Doing Things Differently: Waste Bins Galore
Bubbly Dynamics provides a huge assortment of waste bin signage throughout our buildings, expanding upon what you might see in other countries or in U.S. cities that appreciate the benefit in maximizing the life of our resources. If they can figure it out, so can we!
Glass and plastic are the only materials that should go into the conventional recycling bin at our buildings. Mixed paper is collected for processing through a nearby paperboard company, as is corrugated cardboard, which we bale and store at The Plant until we have a reasonable enough volume to fill most of a box truck. The price fluctuates, but we are paid for those "wastes". It's not a lot, but it's generally enough to balance out the avoided cost of tossing it in the "recycling" stream, where it is prone to get so wet and soiled that it goes to landfill, a sad reality.
We sort metal by grade (most of the day-to-day in the building is aluminum cans, though there's steel cans and other types of scrap) and have it processed at through Bridgeport Metals. We're paid for those valuable resources as well. We also have bins for towels and rags, which we use for hand-drying and cleaning to the extent feasible as an alternative to single-use paper towels. And compostables at The Plant are processed on site as described in last month's post.
We collaborate with EcoShip, serving as a collection point for gently used shipping materials including plastic bubble mailers, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, and packing paper, which are distributed for repurposing. And seasonally, our buildings are a drop-off point for non-working holiday string lights, which are responsibly recycled through Reduce Waste Chicago.
What Can You Do?
For starters, choose reusable items rather than single-use materials when feasible to avoid waste in the first place. Consider those tricky-to-recycle items that don't fit within the conventional "waste" stream and would ordinarily go to the landfill -- how best to dispose them, or is there an opportunity to repurpose them?
Check your municipality’s services for waste recovery or processing beyond the basics. Here in Chicago, residents can start with the City’s Household Chemicals and Computer Recycling Facility. We love Cook County’s Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (“CHaRM Center”), which accepts glass, metals, and paper/cardboard as separate waste streams as well as SUPER tricky things like microwaves and window air conditioning units.
Look to electronics and office supply stores for other solutions. For example, you can take spent ink and toner cartridges to Staples, for which you'll receive store credit. (They accept alkaline batteries and various gadgets for recycling as well. *Please* don't send batteries to the landfill!) Best Buy accepts those materials as well. Electronics can often be refurbished rather than recycled, so consider donating to organizations like PCs for People before sending them off to be processed as e-waste.
Local organizations are doing great work to bring visibility to tricky-to-recycle items! Seek out events like Bridgeport Environmentalists' Trashmas, Reduce Waste Chicago's reuse & recycling pop-ups, and our semiannual Reuse-a-Palooza at The Plant. And try the search tool at Earth911 to solve your particular waste conundrum.
Finally, while we’ve got the holidays on our mind, watch for Christmas tree and wreath mulching at select Chicago parks, or look for that service in your own municipality.