Have you ever thought about how long the stuff you throw away would take to decompose?

It is surprising to know that some of our everyday items may take up to more than 1,000 years to decompose. In fact, some may not decompose at all!

That’s why it is best to recycle these instead of throwing them to the landfill.

Source: http://socyberty.com/issues/strange-trash-facts/

Recycling - How do they do it?

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The average closed landfill in the U.S. generates 6 million gallons of contaminated water from rainfall that seeps through the landfill picking up chemicals and compounds along the way each and every year. This contaminated water ends up in our groundwater. It also affects the surrounding plant life and animal life as the surrounding soil is contaminated. Additionally, the volatile compounds that evaporate up through the soil and into the air affect the health of the surrounding residents. Once we have emptied the landfill all of these issues go away. Human health, plant health, animal health, and the condition of the soil and groundwater all improve. Check out what you can do to help by visiting this blog….www.greenusarecycling.com/empty-your-landfill

A battery is an electrochemical device with the ability to convert chemical energy to electrical energy to provide power to electronic devices. Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when batteries are improperly disposed of. When incinerated, certain metals might be released into the air or can concentrate in the ash produced by the combustion process.

The average person throws out about eight household batteries per year. About three billion batteries are sold annually in the U.S. averaging about 32 per family or ten per person. Most people own about two button batteries, and ten normal (A, AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, etc.) Because Batteries may produce potential problems or hazards they must be disposed of correctly. Many states have regulations in place requiring some form of battery recycling. California mandates recycling for almost all battery types. Take a look at this most helpful website to find out where you can dispose of your unwanted batteries:

http://www.ehso.com/ehshome/batteries.php

What is E-Waste? E-Waste is a popular, informal name for any broken or unwanted electrical or electronic appliance.

 Common E-Waste materials: Scanners, Cell phones, Alarm clocks, Mice, Keyboards, Computers & Computer monitors, Televisions, VCR’s, Stereos, Printers, Fax machines. Not E-Waste: Refrigerators, Stoves, Dishwashers.

Why recycle E-Waste?   Some components of old electronic equipment can be hazardous to our environment. The new electronic waste recycling laws make it a crime to throw away old computers and other electronics. The toxicity is due in part to lead, mercury, cadmium and a number of other metallic substances. When discarded improperly, these substances and chemicals are extremely harmful to the environment. Lead is a toxic substance of particular concern, as lead poisoning can especially be harmful to young children. A typical 17-inch computer monitor contains approximately 2 pounds of lead while a 27-inch color television contains up to 8 pounds of lead.

Why should we be concerned about E-Waste in our waste stream? Why is it a problem?   E-Waste is one of the fastest growing segments of our nation’s waste stream. E-Waste now makes up 5% of all municipal waste worldwide. According to the International Association of Electronics Recyclers, Americans dispose of 2 million tons of electronic products a year including 50 million computers and 130 million cell phones. By 2010, the United States will be discarding 400 million electronic units annually. Do your bit… E-Waste collections occur at County Centers and are usually free of charge. E-Waste will not be accepted at Household Collection Mobile events, so contact your local County to find out the closest collection center to you.

Nowadays there is a push to recycle as much as possible, because we know that over time, if we are not proactive reducing the waste we dispose of in landfills, our county will be covered in rubbish. It is also much better for our environment.

In 2008, 11.2 million tons of solid waste were disposed of in New York State landfills, considerably less than the 14.1 million tons of solid waste that was landfilled in 1990. As of June 2009, there were 27 active municipal solid waste landfills, 16 active industrial/commercial waste landfills, 18 construction and demolition (C&D) landfills, and 3 active ash monofill landfills within New York State.

Mixed Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) consisting of residential, institutional and commercial waste must be disposed of at a MSW landfill. There are three active ash monofill landfills in New York State. Ash from the combustion of municipal solid waste is disposed of at these facilities. Industrial Waste Landfills are used for the disposal of industrial wastes such as coal ash and paper mill sludges.

