Dear Recycle Lady,
This year my Christmas wreaths were made of pine wired onto a heavy wire frame. They were beautiful, but what do I do with them now? Are these wire frames recyclable?
Hope They Recycle
Dear Hope They Recycle,
Yes, your wire frames are recyclable. Just remove the pine from the wire and bring them to the Recycling Center. Be sure the frame stays in shape as single pieces of wire cannot be recycled. They would jam up the equipment. Better yet, use the wreaths as mulch in your garden. Not only will they add winter protection to outdoor plants, but the pine will decompose to a point that it is easier to remove.
Dear Recycle Lady,
What can I do with letters from the bank, credit card bills, old tax reports, and sensitive documents?
Paranoid
Dear Paranoid,
The Greenbrier Recycling Center provides a free, safe shredding of personal documents that is available for everyone. All confidential documents taken to the Recycling Center are locked in a secure, windowless room. They remain there until such time as the staff is shedding paper. After all documents in the safe room are shredded, they are mixed with other shredded paper so there is no chance anyone could ever put your forms back together again.
Before taking your documents to the Recycling Center, go through all documents and remove paper clips, binders, manila folders, brown envelopes or large mailing envelopes. Staples do not need to be removed. Put all the papers in a bag or box and take them to the aluminum can door at the Recycle Center. Ring the bell and someone will meet you there and take your package to the locked, secure room.
Dear Recycle Lady,
Last week you said flour and sugar bags can be recycled. They also can be composted.
Composter
Dear Composter,
Thanks for the email. You are correct. Flour and sugar bags are a great addition to compost materials, especially if your compost is soggy. As I am sure you know, composting requires a proportional combination of brown and green material to encourage healthy bacteria and fungi colonies to grow. Flour and sugar bags made of paper (no plastic) are considered brown material. Paper is a biodegradable material that will readily break down in a compost pile, regardless of its thickness.
Good News: President Biden has signed into law an important, bipartisan ocean conservation legislation as part of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act. This bill includes a ban on the buying and selling of shark fins in the United States. It also provides the U.S. government with more tools to address devastating and destructive practices like illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. (Oceana.com)
Have questions about recycling, or interesting information about recycling? Send questions or requests to recyclelady@greenbrier-swa.com
Dear Recycle Lady is sponsored jointly by the Greenbrier Recycling Center and Greenworks Recycling.