Hi again all. I’m thrilled to have finally had a chance to get a few long outstanding (for me:) recycling questions answered in the past week, and stumble upon several public houses (bars/cafes) that are now composting (yes, actually composting!) their food and corn plastics waste properly now through a pilot project of the City of Portland. More on that in a bit.
For my newer readers and fans, a reminder that this blog was born of my burning desire to throw away as little as possible as a rather “normal” consumer in the Portland area, and I always include the latest and greatest I know of on where to take as many things as possible at the bottom of each post. (Hint: go there now, if that’s all you’re after today:). I also urge reducing, and reusing before recycling as much as possible, knowing this can be very challenging for modern households, especially with children.
And once again in general, you have 2 main recycling options in Portland: the cubside/apartment bin system which is somewhat limited , and taking things to Far West Fibers (www.farwestfibers.com) and other places yourself (which covers a LOT more than the curbside system, which is my primary goal – to keep stuff out of the garbage:). The good news, our options are steadily improving with time.
So, my burning q’s this time were:
a) Can we recycle plastic toothbrushes? Per Metro, the answer was yes, but please snap off/remove the bristle part, for sanitary reasons. You can then recycle the remaining plastic handle in the rigid plastics bin down at www.farwestfibers.com. (Not in the curbside system). There’s also a new brand of toothbrush available at some New Seasons stores called “Preserve” that comes in its very own special plastic case designed for you to return the whole toothbrush in to the manufacturer, who has designed them to be fully recyclable, bristles and all. I’m using one now, and it’s working fine for me, but admit both the shape, and bristle “hardness” may not work for everyone, so was glad to learn the former.
b) What do we do with those mixed material Tree Top apple sauce jar caps? For those who don’t buy TT apple sauce, or haven’t lately, this arose when I did last Feb, and found they now use a cap that’s comprised of BOTH metal and plastic, in almost equal parts. So I was stymied as to which bin to put it in at Far West - plastic, or metal? I finally got to ask one of the scale attendants this week, and the answer was “put in the metal bin”. Yay. I was sweating being told to pry it apart (the metal disk rattles loosely inside the plastic screw band, but it was still gonna be tricky). Or worse, do nothing at all.
c) Does size of recycled item matter ? Yes, in our curbside system – please stick to just what their labels say on those bins, and do not include bottle tops/caps. (And always, NO plastic bags in curbside systems, ever!) The hauling and sorting systems involved in our curbside recycling aren’t designed to handle all these other smaller/odd items. But no, size does not matter IFF you take them to the proper bins at Far West Fiber’s SE public depot . You do need to keep ferrous or “magnetic” metal items separate from non-ferrous or “non-magnetic” (e.g. aluminum) items there. (Plastic caps/tops can just go in the rigid plastics bins that is not for bottles there). They have a big magnet on their ferrous bin to help you decipher this. Your common fridge magnet will also do the trick before hand:). I’ve taken to using 2 of those skinny plastic bags newspapers come in to collect up all my tiny metal bottle caps and bits – 1 for ferrous, the other or none, natch. (Mine are primarily from some wine bottles, and the occasional Starbucks drink I get when desperate).
Now, as for this composting I’ve just discovered, well, it turns out to be a pilot project run by the City of Portland for a select handful of food and drink establishments so far. (Separate from Burgerville’s efforts, which are entirely their own, and equally exciting. They just added compost receptacles to their SE Hawthorne store, yeah:). I first discovered this was happening when I went to Mississippi Studios for my first time for a concert there last Friday night (loved the Andrew Oliver Kora band) and found they not only served their water in corn based plastic solo cups, but better yet – they were composting them! They had a clearly labeled bin for same, prompting me to inquire about it. Of course I was terribly curious how this could be (newer readers, see my prior post on corn based plastics for why), and learned there is a company called “Cloudburst Recycling” that has actually been around since the ‘70’s that is handling (some of?) this for now. (I've since seen this happening at a couple other cafes around town). However, I’m still stuck in a phone tag loop with them and the City to get more details on just who is able to participate, and how it’s going. But the rabid recycler in me is jumping for joy to see efforts toward this end finally. Reminder: we cannot put any corn based (labeled “PLA” or “corn based”) plastics in any other recycling systems here for now. (Curbside or Far West’s bins). They simply melt and gum up the works, so please don’t! (I’m so grateful for what all Far West is doing for our fair city and planet, if you can’t tell. So I’m eager to make their lives as trouble free as possible too).
Okay, that’s enough blathering for now. Back to trying to will the Blazers to win. (You can follow my efforts on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jandroid). And now for your summary of recycling sources:
Latest Recycling Sources 04/30/09
Per the good people at Metro and Far West Fibers, who know what's up!)
You have 2 main recycling options in Portland: the cubside/apartment bin system which is somewhat limited , and taking things to Far West Fibers (www.farwestfibers.com) and other places yourself (which covers a LOT more than the curbside system).
ALL recycling systems require bottles, tubs and cans to be rinsed, empty, with no lids attached. (Lids can be taken separately to Far West public depots below). NO PLASTIC BAGS IN CURBSIDE/APARTMENT RECYCLING AT ALL . (Do not drop off bags of bottles or other objects in any recycling system. The bags gum up the works and cause loads to be tossed. Nor leave plastic bags or film mixed in, same problem). And, NO CORN BASED PLASTICS anywhere, either (#7 PLA). Other #7's are okay, just not those labeled PLA or "made from corn". (#7 just means "misc", that is not a 1-6). You can take clean stretchy plastic bags to your local grocery store, or to the Far West Fibers depots below.
