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Thursday, February 11, 2010

cycle, re

My Arc Value Village e-newsletter included information on recycling: how holistic! I love how their mission benefits people with developmental disabilities by making a market for used goods. Their organizational structure promotes conservation, and now is even promoting more environmental stewardship! The only weak link in this reduce/reuse/recycle chain is that they inherently do not promote "reducing."

I'm pasting in their "Green Corner" which includes items I was not aware of. Enjoy!

GREEN CORNER - Here is a list of items that you can recycle that you might not have heard about:

Styrofoam (large pieces from crates, cartons, furniture, appliances etc.). Must be clean and dry and in bags. Take to the Coon Rapids recycling center but check out the details first on the website to make sure you comply with their requirements. Offer to collect for neighbors too. You don't need to be a resident of Coon Rapids to participate.
Plastic bottle caps. All those plastic bottles have caps (which should NOT go along with the bottles in the recycling bin) which can be saved and taken to your nearest Aveda salon. Aveda will recycle them into bottles for their products.
Mattresses. You can recycle your mattress and/or box spring for $15 each. Don't let this huge item end up in the land fill. The recycler will dismantle it and sell 85% of remaining materials.
Plastics. Recycle #1 and #2 with necks in your regular recycling. Whole Foods will take #5's. Coon Rapids recycling center will take #4, #5 and #6 plastic containers. Just look on the bottom of your plastic container for the number within the recycle triangle.
Packing Peanuts/ Bubble Wrap - Bring to your neighborhood Arc's Value Village Thrift Store and we will reuse. The other option is to check with your nearest UPS store (call first) to see if they won't take your packing peanuts. You can also request a biodegradable packing peanut when you ship. The more that people ask for it, the more likely a merchant is to provide it to you.