Ok, I've lived in this town for 15 years and there is no recycling service here. I called the local iron/metal place where I heard they recycle and asked what they took for recycling. THe response was any kind of metal and also paper, but NOT glossy paper (catalogs etc.) and NOT glass and NOT plastic. I asked if there was anywhere I could take these items and she said not that she knew of because "you can't make money off it". Well, that upset me.....
When I was living up North (I live in the South now) we recycled most everything even way back then (the 70's). Where do they "sell" they're recycled stuff? When we first moved here I used to take my glass and metal over to the metal place and they took it and we burned everything else 'cause we didnt' have trash service out here. Then they started trash service, so I just threw everything. Now I feel guilty and even though there is no recycling, I would save my stuff up and take it myself. I don't know what to do now, even though it looks like there is nothing to do.

I know how you feel, I'm moving from a big city where I can recycle everything to a more rural area with no recycling at all. I've only been moved in for a week (and I've still got to get my cat and iguana down there) so I don't know if there are any recycling options, but it does suck. It freaks me out to throw away cans, plastic, etc. I've resolved to simply use less and try to buy things that require less packaging, etc.

Our local Whole Foods markets have recycling containers outside, so I've been thinking about taking out recyclables there. But I really should be pushing our condo's homeowners association to switch to a trash hauler that will provide recycling pick-up too. :whip:

I live in the South, too, but we do have curbside recycling (somewhat) here in Nashville, and they also have drop-off centers. Our curbside does not take glass (but the drop-offs do) and just started to take plastic.

Basically, the public officials who run the recycling programs bad mouth them every chance they get. They are basically in bed with the big landfill companies and haulers, who also make very big political contributions.

I don't know what to tell you except that you might look into the nearest place that has a drop-off center and maybe just make a trip there once a month or whatever.

I drive about 30 miles to the recycling center.

We have curbside recycling in some neighborhoods in Houston, but of course apartments don't get that sort of service. But even in neighborhoods with no curbside recycling, there are often large bins located at schools where you can drop off newspaper & magazines. I take my recyclabes (glass, plastic 1 & 2, glass, aluminum, steel, newspaper) over to the main recycling center which is just a few minutes from me.

But I feel I have to vent... at the new project I'm working on, they supply us with bottled water and canned sodas, and I'm clearly the only one who gives a tiny rat's ass about recycling it! The number of bottles and cans in the trash at the end of every day are just appalling. I rinse mine and take them home where they go in my bins.

PS: Oh, but yeah, the South, and especially Texas, sux wrt any kind of envornmental consciousness. Except for Austin, of course. Houston is just the worst.

But I feel I have to vent... at the new project I'm working on, they supply us with bottled water and canned sodas, and I'm clearly the only one who gives a tiny rat's ass about recycling it! The number of bottles and cans in the trash at the end of every day are just appalling. I rinse mine and take them home where they go in my bins.


you can set up a special trash can labeled recyclables(sp?) next to the regular one and let everyone know about it. that way you can get your coworker's beverage containers recycled as well.

I live on the outskirts of Tokyo and they have an awesome recycling program here. You basically have to sort everything and recycle. There are labeled bins in the basement of my apartment building that you put the different things in.

Have you tried checking out earth911.org? Enter your zipcode in their search box and see if anything comes up in your area :)

I vaguely remember reading something about Tokyo having pretty much the most stringent recylcling program in the world...I think that's great...

Vihannes- That's what I've heard and it wouldn't surprise me at all. They even have recycling bins in train stations and resturants. It makes me happy!

curbside here too and they take everything:D

peace and love

jenn:pibo:

I recycle everything.

I chose to live right next to the city recycling bins. They take paper, plastic, cans, bottles, glass, tetra paks, milk jugs (soy milk jugs), almost everything.

We have curbside for houses and communal bins in most neighbourhoods, as well as individual bins for some some high density buildings. I love it.

I drive about 30 miles to the recycling center.

You would probably do less damage by just throwing the stuff out instead.

For now you can focus on reusing and reducing, which are the more important duo of the three-r's. I don't know if you have anything like this where you are, but in San Francisco there's an awesome worker-owned co-op with an amazing bulk department that includes bulk liquids (soaps, oils, nut butters, et cetera.) If you reuse your bags and containers you'll notice you start to generate a lot less trash. My house ends up going through relatively little trash considering there are eight roommates (maybe 1 or 1.5 bags a week.)

You would probably do less damage by just throwing the stuff out instead.

I disagree. First it depends on how often and how much recycling this person is driving 30 km to recycle. And how environmentally friendly the vehicle is.

