Dear Recycle Lady,
I received a set of scales wrapped in plastic film that had a large recycle symbol with a 4 in it. However, there was a set of batteries scotch taped to the plastic film. Can this plastic film be recycled with scotch tape on it?
Another Recycling Puzzle
Dear Another Recycling Puzzle,
The #4 plastic film can be recycled, but only after you have removed the scotch tape, as scotch tape is a contaminant, thus not recyclable. Because plastic film is so thin, it is not possible to remove the tape from the film. The tape must be cut off before putting the rest of the plastic film in the recycle bin at Kroger’s, Walmart, or Lowes. When recycling any plastic film, be sure it is clean, dry and there is no paper label stuck to it. As with the scotch tape, the paper label must be cut off before recycling.
Dear Recycle Lady,
Thanks for the photos of the different kinds of clear (#1 plastics), cloudy (#2 no-color plastics) and white (#2 colored plastics) items. Seeing actual examples was very helpful. Do you have a similar photo for toothbrush recycling? What is acceptable?
New Recycler
Dear New Recycler,
It’s good to know that the photo was helpful. Unfortunately, a photo won’t show what is accepted in the toothbrush recycling, so here’s a list. Colgate Oral Care sponsors the recycling of oral products with TerraCycle. They accept all brands of non-electric toothbrushes, new or used, all brands and sizes of empty, or nearly empty, toothpaste tubes & caps and all sizes off loss containers. Plus, they also accept the cartons and outer packaging of these products. At the Recycling Center there is a tube on the left-hand side of the Aluminum Cans bin in which to put all these oral products. The tube goes down into a box beside the Cans box. When the box is full, TerraCycle sends the Recycling Center a free shipping label to ship the box to them for recycling. To date, three boxes of oral products weighing approximately 25 pounds each have been mailed to TerraCycle. Kudos to Colgate for sponsoring the recycling of these commonly used products and keeping them out of the landfill.
Dear Recycle Lady,
Last week you said brown bags are recyclable with cardboard. What about white bags or colored bags? Are they recyclable?
Bagger
Dear Bagger,
If the white bags are made of paper and have no color on them, they are recyclable with office paper. However, glossy, solid colored, or multicolored bags, such as Happy Birthday or Christmas bags, aren’t locally recyclable. Have you considered reusing them? Most glossy and colored bags can be reused if opened carefully and stored for future use. Bags made of plastic such as grocery bags, newspaper bags, dry cleaning bags and just plain baggies can all be recycled at Kroger’s, Walmart, or Lowe’s. Always be sure the bags are empty, dry, and clean.
Good News: Snow Leopards in Bhutan are on the rebound. Successful conservation efforts have increased their numbers from 96 to 134 over the past seven years.
Bad News: Plastic cutting boards are handy, but research now shows that they can release microplastic particles into your food, especially when used for chopping. Please consider using one of the new glass, marble, wood, or bamboo boards that are now available.
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.
