Great News from the Recycling Front and a reminder!

This is ERC’s contribution to the Mar. ‘09 Crier :

At the February meeting of the Board, our Facilities Manager, John McKinney, presented some exciting figures about the volume of non-recyclable waste that we carry to the Alexandria incinerator.    He concluded that recycling is on the rise in the Village and asked the Board to approve the purchase of six more recycling toters. Of course, approval was granted.

Non-recyclable waste of 180 tons per year translates into roughly 2 lbs per day for every household in the Village, which is a very good score compared to the US average of 4.6 lbs mixed (including recyclables) residential waste per person in the US (EPA). Surely a part of the spectacular 2008 drop is related to the expansion of the list of allowed single stream recyclables in ‘08, but it would be wrong to underestimate the achievement of our residents. Still, more can be done. The additional six recycling containers represent more than $1500 a year against our budget.  We can do a little better here. Recycling pickup is less expensive than regular garbage removal. However, we pay for recyclables by volume and not by weight. So the more we get into our existing bins, the better it is for our pockets. Thus, here is a reminder:

• Please FLATTEN all paperboard boxes, plastic containers, cans or other bulky items so as to minimize the volume of your recyclables. 

Cardboard:

• You can recycle cardboard in small amounts and sizes. For anything bigger than 2.5 x 2.5 feet, we strongly recommend that you drive up to a cardboard-recycling center (the nearest is at the intersection on S Four Mile Run and Columbia Pike). Please flatten your recyclables. If necessary, cut them to fit well into the bin. Please remove staples, scotch tape, and the like and do not leave cardboard outside the bins.

[To this post contributed also: Rodney O. and Clare H.].