I don't think that these things should only be looked at in a short-term narrow perspective. On the plus side any recycling done helps recycling places with more profit or less debt. When my home town first started recycling everyone had to drive their recycling long distances, because there was no pick-up. But because people used it, before long we had recycling pickup in the more populated areas, and now most other areas as well.

I do find that too many people forget that Recycling is the last of the three R's - After reducing and reusing.

First it depends on how often and how much recycling this person is driving 30 km to recycle.

Not really, every kilo of recyclying adds to the weight of the vehicle and decreases fuel efficiency. I have the numbers if you want them, but off the top of my head the Carbon Dioxide output of the average passenger can in the United States is 0.8 lbs per mile, that would be 24 lbs of carbon to move a car 30 miles, once you start adding the weight of paper/plastic/cans you only decrease the efficiency of a car. (http://www.wivip.com/2_2_1.pdf)

And how environmentally friendly the vehicle is.

There is no such thing as an environmentally friendly automobile. The fossil fuels alone are enough to make you gag, don't even get me started on the net energy that goes into manufacturing a car. The water and air pollution from car factories, the road construction and destruction of nayure for parking lots, driveways, parking arcades, the horrible pollution from the manufacture of plastics and steel for cars, the nickel tailings, arsenic, pfc's, pcb's, the per accident healthcare costs. I read somewhere that each car owner should be paying $130,000 to purchase a car once all costs are considered, and this is before removing all of the gasoline subsidies we have in North America.

I don't think that these things should only be looked at in a short-term narrow perspective.

I just gave you the long-term wide-screen view. I think it is the brainwashed masses trapped in their cars who need to change perspective.

I do agree with Vegmedic in that you do need to create a critical mass to make recycling worthwhile for facility owners, but in my city it started with curbside pickup for every house and was cut back slowly as more neighbourhood facilities opened up. And NO ONE was driving 30 miles to recycle, no one should, it's counter productive.

You would probably do less damage by just throwing the stuff out instead.


Do you think so? Even if it were my only car trip that week? And I took in several months' of bottles and cans?

I have to drive to the dump to throw the stuff out, maybe I should just dump it in our creek. What do you think?

Is it your only trip per week? and if so, where did the months of bottles and cans come from?

I am curious, what sort of community do you live in that has no garbage facilities, nor recycling facilities.

Is it your only trip per week? and if so, where did the months of bottles and cans come from?

I am curious, what sort of community do you live in that has no garbage facilities, nor recycling facilities.

I know lots of communities where all residents have to take their garbage to the dump because there is no garbage pickup and I know of even more communities where there are no recycling facilities.

The District where I grew up in Ontario has lots of little towns and municipalities. Of them the following did not have garbage pickup (at least as of 5 years ago): Harley, Harris, Gauthier, Evanturel, Dack, Casey, Brethour, Hilliard, Hudson, James, Kerns, King, Lebel (13)
The following had garbage pickup: Kirkland Lake, Temiskaming Shores, Cobalt, Englehart, Temagami, Latchford. (6)
There are a couple other communities that I am unsure of, but chances are they don't have garbage pickup.
(and I suspect only Kirkland Lake, Englehart and Temiskaming Shores have recycling, but Temagami, Cobalt and Latchford might)

I am not saying that this is the case here, but having lived in Toronto for several years, I have met far too many environmentalists who think that every one in the country has the same services that they do. Most communities that only have a couple hundred people do not have the tax base for "luxuries" like garbage and recycling pickup. And I suspect that for one of those communities to purchase a garbage truck and drive it through the kilometers and kilometers of very sparcely populated roads would be more polluting then the people making a run to the dump or recycling building when they are on their way to a general store.

Is it your only trip per week? and if so, where did the months of bottles and cans come from?

From saving them for months....after buying canned and bottled products at the grocery store....

I am curious, what sort of community do you live in that has no garbage facilities, nor recycling facilities.

I live on a country road. The county recycling facility is at the dump and they only take plastic and newspaper. I have to go to the recycling facility in the next county.

I phoned my mother to be sure before I posted this.

In the previous post I mentioned that Kirkland Lake, Englehart and Temiskaming Shores have recycling and Temagami, Cobalt and Latchford might.

But even in the biggest community Temiskaming Shores (more than 10,000 people) they do not have recycling pick up. They he recycling depots where you can drop off your recycling.

My area has curbside recycling, however they only pick up plastic, glass and metal cans. No paper, cardboard, magazines, newspapers etc...
I looked at the Earth911.org site mentioned earlier and found that there is a drop off site for those items in the next county.

However, I think I have to be a resident of that county in order to use their recycling services.