It's not just at the grocery store when asked "Paper or Plastic?"

Just before paying at the grocery checkout, the cashier sometimes asks (depending on the store and their policies) "Paper or plastic?". When allowed this choice, I always chose paper! Why -- because its RECYCLABLE. You should ask yourself the same question when separating your recylcables. Those plastic bags are just garbage. So if you get paper it can go into your RED box.

RED boxes are for paper products. That means not only those notes that you don't want to hold on to anymore, but also those paper coffee cups you got from your last visit to Tim Horton's. The lids of course are garbage. These should be removed before you put the cup in the recycling bin. When you have multiple bins beside each other. Just pop the lid into garbage and the cup into the paper bin beside it. It's pretty easy, really! If you bought a cookie or a muffin from Tim's as well, that little paper bag can go into the RED box as well! The muffin wrapper should go to the garbage and if the bag is all sticky with frosting it's garbage.

Phone books, catalogues, magazines -- these are all RED box items. Have been for years. But egg cartons and other molded trays can be recycled. Better yet, if you received one of those trays with your order and you go there often, EWSWA suggests that you keep the tray and REUSE it. Just another one of the ways we can implement the 3Rs.

For a complete listing of RED BOX items visit EWSWA Red Box Recycling Guidelines.

Try to avoid plastic items as much as possible. I know it's hard to do because they are everywhere. At my house, it's like the plastic bags multiply in the closet. I try to reuse them for bathroom garbage or small garbage cans, but there are so many stores that use plastic bags nowadays that it's extremely difficult. The other problem with reusing plastic bags is that they sometimes harbour bacteria. This bacteria can then be transferred to other items. Sometimes even washing them doesn't get rid of the germs. See clip from CTV (November 27, 2008) about Mould and Bacteria. A durable cloth bag such as those sold by Canadian Tire or Zehrs is a practicle solution. It's reusable and washable.

Just what is recyclable these days???

When the recycling program began, individuals were limited to what was considered recyclable. It started with just a blue box, the next step lead to a red box. It will be interesting to see what follows. The program varies from area to area. Originally, I thought it was the same everywhere with the boxes, red and blue, but I soon found out that's not always the case. A friend in the Toronto area indicates they have a blue box and a gray box. She also informed me that some areas simply have a large gray box for everything. So I guess it depends on the individual companies in the region.

Back in the early 90s, Guelph implemented a program for recycling. No garbage at all. They had dry recyclables and wet recyclables (basically kitchen and bathroom waste). This meant tissues and all other materials that we would normally put in the garbage were being sorted and recycled. Views on the success of this program were varied. To the best of my knowledge it is still in operation today (I think mostly because of the cost that would be involved to change things back -- that's just my opinion), but I'm not certain if it has been implemented in any other areas and if it has, I don't know how long or how well it is working.

Fortunately for us, we don't do it that way. Our blue boxes began with cans and paper. Wow, has that changed. Today we can recycle many items. Cans, glass (only container glass), plastic bottles, empty aerosol cans, empty paint cans and many other items. The red box collection has grown to include cardboard and boxboard as well as magazines and catalogues.

NEW ITEMS to the BLUE BOX include:
This information was provided by the Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority in the fall issue of EnviroTips. This newsletter is produced several times a year to keep residents up-to-date with the changes in the industry.

Polycoat beverage cartons: these include the milk cartons, juice cartons and the liquid egg cartons. Just rinse out, get rid of the cap and toss into your blue box.
Aluminum Foil: Sheet foil and aluminum trays and plates. They ask for the plates and trays to be rinsed and placed flat while the foil should be rinsed and rolled into a ball before being placed in the blue box.
Plastic tubs and lids: It's good to know that those plastic containers for margarine, chip dip, sour cream or cottage cheese are no longer garbage. Just rinse these out and put the tub and its lid into your blue box. It only takes a few minutes to rinse these items out with hot water.

Please note that the clear plastic containers, such as the containers that sandwiches or salads are often packaged in are not recyclable. These items are still considered garbage.

For a complete listing of allowable plastics visit the Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority -- plastics information page.

Please keep the following information in mind when recycling, especially in public places. During a recent interview on AM800 with the spokesperson for EWSWA, a question was asked if all materials put into recycling at fast food restaurants are actually recycled. The answer was NO. The reason being, the restaurant determines if the materials are recycling or garbage. If individuals are not being conscientious about putting garbage in the waste container and recyclables in the proper container; when the mix appears to be more garbage that recycling -- it is garbage. So always keep that in mind. If it is dirty (full of food material) it will be garbage. But the place mat on the tray, unused napkins or paper packaging are all recyclable. It doesn't take that much effort to do it properly. Just a few minutes to sort it better.

If we want recycling to work, we all need to do our part. Believe me, I screw up when I'm out in public and often put recyclables into the garbage. At home, it is much easier. But I'm working on this and trying to be more careful when I dispose of the items.

My next topic will deal with the red box items and some of the things that we don't even think about recycling or reusing.