If the bad trash that gets left behind with an orange Oops sticker by the DPW crews in the mornings is any indication, many Villagers don't really know how to recycle.
Even those among us who try to memorize which numbers on the bottom of their plastic bottles are acceptable or not may get confused by what to put and what not to put in their blue bin.
Lucky for us, the Westchester County recycling division issued this handy guide, summarized here and attached in PDF, which you can print and hang on your fridge (on recycled paper, of course).
Recycle these items in one bin:
- Plastics numbered 1-7, including: food containers, beverage containers, detergent bottles, household cleaner and shampoo bottles, coded pails/buckets, coded flower pots/trays.
- Glass containers, jars and bottles of any size and color.
- Metals: food and beverage cans, clean aluminum foil, clean aluminum trays, empty aerosal cans.
All plastic and metal containers should be rinsed and free of waste. Labels do not have to be removed. Metal caps should be taken off (but can also be recycled here).
And these in another:
- Paper and cardboard, including: newspapers, glossy inserts, phone books, magazines, junk mail, brown paper bags, corrugated cardboard.
Remove plastic linings, windows and excessive tape. Flatten and place boxes inside each other.
DON'T recycle:
- Plastics including plastic bags (grocery, dry-cleaning, packing material); Stryofoam (cups, trays, packing material); non-coded plastics; plastic utensils, hangers; toys, pools, furniture; building materials (piping, sinks, vinyl); empty plastic containers which held hazardous material (motor oil, solvents, pesticides).
Return plastic bags to any large retail or grocery store. Or reuse!
- Glass that is not used for packaging food or beverages (light bulbs, drinking glasses, crystal, window and mirror glass, ceramic ware, kitchen cookware); empty glass containers which held hazardous material (pesticides, solvents).
- Empty paint cans, empty metal containers which held hazardous materials (pesticicdes, glues, solvents); aluminum siding, scrap metal, wire, pipes, tubing, motors, sheet metal, appliances and auto parts are recycled under separate municipal programs.
- Waxed cardboard (milk cartons, orange juice cartons); plastic and styrofoam packing materials; cardboard with any trace of food (cereal boxes and similar are okay to recycle!); paperback/hardcover books.
Donate used books to the library!
Waste reduction tips:
At home:
Buy what you need. Buy products with less packaging. Buy durable goods that will last longer.
At the office:
Set printers to duplex. Cut one-sided copies you don't need into four sheets and reuse as memo paper. Label garbage and recycling bins with signs of what goes in what.
On the go:
Bring reusable bags with you whenever you shop – not just the grocery store. (Many grocery store chains offer 5-cent-per-bag you bring in incentives such as our and ).
Bring reusable coffee mugs for your coffee on the run. , for one, offers a discount when you do.
Bring recyclables home when containers aren't made available.
Repeat this mantra: Reduce Reuse Recycle.
For more information, call the recycling helpline at 914/813-5425 or visit www.westchestergov.com/recycling.
