Dear Recycle Lady

Hi, Recycle Lady,

I use eggshells to fertilize irises and roses. I rinse the shells, let them dry, and then break them into little pieces.

Looking Forward to Earth Day

Dear Looking Forward to Earth Day,

I love your suggestions for reusing eggshells to fertilize your roses. Eggshells contain minerals essential to the health of plants, especially calcium carbonate, which strengthens and thickens their cell walls. Before adding eggshells to your plants they should be rinsed, dried, and crushed. One YouTube video recommends putting them in the microwave for two minutes to kill possible bacteria, such as salmonella. Another video recommends putting them in an oven preheated to 250 degrees. When the eggshells are dry, they can be manually crushed, or crushed in a grinder,then added to your compost bin or worm bin. For a really fine grit, put them in a high speed blender or coffee grinder to make particles small enough for worms to digest. This is critical to the worms’ health and reproduction. Healthy worms give more nutrient-rich castings for your garden, which increases fertility of the soil, and makes for healthy plants! Thanks for sharing this helpful hint. 

Dear Recycle Lady,

The other day I went to Kroger after being gone for an extended time and noticed that they have moved their recycling containers into the area where they park the shopping carts. The container says they accept plastic bags and other kinds of recycling.

Recycler and Shopper

Dear Recycler and Shopper,

Kudos to Kroger for recycling plastic bags and other kinds of plastic! In addition to plastic bags, customers can put in bread bags, shrink wrap, dry-cleaning bags, and newspaper bags. Always be sure to remove sales receipts and that everything is clean, dry, and empty. Recycled plastic film of all kinds is being used to make composite lumber, decks, benches, and playground sets.  

Dear Readers,

There will be a Greenbrier County Tire Collection at the County Landfill on Wednesday, May 19, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tires MUST be off the rim and only passenger car or light truck tires will be accepted. A 10-tire limit will be strictly enforced.

Earth Day is Friday, Apr. 22. Come celebrate with us at the Recycling Center’s Open House, located at 450 Monroe Avenue, Ronceverte. Enjoy a tour of the facility from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Employees will be there to answer questions and show you around. Free hot dogs with all the trimmings will served between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The Recycle Lady will be there to answer questions about recycling.

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.