Environmental issues as well as the concept of "going green" have gotten a lot of attention lately. Everyone agrees that something must be done NOW to minimize the harm we are doing to the environment. Recycling is quite possibly the easiest and cheapest way for people to go green. Consider this:
* Last year, Americans trashed over 180 BILLION tons of recyclable materials like newspapers and aluminum cans. That equals $6.4 billion dollars, 540 billion cubic yards of landfill space and $12 billion in lost energy!
* The EPA estimates 66 percent of the materials we trash every day could be recycled. Only approximately 25 percent actually is being recycled.
* Recycling 35 percent of our trash would reduce global warming emissions equal to taking 36 million cars off the road.
* Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours or the equivalent of a half a gallon of gasoline.
* Nearly all the steel made in the United States and in the world is made from scrap.
* The average American uses seven trees a year in paper, wood, and other products made from trees. This amounts to about two billion tress per year!
* Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kills as many as one million sea creatures every year!
What To Recycle
Any and all items that you recycle may be placed together in your blue bin. This is a process called "single-stream." It enables you to simplify your efforts to recycle, as well as eliminate the need to keep multiple storage bins for the various types of recyclable materials.
ALUMINUM:Loosely rinse and crush cans, foil and pie pans.
CARDBOARD:Flatten and stack. Cardboard includes corrugated cardboard and chipboard, which is the thinner box material like that used for cereal boxes. Paper egg cartons and similar packing materials are also okay.
TIN CANS:Loosely rinse. Tin cans are those used primarily for food storage.
PAPER: Almost all forms of paper are acceptable, including brown paper grocery bags and wrap, office paper, newspaper, magazines, junk mail, and phone books.
PLASTIC: Rinse and remove the lids. On the bottom of most plastic containers is one of seven images. Acceptable materials are those with the following labels:
PETE bottles are often clear bottles used for soda, vegetable oil, peanut butter, and even medicine.
HDPE bottles are higher density bottles, often opaque and most commonly used for milk, detergents, and motor oil. Only white is recyclable.
Tips for Setting Out your Bin
Place lighter weight objects at the bottom of the bin and stack heavier weight objects on top so as to prevent items from blowing out. For objects larger than the bin, such as cardboard, place them beneath the bin rather than to the side or on top.
For those with special needs and for the elderly
If you need assistance in taking your recycle bin to the curb, please call the City of Carrollton at 770-830-2000 and ask for the Billing Department.
Unacceptable
glass, cell phones; electronic equipment; computer, external hardware and any form of software; light bulbs, headlamps, mirrors, eyeglasses; smoke detectors; batteries; aerosol cans and paint cans; motor oil, antifreeze; toxic materials such as old herbicides and pesticides; construction waste: drywall, wood, nails, carpet, etc.; ceramics; styrofoam peanuts and similar packing material; styrofoam egg cartons and food trays; styrofoam cups and to-go boxes; waxed paper containers; unwanted household goods: toys, furniture, clothing, and plastics numbered 3-7:
GLASS:Glass is temporarily not accepted in the Carroll Curbside Pick up. You may take your glass to any Carroll County Convenience Center to recycle at no charge.
V bottles are made from PVC. Juice and condiments are often sold in V bottles. One identifying feature is the seam along either side where the halves were joined.
LDPE is the plastic from which trash bags, food storage bags, and plastic wrap are made.
Polypropylene is the plastic used to make lids, straws, and yogurt containers.
Polystyrene is used to make disposable coffee cups, to-go containers and fruit / vegetable / meat trays.
Anything that does not fall into categories 1-6
When to Recycle
On the day of your regularly scheduled trash pick-up, take your blue bin down to the curb by 7:00am.
If you have item that do not fit in the bin, or your bin is overflowing, place your extra recyclables in a clear or white bag on top of, or directly beside the bin so as to distinguish it from your garbage.
If you are consistently faced with an overflow of recyclable material, you may call the City of Carrollton and request a second bin>
Got Questions?
Contact a representative of Keep Carroll Beautiful for any questions you may have about Carrollton's new curbside recycling program.
Nowhere to take those old live christmas trees every year? Keep Carroll Beautiful recycles live trees every January after the Holiday season in Carrollton and Villa Rica.
City Of Carrollton's CURBSIDE RECYCLING PROGRAM
On the day of your regularly scheduled trash pick-up, please take your blue bin down to the curb by 7.00 a.m. Read More Here...
