R SE EC LYC

SAF NO T AY T C

N R

U U

O Z

C

CURBSIDERCounty of Santa Cruz

SUMMER 2014

Recycling In An Arid LandPage 2

Bottle Caps?Page 3

Why Sort?Page 3

Squash ThatAerosol CanPage 3

How to SortPage 4

Old ClothesLive AgainPage 5

Recycle InEvery RoomPage 5

Recycling ResourcesBack Page

Recycling In An Arid Land“Rinse your containers!” “Conserve water!” How is a conscientious recycler to heed these apparently contradictory commands? In moderation.

Food containers do not need to be sterilized or run through the dishwasher.

Swishing a little water around inside a can or jar will often remove enough food

residue. A bottle brush does wonders for stickier stuff. And fresh water is not

necessary. Non-potable water reclaimed from around the house works fine. Even

better if you have some leftover soapy dishwater, as that will cut the grease in a

salad oil bottle or mayo jar.

Suppose some food grunge slips into the recycling bin? The factories that turn

our cans and bottles into feedstock for new products can handle a fair amount of

organic contamination. Plastics are shredded and undergo a vigorous water

wash. High heat used to process glass and metals burns off any stray food scraps

as well as paper labels.

Perhaps the best reason to rinse containers is for your own benefit. You'll avoid

unpleasant odors and the ants and yellowjackets that an untidy recycling bin can

attract. And, by the way, the folks who work on the sorting line at the recycling

plant will also appreciate your habits of cleanliness.

With a clear conscience you can toss a half-full jar of rancid peanut butter in the

garbage. Otherwise, as it turns out, the drought is not a good excuse to quit

recycling.

Where is Reusable Water?

• While waiting for the water to warm up in the shower or sink, catch the flow in a bucket or basin.

• Kitchen sink rinse water may be a little soapy, but it's quite suitable for some tasks.

• After a bath, the tub holds many gallons of water that can be used again.

Uses for Reclaimed Water?

• Rinse food & drink containers before recycling.

• Flush the toilet.

• Water the garden.

Page 2Curbsider Summer 2014

Residents' actions to separate discards into a few categories – recycling, yardwaste and garbage – make our recycling program a great success. But whatever is dumped in the garbage can goes straight to the landfill. There is no sorting of household refuse in Santa Cruz County. Any valuable resources thrown in the trash are lost. On the other hand, carefully sorted recyclables are further separated at a recycling center or recovery facility into marketable commodities that are made into new products, reducing the need for virgin materials, saving energy, and reducing greenhouse gasses.

A view from the street of a GreenWaste Recovery automated curbside collection truck in action could give the false impression that all the carts are tipped into the same hopper and mixed, wasting residents' efforts to sort. Not visible is the diverter plate situated on the top of the truck which the driver flips to send trash to one side of the split-body vehicle and recycling to the other side.

The truck compartments are cleaned out when the loads are dumped so the next load of a different material is not contaminated. In many neighborhoods a single truck picks up garbage and yardwaste on the same early run, and then returns later to pick up recycling. However, operational requirements in some areas may determine a different routing arrangement and a different combination of materials.

Page 3

Bottle Caps? Yes!

Metal Bottle CapsRemove metal caps and lids from glass and plastic bottles. Put metal caps loose in your blue curbside recycling bin, as magnets and other sorting machinery can easily separate these. At a drop-off recycling center, use the separate bins for glass and metal.

Plastic Bottle Caps"Empty bottle, crush, replace cap and recycle" is the advice given by the international Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers. Plastic bottle caps and closures, which are made from high density polyethylene (#2 HDPE) and polypropylene (#5 PP) plastic resins, have been well designed for recycling along with the bottle they came with.

Crushed plastic bottles take up less space in your blue cart, and the cap helps keep them flat. Loose caps in the blue cart are so small they can end up tossed as residuals in the recycling sorting facility. The caps-on rule leads to fewer loose caps that could become litter and end up in our marine environment.

Some redemption centers may prefer caps removed unless the bottle has been thoroughly flattened.

Why Sort?

Squash That Aerosol CanPressurized cans of whipped cream, shaving cream, hair spray, and paint are all recyclable – once they are empty of product and pressure. Use up the last drop, and then hold the nozzle until all the propellant gas is released. You can help the folks at the recycling center by taking an extra step: lay the can on the floor and step on it. It won't dent if it still has pressure. A dented can assures the workers at the recycling center that this one won't pop.

