A Piece of Cleveland-which may be my favorite concept in Cleveland!
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Sorry to be a downer to all you Bar Cento afficionados while you’re busily patting yourselves on the back over their french fries*, but the boxes they use are likely not even recyclable. “Paper containers” does not automatically equal “recyclable.”
If they are about as waxy as a typical take-out carton from your local Chinese joint, or as waxy as a milk carton, they are too waxy to be recycled. (Most paper-based food containers must have a thin wax coating to prevent the food from seeping through the paper. If the containers don’t, the paper willl become contaminated by grease and juices from the food– which means it cannot be recycled. Sort of a catch-22.)
It would be far better if Cento used aluminum containers with plastic lids. Both materials are readily recyclable.
*J’ai habité en France et je sais bien que c’est la marque d’un snob, nommer en français un plat pour sembler plus culturé. “Pommes frites,” mon cul.
Thanks for your comments. One thing that I failed to mention in my post was the use of wax coverings on paper goods. To-go containers, coffee cups, milk cartons, etc all usually have too much waxed coating to be recyclable. You are right, that all area restaurants should switch to more readily recyclable materials. In fact, I emailed Jonathon Sawyer and the Greenhouse Tavern with your comments and suggested that they could actually save money by switching to plain foil for all their “doggy bags.” I have to say, overall, that I do not get food “to-go” and rarely have leftovers, so I am unaware of most restaurants policies. I think I will do a write up on this very thing. Thanks again, and I will let you know what I hear back from Chef Sawyer.
I work for a Cleveland non-profit that runs large homeless shelters and housing facilities and we do not recycle! Any suggestions for us to get something started? Our recycling budget, of course, is $0.
There are absolutely some options for you. First off, here is the map of area drop off dumpsters:
http://portal.cleveland-oh.gov/CityofCleveland/Home/Community/Environment/TrashandRecycling/recycle-map
and then there is the flyer here:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://portal.cleveland-oh.gov/clnd_images/Waste/calendar.pdf
In the flyer is the contact address and phone number of that department. If you have what could be a potentially large amount of recycling for any one location, you can ask them to place a dumpster for you at a location. You can also contact the office of sustainability. With no budget, this is the best place to start. Now there are some other options for low costs. I can send you a contact or two of companies who will provide you with a dumpster. You will pay for this pick up, but it is often less than trash pick up and you can offset your costs by having your trash pick up done less often. Some will also give you a discount based on how much recyclable materials they pick up from you, so it can be a wash. Shoot me an email at robert@thegldc.com and I will hook you up.