Dear Recycle Lady

Dear Recycle Lady,

I have a large round cardboard core that is very hard. It came out of a roll of Gorilla Package Tape. There are smaller versions of this core in rolls of scotch tape. Can it be recycled with cardboard?

Packer

Dear Packer,

Cardboard cores and tubes are used as a core by packaging, tape, and storage industries. Cores are made of layers of paper held together by glue. They can be recycled with cardboard, although they are more difficult to recycle than flat cardboard. Essex tube windings are hoping to develop more environmentally friendly materials for makingcores and tubes. They also hope to find ways to reuse cores and tubes in order to lessen the number of trees cut down to make new cores.

Dear Recycle Lady,

I read that “ugly foods” are thrown out by growers and grocery stores. How much of the food grown in the U.S is wasted in this way?

Waste Not, Want Not

Dear Waste Not, Want Not,

According to the EPA, 31% of food that is grown, shipped or sold in the U.S. is wasted. As much as 70% to 90% of that wasted food is edible, enough food to feed more than a billion people according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture. An NPR report states that food waste is one of the largest categories of materials sent to landfills and incinerators in the U.S. and worldwide. When food waste rots in the landfill it produces methane gas that contributes to greenhouse gas and global warming. Kudos to the Raleigh County Landfill that collects methane gas and converts it into energy that provides electricity for more than 1900 homes in Beckley. ReFED estimates that food waste emissions, from farm to fork to landfill, are equivalent to 72 coal-burning power plants. If California’s new state laws requiring cities and counties to reduce organic waste by 75% by 2025 are successful, CalRecycle estimates that emissions could be reduced by the equivalent of taking three million cars off the road. For additional information see https://news.thehungersite.greatergood.com/global-food-waste.

Dear Recycle Lady,

I have an all-metal rocking chair that has rusted on one place and is no longer safe to sit in. Is it recyclable?

Miss My Rocking

Dear Miss My Rocking,

Yes, your all metal rocking chair can be recycled with metal at the Recycling Center. Go to the door marked Aluminum Cans and ring the bell. Someone will come to assist you.

Kudos to the newly opened Summer’s County Recycle Center. Under the direction of Cheryl Flanagan, it is located on the way to the hospital, close to Twin State Beauty Supply. The Center is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.

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.