Curbsider Summer 2014

Page 4

Corrugated Cardboard flatten boxes; brown paper bags OK

Cardboard Bin Blue Recycling Cart mix all acceptable

Newspaper advertising inserts OK

Newspaper Bin materials together in the Blue Cart

Mixed Waste Paper junk mail, magazines and glossy catalogs telephone books, office paper paperboard such as cereal boxes

empty and rinse

Mixed Waste Paper Bin weekly pickup

Milk Cartons & Aseptic Drink Boxes Clear Glass Bin

Brown Glass Bin

Glass Bottles & Jars

Ø no ceramics, Pyrex, window glass or mirrors

Green Glass Bin

Soda Bottle Bin

soda & other PET #1 bottles

Milk Jug Bin milk & other HDPE #2 natural (uncolored) bottles

Rigid Plastics plastic bottles, tubs & trays #1-#7, empty and rinse hard plastic buckets, bins, parts, toys, furniture remove metal parts

Ø no Styrofoam blocks Ø no packing peanuts

Mixed Plastics Bin – all others

Plastic Bags & Filmbag your bags, clean, dry, empty of product flexible, stretchable bags & sheeting OK bubble wrap, pallet wrap & stretch wrap OK

Plastic Film Bin

Aluminum Cans beverage cans, empty and rinse aluminum foil & pie plates

Aluminum Can Bin

Tin Cans empty and rinse empty aerosol cans OK, please flatten

Scrap Metal Bin

all acceptable metal andmostly-metal items are collected together;non-ferrous metals are segregated by center staff

Small Scrap Metal Items

small metal items under 18'’

Scrap Metal metal or mostly metal items small appliances large appliances & white goods scrap aluminum, brass, copper electrical wire

NOT ACCEPTED CURBSIDE

Non-Hazardous E-Waste scrap household electronic products computers & peripherals audio & video components, telephone equipment

NOT ACCEPTED CURBSIDE

Household Batteries Household Battery Bucket seal in clear plastic bag, put ON TOP of (not in) Blue Cart

Auto Batteries Auto Battery Cabinet NOT ACCEPTED CURBSIDE

Used Motor Oil transport in securely sealed screw top container

Ø do not mix with antifreeze, solvents or other fluids

Used Motor Oil Tank set oil jug NEXT TO (not in) Blue Cart

Oil Filters drain filters

Oil Filter Drum

seal in clear plastic bag, set NEXT TO (not in) Blue Cart

Antifreeze transport in securely sealed screw top container

Ø do not mix with oil, solvents or other fluids

Ac

ce

pte

d a

t R

EC

YC

LIN

G C

EN

TE

R –

no

ch

arge

Antifreeze Drum NOT ACCEPTED CURBSIDE

HOW TO SORT Recyclable Materials in Santa Cruz County

All Materials Listed are Banned from Landfill Disposal and Must Be Recycled

These guidelines apply to the following facilities and programs (rules may differ elsewhere)

• Curbside Recycling Weekly collection in the unincorporated county on garbage collection day by GreenWaste Recovery.

• Buena Vista Landfill 1231 Buena Vista Dr., Watsonville (831) 454-2430 or 454-5153

• Ben Lomond Transfer Station 9835 Newell Creek Rd., Ben Lomond (831) 454-2430 or 336-3951

Disposal Site Hours: 7:30 am – 3:30 pm, Monday - Saturday. Closed Sundays, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years. Open 7:30 am – 11:30 am Christmas Eve.

Household Hazardous Waste Facilities831-454-2606 (recorded message)• Located at disposal

sites• Wed., Fri. & Sat. at

Buena Vista Landfill• Thurs. at Ben Lomond

Transfer Station• Second Chance Store

for free donated paint & household products

Household Hazardous Waste HHW Facility – limited schedule NOT ACCEPTED CURBSIDE

Video Display Devices televisions & computer monitors flat screen, plasma, LCD, CRT (cathode ray tube) laptop or other computer with built-in screen

Hazardous E-Waste Trailer

NOT ACCEPTED CURBSIDE

Wood Waste & Yard Waste grass, leaves, weeds, ivy, brush, tree trimmings clean lumber & pallets

Ø no painted or treated wood or lumber

Wood Waste Area maximum size for reduced rate: 8' long X 4' diameter

Green Yardwaste Cart maximum size: 3' long X 6'' diameter

weekly pickup

Concrete Concrete Area NOT ACCEPTED CURBSIDE

Asphalt & Baserock Asphalt & Baserock Area NOT ACCEPTED CURBSIDE

Mattresses Mattresses Trailer NOT ACCEPTED CURBSIDE

Sheetrock Sheetrock Area NOT ACCEPTED CURBSIDE

Tires Acc

epte

d a

t S

CA

LE

HO

US

E –

fee

s ap

ply

Tire Trailer NOT ACCEPTED CURBSIDE

MATERIAL How To Sort COUNTY DISPOSAL SITES CURBSIDE RECYCLING

Curbsider Summer 2014

Page 5

Donations of used apparel, footwear, and household textiles to thrift stores and charities in the US average 12 pounds per person each year. At the same time, we throw away much more. At 70 pounds per person discarded annually, textiles occupy 5% of our landfill space.

Lightly worn and fashionable apparel is most likely to be passed on to family and friends, or donated to one of the many well-known thrift stores or charities serving homeless and needy in our community. Not commonly known is that well-worn and torn – even stained – clothing is highly sought after by the textile recycling industry. A few thrift stores accept the full range of quality (see sidebar).

