Dear Recycle Lady

Dear Recycle Lady, Yesterday I purchased a Barbie doll for my daughter. Almost the entire front of the box was plastic so the doll could be seen. When box was opened, I noticed that the plastic in the front panel was hard. Must this piece of hard plastic be removed...

Dear Recycle Lady, There seems to be a lot of paper recycling. What products are made from recycled paper? Just Curious Dear Just Curious, Products made from recycled paper depend on what kind of recycled paper is used. How2recycle defines four kinds of recycled paper: newspaper, magazines, cardboard, and office...

Dear Recycle Lady, Several of my steel trash cans are rusty. Can they be recycled? Recycler Dear Recycler, Yes, slightly rusty steel trash cans can be recycled. As always, anything recycled should be reasonably clean. Many new products are now being made from recycled metal. Household items, such as lamps,...

Dear Recycle Lady, Are we really to throw regular flashlight batteries in the landfill now? Hearing aid batteries? Regret Batteries Don’t Recycle Dear Regret Batteries Don’t Recycle, Unfortunately, we are currently unable to recycle flashlight batteries, except for rechargeable ones. Thus, there is no alternative other than to throw them...

Dear Recycle Lady, What are fair trade products? Seeking Answers Dear Seeking Answers, Fair trade products are products that are sustainably and ethically produced by workers who are paid a fair wage. According to www.fairtradeamerica.org, the Fairtrade Seal is the Most Recognized & Trusted Ethical Label in the World. Fair...

Dear Recycle Lady, Thanks so much for the recycling advice! We both read your column every week. Sorry to be a nuisance, but we can’t agree (partly due to memory problems) on several things. Is there still a category just for black and white computer paper, or does it include...

Dear Recycle Lady, For several months now we have been unable to recycle #1 black/brown/blue trays at the Recycling Center. What about #2 dark brown bottles that had Hershey’s syrup in it? Can it be recycled?  Puzzled Dear Puzzled, Yes, dark brown #2 bottles can be recycled. They go in...

Dear Recycle Lady, Last week you said that if plastic film didn’t have the recycle symbol with a #2 or #4 on it to throw it out. What about dry-cleaning bags and newspaper sleeves? Both Kroger’s and Wal-Mart’s recycle bins take these bags for recycling. Puzzled Dear Puzzled, Good catch....

Dear Recycle Lady, Haven’t I read in the past that all bubble wrap products are recyclable?  The larger air pillows have recycling emblems on them, but the sheets or rolls of smaller honeycomb bubbles do not. I see that your Greenbrier Recycling Center Guidelines say that bubble wrap products aren’t...

Dear Recycle Lady, Today I purchased a take-home fried chicken dinner at Crawford’s. They packaged it neatly and placed it in a cardboard box. Unfortunately, grease from the chicken is on the box. Is it possible to recycle a box with grease on it? Concerned About the Grease Dear Concerned...