Frequently Asked Questions

Which plastics are recyclable?

Plastics labeled 1-7 are all recyclable to varying degrees. Numbers, 2, 4 and 5 are considered the safest plastics and are readily recyclable. Numbers 1, 3, 6 and 7 are either hard to decontaminate, are layered with other plastics or may leach chemicals. You may want to print out this (http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/resources/2008/plastics-guide/) cheat sheet from the David Suzuki Foundation.

Where can I recycle e-Waste?

Many electronic manufacturers and/or retailers - AT&T, Best Buy, Office Depot, Sony, Staples and Verizon, to name a few - now offer some kind of take back program. You can also pay a visit Earth911.com. Enter what you want to recycle along with your zip code into the search form and the site will retrieve a listing of local centers for you.

I have heard that the chemicals in unused prescription drugs can enter waterways when flushed down the toilet and leach into ground water if sent to the landfill. How am I supposed to dispose of them?

The EPA offers two suggestions for proper disposal. First, take advantage of community drug take-back programs. Call your city or county government’s household trash and recycling service to find out is such a program is available in your community. If no program is available, take your unused medications out of the original container and mix them with cat litter or used coffee grounds. Put the mixture into a disposable container with a lid or into a sealable bag. Place the container into the trash.

The bottom line.

“The past century’s grossly unbalanced cycles of production, consumption and disposal transformed the word waste into a verb, and with that have come huge problems.” - Toolbox for Sustainable City Living. The solution? Reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink the materials in our home.

 

Know the facts

If one million people vermicomposted every year, 82,000 tons of food waste could be turned into fertilizer.
The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook. David de Rothschild.

75% of the world’s population live in countries where consumption levels are outpacing environmental renewal rates.
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The World Bank.

Indoor levels of air pollutants may be two to five times higher, and occasionally more than 100 times higher, than outdoor levels.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Green Building Workgroup in Buildings and the Environment: A Statistical Summary, (December 20, 2004).

The first landfill opened in Crete in 3000 BC. Some of the earliest evidence for recycling - a bronze scrap recovery system - dates back to 2000 BC.

Only two human made creations are visible from space - the Great Wall of China and Fresh Kills, an old landfill composed primarily of household waste from the Northeastern US.

The America Chemical Society recently registered the 10 millionth man-made chemical.

Manufacturing 1 ton of recycled paper results in 74% less air pollution and 43% less water pollution compared to the manufacture of paper using virgin wood pulp.

Roughly 30 cents of every dollar consumers spend on packaged goods goes towards paying for the packaging.

About 60% of the average garbage can’s contents are compostable materials.
Chelsea Green Guides: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Nicky Scott. 2007.

 

Get inspired. A few projects to get you started.

Build a vermicomposting bin.
Perform a home garbage audit.
Reupholster an old chair.
Learn to make your own non-toxic homemade cleaning products.
Create an organized recycling station in your home.
 

Find support. A list of recommended resources.

Print
Recycle: The Essential Guide, Black Dog Publishing.
Worms Eat my Garbage, Mary Appelhof
Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash. Elizabeth Royte.
The Non-Toxic Home & Office: Debra Lynn Dadd

Online
California Integrated Waste Management Board
Earth 911
US Dept of Health & Human Services Household Products Database

Other

Attend a Backyard Skills course at The Ecology Center.

 

Local Case Study

Straight from the mouth of Costa Mesa resident, Derek Sabori, learn how his family of four (plus a dog) has drastically reduced the waste they generate...“It was all about the shift in our purchasing and packing behavior. We became very conscious of using disposables and made a complete shift in how we pack and carry food items. I love carrying a zero waste lunch to work...makes me smile!"

We've implemented serious recycling and composting at our house; we sometimes put out a city-issued trash container that is less than 1/2 full. Sometimes, it's literally 1/4 full. That makes us pretty proud! Our first step was dedicating a space in our kitchen and garage to recycling. Costa Mesa does not offer a separate recycling bin - they manually sort - and that just wasn't good enough for us, especially as we were trying to explain the concept of recycling to our kids, so we began to sort and deliver our recycling on our own. We created spaces in our kitchen dedicated to plastics, metals, glass, newspaper, cardboards, and paper (mail, etc.) and we now make the trip to the Orange Coast Recycling Center for our drop off (as a donation to the college) every week.

With recyclables out of the way, it was time to tackle food waste: We started composting a year ago, thanks to a city funded composting class where composting bins were being given away (thanks Costa Mesa!). Prior to that, we had already begun our journey into vermiculture and we were excited to have a place to put everything else that the worms couldn't eat. Having a Worm Factory and a more traditional compost has been fun and a real learning experience. The kids love the worms, and I love watching the two systems break down waste...it's fascinating to me, actually.

So there you have it. Our goal is to refuse (no bag, thanks), reduce (buy in bulk, more sparingly), reuse (no disposables, please), recycle and compost and then dispose of the remainder (last resort!).”

 

Don’t stop now!

Informed? Inspired?  Stay connected to your local source of sustainability education and become a member of The Ecology Center today.