Dear Recycle Lady,
What is upcycling? Is it the same as recycling?
Upcycling or Recycling
Dear Upcycling or Recycling,
Upcycling is a special kind of recycling. Most recycling is downcycling or making a lower grade version of the same product; for example, downcycling plastic bottles into lower quality plastic bottles. Upcycling often creates something entirely new, for example, upcycling plastic bottles into shoes, jackets and purses. Upcycling may repurpose an item into something of greater value than original item, such as upcycling plastic bottles into houses. Upcycling supports a circular economy in which goods are used and reused many times instead of being thrown out after a single use. It also saves money, lowers the amount of waste sent to the landfill and helps reduce our carbon footprint. A circular economy is more sustainable as it uses what we have instead of creating new products out of new materials.
Dear Recycle Lady,
One of your former columns had information on sending empty prescription bottles and over the counter (OTC) pill bottles to Matthew 25 Ministries. I have several bottles to send, but how do I get the labels off? Must the pill bottles have child resistant caps?
Want to Help
Dear Want to Help,
The labels on prescription bottles are generally harder to remove than the OTC bottles. I found the easiest thing to do is to drop the bottle in a cup of water and let it sit overnight and sometimes longer. The label will then just peel off. Most OTC labels peel right off, but some may also require overnight soaking. Sometimes a sticky residue remains on the bottles after the label is taken off, but that can be removed quickly with a little Goo-B-Gone. Matthew 25 Ministries (M25M) accepts bottles of any color or size, with or without a child resistant cap. Bottles should be washed in very hot water and dish soap, rinsed and dried. There should be no glue or residue on them, and they must have caps. Sort the bottles by type (prescription or OTC) and place the clean, dried, capped bottles in a resealable plastic bag, marked Clean Bottles. These empty bottles replace paper envelopes used to send pills to distribute medications in developing countries. Sending these bottles to M25M helps protect the pills from moisture, loss and little hands. It also keeps thousands of bottles out of landfills each year. For more information, see https://m25m.org.
Dear Recycle Lady,
When is Earth Day this year?
Want to Celebrate It
Dear Want to Celebrate It,
Earth Day this year is Tuesday, April 22. It is celebrated each year on the day the spring equinox occurs. The first Earth Day in the U.S. was in 1970 when more than 20 million Americans joined in teach-ins, protests, and other events. They were calling on the U. S. Government to get serious about protecting the environment. In December of 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed to regulate and enforce U.S. legislation on national pollution. Also, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act were passed that year. Several studies now show that more than 97% of climate scientists agree that climate change is happening and is primarily caused by human activity. Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” published in 1962 detailed the significant environmental impact of DDT and other chemical pesticides. Her book created a public awareness of humankind’s impact on nature and the need for industrial regulation to protect our planet. Earth Day and every day we must work to build a more just and sustainable future.
Good News: The Recycle Center recently sent two more 25-pound boxes of used toothbrushes, empty toothpaste tubes and caps and floss containers to Terracycle for recycling. Many thanks to Colgate Oral products that pays the postage for these boxes.
Have questions about recycling or interesting information about recycling? Send questions or requests to Recyclelady7@gmail.com. Dear Recycle Lady is sponsored jointly by the Greenbrier Recycling Center and Greenworks Recycling.