Textile recycling is big business. These recyclers employ over 120,000 workers in the US with a billion dollar payroll and process nearly 4 billion pounds of used clothing annually. The industry is eager to collect a lot more, as evidenced by the many “Donate Clothes & Shoes” kiosks that have sprung up on street corners and parking lots in our community. The national Textile Recycling Council, whose members add value to the economy from discards, has adopted a goal of Zero Textile Waste to Landfill.

Textiles are not accepted in curbside recycling because commingling with mixed materials would degrade the quality of fabrics below the standards for any reuse or recycling option. While only soiled textiles belong in the garbage can, proper handling of clothing and accessories requires drop off at a collection location.

What Happens To Donated Clothing?A consumer donates textiles to a thrift organization committed to zero waste to landfill.

Household textiles include clothing, shoes, belts, bags, linens, blankets, and draperies. Worn and torn textiles are acceptable – even stained – as long as they are clean and dry. Wet, greasy or grimy items will be rejected.

15% is sold in a local thrift store.

The remainder is purchased by a textile recycler who sorts the salvage into additional categories.

40% is reused, with the majority being exported as secondhand clothing.

Poverty is so severe in some places in the world that people are willing to wear our worn out castoffs.

25% is converted into absorbent wiping rags used in industry.

In the dirtiest industries, rags may be used only once more and discarded.

15% is reprocessed to reclaim fibers from textiles.

Fibers are used in home insulation, carpet padding, bond paper, and auto upholstery.

5% can't be reused in any form and is discarded as waste.

Textile RecyclersThese organizations will accept clean and dry textiles in any condition and will seek all possible reuse and recycling options for your donations.

Goodwill lndustries – 5 thrift stores and several donation s t a t i o n s a r o u n d t h e c o u n t y. F i n d l o c a t i o n s a t www.scgoodwill.org. Donations support employment training programs.

Grey Bears – Donations received at mid-county thrift store, 2711 Chanticleer Ave. Donations support meals for seniors program.

Abbot's Thrift – Donations received at Felton store, 6164 Hwy 9. Non-profit organization which supports local charitable causes.

"Donate Clothes & Shoes" Kiosks – Two dozen self-service collection boxes have been placed adjacent to businesses in mid-county by three different textile recycling firms, some claiming non-profit status. Donated items will be reused elsewhere and avoid being wasted, but without benefit to local charities. Find locations on each company's website: USAgain (www.usagain.com); Campus California (www.campus-cal ifornia.org); Green Education Foundation (East Cliff Village Shopping Center).

Recycle In Every RoomMost families that recycle have at least a bin in the kitchen. Adding an appropriate bin, box or bag in the garage, laundry room, office and bathroom might just make it easier to capture perfectly recyclable items that are otherwise thrown in the trash.

Old Clothes Live Again

Curbsider Summer 2014

Para información en español sobre el reciclaje en las areas no incorporadas del condado de Santa Cruz, favor de llamar al (800) 665-2209.

Recycling Resources Recycle Information Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831-454-2333

• What and where to recycle (recorded messages)

Curbside Refuse, Recycling and Yard Waste Collection . . . . . . . . . . . 800-665-2209

(Operated by GreenWaste Recovery)

• Begin new service

• Report missed recycling or trash service

• Request delivery or removal of carts

• Obtain oil recycling jugs

www.greenwaste.com

County Public Works Dept. . . . . . . . . . . . . 831-454-2160

www.santacruzcountyrecycles.org

• Apartments and business recycling inquiries

• Complaints, compliments or suggestions

Household Hazardous Waste . . . . . . . . . . 831-454-2606

(recorded messages)

• Schedule for free disposal

• Non-hazardous alternatives

• Free surplus paint

Composting Resourceswww.compostsantacruzcounty.org

Buena Vista Landfill& Recycling Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831-454-5153

• Recorded information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831-454-2430

Ben Lomond Transfer Station& Recycling Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831-336-3951

• Recorded information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831-454-2430

City of Santa Cruz Resource Recovery Facility & Recycling Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831-420-6270

• Open to unincorporated county residents in Davenport and Bonny Doon only

Grey Bears Recycling Centers . . . . . . . . . 831-479-1055

• Chanticleer Avenue

• Buena Vista Landfill

SLV Redemption/Recycling Centers. . . . . 831-335-1728

(Operated by the Valley Women's Club)

• Felton

• Boulder Creek

• Ben Lomond Transfer Station

County of Santa Cruz Public Works701 Ocean Street, Room 410Santa Cruz, CA 95060(831) 454-2160

Presort StandardU.S. Postage

PAIDComplete Mailing

Service, Inc.

Printed on 55% recycled 30% post-consumer waste paper processed chlorine-free, using soy-based inks.

R SE EC LYC

SAF NO T AY T C

N R

U U

O Z

CSurf!Santa Cruz County’s

Green Portal www.ecocruz.org

RECYCLE GUIDEHow to Sort

Page 4