In general our Portland Metro curbside/apartment recycling is rather limited due to handling issues. Tho Far West Fibers takes much more than the curbside system allows - you just have to drop it off at their depots yourself. That's why I've researched and listed the other great outlets for recycling many more items than curbside can take. (Some items in curbside loads will cause whole load to just get dumped in landfill - ouch). So, if in doubt, leave it out of your curbside system, and take it yourself to one of the many facilities listed below (e.g. Far West Fibers, Portland Recycling, Total Reclaim, etc.) I've tried to make it as simple as possible.
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Current Portland 2 bin Curbside/apartment Recycling CAN take:
(NO LIDS ON ANY CONTAINERS PLEASE, MUST ALL BE EMPTY AND CLEAN)
A) In separate glass bin only:
Only glass bottles and jars:must keep in separate bin from all other recyclables. Empty, clean, no lids. Also, no light bulbs, lamps, etc. Just clean empty unbroken jars and bottles from the kitchen. (Take fluorescent and high intensity flood light bulbs to Metro hazardous waste recycling centers listed below. Normal light bulbs can apparently go to Total Reclaim in NE Portland according to Metro Oct 29, 2008. Call first to be sure).
B) In 2nd co-mingled rollout recycling bins you can combine:
Plastic bottles and tubs (no lids): bottles with a screw neck top, empty (clean) margarine or yogurt type tubs (No’s 1, 2 and 5 only). NO clamshell food containers (#6). AND NO OTHER PLASTICS WHATSOEVER. (E.g. toys, hangers, lids). All bottles and tubs must be clean, empty, NO LIDS. NO BAGS. (See below for where to take lids and other plastics). You can recycle empty laundry detergent bottles here.
Paper: Newspaper, magazines, and office paper and junk mail. (Envelopes with glassine windows are okay). NO NAPKINS OR TISSUES (this belongs in garbage or compost). No wax paper. Please enclose shredded paper in a paper bag for ease of handling at facilities. (This is the only time you may contain something in any bag, and it must be paper). No foil-lined paper. (e.g. metallic gift wrap).Staples okay. No paper clips. No food-contaminated or waxed containers either. (E.g. no frozen food boxes, or paper coffee cups with waxy insides. These can be composted under proper conditions but are too contaminated for normal paper recycling), else garbage.
Steel and tin cans: (e.g. soup cans) clean, no labels, flatten as able, and tuck clean lids inside for safety. (I find squishing the top end of the cans with rounded bottoms to help in removing the label, and saving a little space). Clean aluminum foil also okay. (Don't tuck small aluminum objects inside steel/tin cans tho, thanks - gotta keep non-ferrous out of ferrous metals:).
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ALL OTHER RECYCLING:
Call Metro at 503-234-3000 or see www.metro-region.org to keep up on latest recycling outlets for MANY other items including STYROFOAM, ELECTRONICS, batteries and hazardous wastes (old paint, cleaners, fluorescent light bulbs).
Far West Fibers (link below) takes virtually everything except styrofoam and hazardous wastes, and are one of the cheapest and easiest to get to. (Depot at SE 17th and Holgate). This includes electronics, appliances, and ALL RIGID PLASTICS except styrofoam and now PLA #7 (corn-based plastics). (Other #7's okay). I.e, all the plastic lids, toys, hangers, clean clamshell food containers, other tubs, etc. that the curbside/apartment system does not take (except PLA:). Must be clean and empty still. $2+.
Styorfoam: Total Reclaim on NE 60th and Columbia - $5/car or truck load. Must be clean. Can take clean styro meat packaging trays (even colored ones). www.totalreclaim.com
Computers and all pc related items (printers, scanners, mice, keyboards): Free Geek www.freegeek.org (SE 10th and Mill, just south of Hawthorne). Reasonable fees apply, although technically pc bodies and monitors can now be donated for free per new Oregon eCycles law starting January 1, 2009. (Free Geek could still use your donations. Every dollar helps).
Computer bodies, monitors and Televisions only: Can now be dropped off for free at most Goodwill donations stations apparently (along with some other recyclers), per our new (2009) Oregon eCycles law. But not their peripherals. That is, no mice, keyboards, printers, cables, etc. Just the computer and laptop bodies and monitors and television sets. You can take up to 7 for free. A fee charged for more. Some recyclers may still request a donation or fee to defray their continued costs in processing more than 7, or for additional separate items. See www.oregonecycles.org for more on this per the new law in effect January 1, 2009.
Links to additional recycling outlets and info:
www.metro-region.org (see “Find a Recycler” under Garbage and Recycling links on left side)
www.oregonecycles.org for info on the new e-Cycling law in effect 1/1/09 to keep e-waste out of landfills. (So far just covers pc's, monitors and tv's).
www.farwestfibers.com (take all rigid plastics besides styrofoam, plus much more including books, DVD's and crayons. Separate curbside "quality" recycling from all else however for handling reasons.)
www.portlandrecyclingcenters.com (takes same as Far West Fibers, tho best to take smaller plastic items (e.g. bottle tops/lids) that curbside doesn't currently take to the SE Far West Fibers depot to put in their bin allotted for same, vs the co-mingled baler at the N Portland recycling center. And, they're probably going to shut down their NW and Lake Oswego sites soon, when Far West takes them over, and may use them for storage vs drop off. Check website first)
www.enviromom.com (has updates on many ways to reduce, reuse, recycle in Portland)
www.masterrecycler.org (has updates on periodic local Plastics Roundups in Portland area that take all but styro) 2/14/09 - these may be on hold just now due to recession. Check first.
www.totalreclaim.com (takes styrofoam in NE Portland - yay:) $5/load
www.buyworms.com for a good local Portland source of red worms for vermicomposting
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