Recycling FACTS:

child and recycling bin
#1 Reason to Recycle
You will be protecting your health and protecting your environment.

Recycling just one aluminum coke bottle saves enough energy to run a television for 3 hours.

Recycling just 3 feet of newspaper you save a rain forest tree.

Recycling reduces the amount of waste to incinerate or landfill.

Recycling reduces air and water pollution.

Recycling conserves precious natural resources - since less raw materials need to be extracted and processed.

Recycling saves energy - in 1996 the energy savings from recycling in the U.S. equaled the energy used by 4 million households!

Recycling makes us more sustainable because we are borrowing less materials and energy from our children's future.

Recycling Challenge

When we started recycling, we had so many items that we had to call the town to request a third recycling bin. We fill 3 bins a week and usually need to use some brown paper bags as extra collection bins. We have made recycling a family challenge.

Here are some simple changes my family made after watching the documentary "Hawaii message in the waves by BBC." This documentary was a very informative and entertaining look at the serious and harmful results of plastic trash on Hawaii's beaches and sea animals.

1. We no longer pack sandwiches in plastic baggies.

2. We use containers that can be washed and reused to pack our school lunches.

3. We never use plastic bags for groceries. We bring our own bags and/or we request paper-bags. We use the paper-bags to hold recyclables curbside.

4. We check all items we buy, and if they are recyclables, we recycle them curbside. If they are not recyclable we try to find a company that makes that product in a recyclable package for next time.

5. We buy local products, such as fruits, and veggies that are not packaged at all, and we do not use the plastic bag to hold them while we shop. We put all our veggies and fruits in the top bin of the shopping cart. This saves us throwing the small plastic bags away when we unpack the groceries at home.

6. Read labels at the store and buy items that are recyclable. Items that support our growth and survival.

Keep track of how much you recycle at home using your curbside recycling or a drop off program. Take photos and e-mail them to us. You can also snail mail them to 398 Palisado Ave, Windsor, CT 06095 c/o J.E. Mejias.  You may see your photos on our website in the near future!

Recyclable Materials for Windsor Connecticut Curbside Collection

Mixed Paper

ACCEPTABLE ITEMS UNACCEPTABLE ITEMS
Newspapers Plastic bags
Cardboard (please flatten boxes  and tie larger bundles) Wax paper
Brown bags Tissue paper
Magazines Trash items
All grades of office paper Food debris
Phone directories
Junk mail
File folders
Chip Board products
Catalogs
Color inserts
School paper
Books(hardcover / soft cover)
Envelopes(with or without cellophane windows)

Bottles, Cans, Plastics

ACCEPTABLE ITEMS UNACCEPTABLE ITEMS
Clear, brown or green bottles Ceramic items - cups, plates, dishes
Tin cans Pyrex ware
Aluminum cans Plastic bottles - #3 through #7
Aluminum foil - rinsed only, please Plastic toys, plastic bags
Plastic bottles - #1 & #2 only Trash items
Aseptic containers(milk or juice) Un-rinsed containers
Please rinse all items
Lids and caps are OK
 

Pots and Pans

ACCEPTABLE ITEMS
Metal Pots
Metal Pans


Next steps

Now that you are armed with some new knowledge, you may feel compelled to learn more. Make recycling and saving our planet a family goal. It won't be long before you start to see positive changes.

"We are not tree huggers. We are air breathers. We are Eco-Warriors." We are compelled to show our strengths and defend what is ours. We have the right and a duty to defend our environment and our planet. We have a calling to learn and teach a gentle and sustainable way of life for the generations that will follow us. We are the Green Eco Warriors.

If you are anything like us, you probably like or even love animals. You will probably want to preserve our planet's natural beauty. You want our rainforests, glaciers, and coral reefs to thrive.

Let's take back our fields, our parks our rivers, and oceans. Lets become ECO-WARRIORS!