Recycling

For all of my railing against only recycling without thinking about our overall consumption and usage - recycling is still a very good thing to do when you don't have any choices or options for not using something in the first place.

Here are some resources I recently ran across for recycling some of those difficult to recycle things.

Ink/toner cartridges - most office supply and electronics chains will take these (Staples, Office Depot, Best Buy.) In addition, you can check out www.recycleplace.com.

Batteries - Best Buy will also take rechargeable batteries, but what about all of those alkaline batteries that will just leach into our groundwater if you throw it away? Green America recommends www.batteryrecycling.com. Many universities also have recycling programs, and I think some community colleges too.

CFLs and Lightbulbs - Okay, everyone knows (or should know!!!) that you cannot just throw away CFLs. They contain mercury, so you will have to recycle them through an authorized channel. The Home Depot offers recycling, as does Ikea. Green America also recommends contacting Sylvania for a RecyclePak if you can't get to a store location. It's my understanding that the Home Depot will also take incandescent bulbs to throw away - even though there is much less danger with these bulbs going straight to municipal waste.

Appliances (steel) - These things are notoriously difficult to rid oneself of. We're talking refrigerators, water heaters, laundry machines, etc. The first step is to see if the retailer from whom you are buying an appliance from will take your used machine when delivering your new one. Otherwise, Goodwill will take working appliances and you can check with the Steel Recycling Institute to see what you can do with non-working ones.

Packing peanuts and foam - I feel horrible. I just threw out boxes of these things the other day without doing my research. So, my guilt gives you options. You CAN recycle these packaging materials. Green America suggests asking your local pack-and-ship if they take old packing peanuts. Otherwise, they say you should call the Plastic Loose Fill Producers Council to find a drop-off site: 800.828.2214. For foam, the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers website offers lists of drop-off locations in each state.

There are of course tons of other things you can recycle, but this is a start. Let me just re-iterate though. Reduce is the first line of defense. Recycling only delays the inevitable (disposal). Also, if you feel like recycling is a pain in the ass to do - don't feel guilty. You're not alone. It IS a pain in the ass, and we have to create better systems where producers of those stupid little foam peanuts take responsibility for their product and not off-load the responsibility onto us consumers or municipal waste systems. I'm sure I will rant more about this in the future, so that's it for now.