Keep Your Old Recycling Bins!

Today will be a quick blog to remind you to keep your old recycling bins. Over the past couple of weeks, Mascaro has begun distributing new cans to residents. As we wait for official instructions on the new cans, everyone has been asking what to do with their old cans...I have some suggestions.

The first thing is that you should not get rid of your old recycling bins! If they are in good shape, keep them stored in your garage or yard. 90% of the items you place in the trash can be recycled. The more you learn which items can be placed in the recycling, the more you will need your old cans as a backup. 

Recycling is important for the environment(obviously), but did you know the municipality receives grants as residents recycle more? Recycling with Mascaro can help reduce the trash bill and provide more funding for projects around town. If each resident makes an effort to recycle more each week, we can make a difference to our environment and community.

Mascaro also allows you to use up to two additional 35 gallon cans with your new cans. If you're doing some Spring cleaning or yard work, the cans you were using before will come in handy. Once again, keep two of your best trash cans stored to handle this trash. 

So before you get too excited with the new cans and throw away your old ones, think if you will need them again.Don't throw that shampoo bottle in the trash, recycle it!

Next blog: 10 items you didn't know are recyclable

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Recycling in Norristown

Today will be a quick and important post about recycling in Norristown. Yesterday, J.P. Mascaro & Sons began distributing new cans to all residents in the municipality. One cart can be used for regular trash and the one with the blue lid will be used for recycling. If you have more trash that can fit in the one container, you may still use up to two of your old cans. However, I wouldn't be surprised if this exception goes away and Mascaro brings in arm trucks. Let's get into understanding recycling in Norristown and make sure you are following recycling guidelines.

In Norristown, we are fortunate to have single stream recycling. In a nutshell, this means you can put any recyclables in the same can for pickup. Other towns may have restrictions on what can be recycled on which day and we're fortunate enough to worry about this.

Take a look at the attached screenshot from J.P. Mascaro & Sons' website about materials they will accept. For more information, click here.

I encourage all residents to begin recycling more and thinking twice before placing an item in the trash if it can be recycled. The key to reducing waste is by recycling more. We will talk more about the benefits of recycling and creative ways to turn recycled materials into art.

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Recycling 101 for Norristonians

Recycling is important for any large town in America. However, many citizens aren't educated on the science called "recycling." Why call something that sounds easy to do a science? First, common sense is not so common. Second, it's the hardest subject I could think of referring it to. Recycling is NOT as easy as people think!

The first thing I want to point out is that each town/city has different restrictions on recycling. Norristown is one of those cases. For example, you can place cardboard in the recycling bin but Mascaro will not recycle it anymore. Wait, what? Yes, Mascaro to reduce costs has opted out of recycling cardboard. But they will collect it, then kindly move it to the trash pile. In Norristown, the biggest thing you need to know is that we are a "single-streamed recycling" town. What this means is that Mascaro requires no sorting at all. You can combine all recyclable items together and place them in a single recycling container for collection. The only thing they ask is to rinse all items that may have contained food to avoid contamination. Plus, it keeps the rodents from visiting your trash at night.

To make it easy, I have copied the explanation from Norristown.org on what can be placed in recycling:

• Metals: Aluminum cans (beer and soda), aluminum foil and foil plates, metal lids and metal cans
• Glass: glass bottles and jars (food and drink only)
• Plastic containers: bottles and containers labeled #1 through #7 (soda, water, milk, juice, liquor, shampoo, detergent, condiments, salad dressing, yogurt, margarine)
• Mixed paper and cardboard: newspaper, magazines, catalogues, junk mail, envelopes, file folders, corrugated boxes, cereal boxes, gift boxes, paper bags, and phone books

Also, according to the site, you can use any container for recycling. As long as you have a recycling sticker visible on the can, they will collect it. Each homeowner gets one free recycling bin per household, an additional one can be purchased for $15. Also, stickers are available if you wish to convert an old can into a recycling bin. One thing you may have noticed is that plastic bags are also not collected. Local big box stores such as Wal Mart, Shop Rite, Target, and more have vendors that will recycle the bags for you. Mascaro and many other companies across America no longer take plastic bags.

Now let's talk about some facts of recycling in America. The first obvious fact is that it reduces the amount of waste you place on the trash each week. Compared with the rest of the world, America is leading in last place for recycling. Countries like Amsterdam have capitalized on recycling, now facing a crisis of "running out of waste." Keep America Beautiful has also encouraged recycling. Their new campaign highlights that a park bench can now be built by recycling water bottles. Would you rather see park benches or empty bottles in our parks? No brainer!

For more facts on recycling, visit http://americarecyclesday.org/ and don't forget, America Recycles Day is November 15th.

What are your best practices on recycling?

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