Recycling container

[mechanicx]

So the city dropped off recycling containers at all the houses in my neighborhood today. Apparently things like soda cans, plastic bottles, carboard and paper items that are "clean" are to go into it. We already have had the standardized trash containers that a mechanical arm on the refuse truck picks up.

It's a little confusing what exactly goes into the recycle container vs in the regular trash. But no trash bags are supposed to go into it. I guess I'm going to have to get a separate trash can in the kitchen for recyclables. I'm not going to run outside to throw away a pop can everytime or let them stack up on the counter or table.

They could've at least left a smaller recycling recepticle for indoors. It seems like kind of a hassle doing this recycling thing.

 

[PandaBear]

I don't think you need to (or should ever) bag recycle items. We were told specifically not to do it.

Usually at home I have a paper box that I throw my recycle in, then dump it out when it is full. Since it is "clean" items they don't smell.

Plastic bags have low melting point compare to the containers so they do not take them. Fine with me as they are great as free trash bags.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I have separate trash can for recycle items. It's a hassle but if most do their part in recycling thing then we eliminate millions of tons from landfill a year.

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: mechanicx
So the city dropped off recycling containers at all the houses in my neighborhood today. Apparently things like soda cans, plastic bottles, carboard and paper items that are "clean" are to go into it. We already have had the standardized trash containers that a mechanical arm on the refuse truck picks up.

It's a little confusing what exactly goes into the recycle container vs in the regular trash. But no trash bags are supposed to go into it. I guess I'm going to have to get a separate trash can in the kitchen for recyclables. I'm not going to run outside to throw away a pop can everytime or let them stack up on the counter or table.

They could've at least left a smaller recycling recepticle for indoors. It seems like kind of a hassle doing this recycling thing.


Is this Columbus? Yes they don't want bags, most folks have a small container indoors and dump it in the big one when full.

John

 

[Tempest]

I built a small cabinet with slide outs that hold the city's plastic containers. This way you can put the containers behind a door and they are still easy to get to.

My city is going from the multi container system to the all in one can version.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Normally I filled the recycling container more than twice the trash container, and had been doing it for more than 10 years now.

 

[mechanicx]

Yes this is in Columbus.

I did notice that the recyling container was smaller than the regular trash container. And going by the list of things that can go in the recycling, it seemed the recycling container should be at least as big as the regular trash.

 

[MrHorspwer]

Hey, HTSS... I've heard a rumor that in California, one can be fined for putting recycleable items into the regular trash. Is there any truth to that rumor?

I keep an Ikea storage bin in the kitchen that works very well to contain the recycling. They come in 10 and 16 gallon versions.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90076364/

 

[tom slick]

Originally Posted By: MrHorspwer
Hey, HTSS... I've heard a rumor that in California, one can be fined for putting recycleable items into the regular trash. Is there any truth to that rumor?

I keep an Ikea storage bin in the kitchen that works very well to contain the recycling. They come in 10 and 16 gallon versions.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90076364/


Not true, many communities in Calif. still don't have curbside recycling.

I bag my recyclables, nobody seems to care... Put groceries in a plastic bag on the other hand...

 

[Virtuoso]

We cut our trash in half (at least) when we started using the recycling bin. Ended up asking for another one, more often than not we need them both for weekly pickups.

The "literature" says to separate your papers, plastics, etc.; but they just dump it all into the back of a truck anyway, so I stopped, and nobody seems to care.

Amazing how much of our stuff doesn't go to the landfill (I hope).

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
I don't think you need to (or should ever) bag recycle items. We were told specifically not to do it.

Usually at home I have a paper box that I throw my recycle in, then dump it out when it is full. Since it is "clean" items they don't smell.

Plastic bags have low melting point compare to the containers so they do not take them. Fine with me as they are great as free trash bags.


X2. I do the exact same. The county says not to bag, so I have a box in the kitchen that gets dumped into the rolling bin when full. Our recycling container is the same size as the trash. They actually put a microchip in them to see how often they are put out (no, they don't fine you or anything like that).

 

[mechanicx]

I looked on the city's refuse website and found out that the recycables aren't even going to start to be collected until June 4 and as late as February '13. Mine I think will start early sense I got the bin early.

If you want an additional bin it's $70. It appears the program is entirely voluntary as you can call to return the bin after owning it for 60 days. I'll probably try to recycle some stuff.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: tom slick
Originally Posted By: MrHorspwer
Hey, HTSS... I've heard a rumor that in California, one can be fined for putting recycleable items into the regular trash. Is there any truth to that rumor?

I keep an Ikea storage bin in the kitchen that works very well to contain the recycling. They come in 10 and 16 gallon versions.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90076364/


Not true, many communities in Calif. still don't have curbside recycling.

I bag my recyclables, nobody seems to care... Put groceries in a plastic bag on the other hand...

Tom is correct, no fine for putting recyclable items in the trash bin. The Waste Management encourage people to separate recycle items from the trash so the monthly cost of trash collection is low. We also have green waste bin for grass, tree branches ...

 

[daves87rs]

My city has a giant garbage can for recycling....

 

[MNgopher]

Amazes me to hear that recycling still hasn't rolled out in some places...

We now get two trash cans from our garbage hauler. One is trash, the other is recycling. No sorting of the recycling is necessary - that is all handled at the recieving end. No plastic bags. Paper bags are OK. They get recycled too. The trash is picked up weekly, and the recycling every other week. Both are picked up by large truck with the arm that grabs the cans and dumps them while the driver never leaves the truck.

Once you get used to it is super easy. We actually generate more recycling than trash now.

During summer, if you pay for it, you can get a third trash can for compost (lawn clippings/brush/etc...) - it is illegal for that to go in the trash here. So we get three full size trucks for each trash company on trash day, with four haulers servicing our city. On weeks with recycling pickup, means we get 12 trucks down the street...

 

[bigmike]

Here, most private places like mobile home parks and apartment buildings do not provide recycling options to tenants.

When I bought a house, I had to go buy a recycling bin because the city no longer provides them. People got them and used them for everything but recycling, it appears, so they just stopped.

Our city truck driver separates the materials on site, so nobody bothers to clean or separate anything they stick in the bin. They're extremely picky about what goes in the bin though, so many things that state recycle on the package cannot be recycled through the city.

I find much of it confusing and there was some trial and error. You find out what the guy refuses by discovering it in the bin after pickup.

 

[Kestas]

Our community has been recycling for over 20 years. I too am surprised it's only started now at some places.

Not only do I recycle, I burn the burnable trash, and compost kitchen and yard waste. Sometimes I'll just have one trash can out every two weeks.

We too have a law that states recyclables cannot go in the regular trash. I suspect it's only enforced for the blatant violators. After all, there's still old, confused people in our neighborhood that can't comprehend this program.

 

[bigmike]

I really, really wish I could burn trash, especially leaves. Getting into composting is on my agenda, but I can't decide what kind of container I want to buy or build.

 

[PandaBear]

We have 3 types of containers here: trash that is sized to price, recycle, and yard waste that are very big.

If I do not recycle, I'd have to pay extra to fit all my trash in a more expensive big bin. I recycle more than I trash and that works out well. You can also put engine oil in gallon milk jug and they'll take them off the curb too.

For large item, I drive them to the garbage station that takes in all the other stuff they don't normally take, like struts, large cardboard box, computer, CFLs, etc and get free compost limited to about 35 gallon per week per person.

 

[Kestas]

Originally Posted By: bigmike
Getting into composting is on my agenda, but I can't decide what kind of container I want to buy or build.

Why fuss? I just have a pile in my back yard. A few times a year I turn the pile and wet it down.