While landfill gas recovery facilities collect the gas from the decomposition of solid waste for use as energy, Construction and Demolition Debris that is not processed is disposed of in a C&D landfill. Additional restrictions have been placed on landfills located in Nassau and Suffolk Counties in Long Island.

To find out more visit: www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/23681.html

Reaching for Zero is a plan proposed for reducing New York City’s waste exports to very close to zero by 2024, through a combination of waste prevention, reuse, recycling and composting.

This plan will not only reduce and eliminate the crushing expense of waste exports from the City, but it will also keep dollars spent on waste management circulating within the City’s economy, creating industry and jobs in NY rather than shipping dollars, along with our waste to out of state locations.

With close to 8 million residents and over 12 million people during a workday, New York City produces enormous amounts of waste. 13,000 tons per day are generated by trash and recyclables from the residential and institutional sectors, and another 9,900 tons per day of food scraps, dirty paper, and recyclable containers, from the commercial sector. Commercial construction and demolition debris and fill material are generated in even larger quantities.

New York has thousands of businesses, hundreds of institutions like museums, colleges and universities, and a large number of City, State and Federal Agencies. So when NYC generates waste it is not just in the home, it is on the way to work or school, in public transportation, while visiting government agencies, while shopping at stores and supermarkets, or while at work or play at many of New York City’s recreational facilities, such as parks, zoos, and sports venues.

Since the announcement in 1997 that the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island (which had previously taken all of the City’s waste) would be closed, the City has maintained almost an exclusive focus on exporting waste out of the City to distant landfills and incinerators as the solution to its waste management problems. The costs of waste export to the City are enormous and have risen 91% since 2000 so that they are now over $100 a ton. Following the announcement of the Fresh Kills closure, the City Council and planning committees in the offices of each Borough President made extensive recommendations about how the City should handle its waste. The recommendations, while differing on details, spoke to the need for the City to reduce or prevent waste, to recycle more, to create a larger reuse network, and to compost organic waste. To a large extent, these recommendations have been ignored; hence the Reaching for Zero plan has been actioned.

Find out more about it by visiting: www.consumersunion.org/other/zero-waste/

The fastest growing category of waste in Massachusetts is made up of unwanted consumer electronics - cell and smart phones, computers and monitors, televisions, DVD and MP3 players, pagers, PDAs and other devices.

The National Recycling Coalition predicted that 500 million computers were obsolete by 2007. In Massachusetts alone, 25,000 tons of computers are being disposed, recycled, or placed in storage per year. Until recently, people in MA were discarding more than 900,000 units annually on average, but that number has increased due to the federally-mandated transition to digital television broadcasting. (Note that if you own an analog TV, there is no need to replace it right away, you can extend its useful life by purchasing a digital converter box).

CRT monitors and TVs contain an average of 4 pounds of lead each. Excessive lead and other toxins pose a problem in landfills because they can leach into groundwater. In combustors, the lead winds up in the ash residue, which is in turn disposed of in landfills. Lead exposure has been linked with learning disabilities, behavioral problems and at very high levels, seizures, coma and even death. CRTs have been banned from Massachusetts solid waste disposal and transfer facilities since April 2000.

When you have unwanted electronics to discard, remember that still useful items can be donated to others. Non-working electronics should be recycled to prevent health and environmental risks. Often, your computer will be reused by a charity or school. Or, it may be taken apart and recycled. The different parts of the computer or television are used in many different ways:

• The glass CRT is either returned to a manufacturer and made into a new CRT, or sent to a smelter where the lead is recovered and recycled
• The plastic housing is ground to smaller pieces and recycled for use in various items such as retaining blocks and pothole mix
• Circuit boards, chips, and other parts can be reused to repair or upgrade older electronics or recycled for their scrap value
• Metal components will be separated and sold for their scrap value

For a detailed list of recycling options in your county please visit the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection website: www.mass.gov/dep/