Learn How to Recycle Your Old Plastic Containers

Plastic Paul Brown Friendswood Containers By Terry Keenan.

The “green” movement is in full swing, and many people are thinking twice before they toss anything in the trash. People are constantly finding ways to reuse and recycle old items in order to keep them out of landfills – and possibly help out someone in need – and you can do the same with your old plastic containers.

Before you start shopping for new plastic containers, check out the five ways you can reuse and recycle your old containers below.

Donate Your Old Plastic Containers

There are several ways you can donate your old containers:

* If you’re a business owner who’s looking to purchase new wholesale plastic containers, chances are you might know another business owner who could use your old containers.
* Charities like your local Salvation Army or Goodwill can use plastic containers to better organize their merchandise.
* If you or someone in your family belongs to a sports team, special interest club, or religious organization, your containers might come in handy the next time a fundraiser rolls around.

Plastic Containers Make Great Gifts

If your container is still in pretty good shape, consider using it as a gift box the next time you have a birthday, anniversary, or holiday gift to give. Traditional cardboard gift boxes have their uses, but many people damage them when they’re opening the gift or toss them in the trash because they don’t have room to store them until they can reuse them.

Plastic containers, on the other hand, are durable and present a world of storage possibilities to the recipient. Square containers are especially good for holding gifts because they’re as easy as regular gift boxes to wrap, and small containers are lightweight and easy to handle.

Move Your Plastic Containers to the Garage

You might be in the market for new plastic containers, but that doesn’t always mean you have to get rid of your old ones. Actually, several spaces throughout your house – such as your basement, your garage, and your attic – might be screaming for a little help with organization and your old containers can provide just that.

Give Your Plastic Container a Face Lift

If you don’t have any family or friends who could use the plastic containers and you can’t think of anything you could organize with them, you still don’t have to toss them in the trash. Clear plastic containers offer many possibilities when it comes to crafts! For example, you could decorate your container using nontoxic art supplies and begin reusing it as a food scoop for your pet’s dry food. This kind of project works especially well when you use containers with handgrips.

Bring Your Old Plastic Containers to a Recycling Center

Reusing your containers, or donating them to someone who can use them, is great; however, if those aren’t options for you, you can always bring your plastic containers to your local recycling center. Be sure to check the bottom of your container for a recycling code; if there is no code or you’re unsure about whether you can even recycle your particular kind of container, make sure you call your recycling center for details.

Plastic Recycling & How to Recycle Plastic

Plastic Paul Brown Friendswood Recycling By Patrick Sharple.

Some plastics can be recycled via curbside recycling, super market recycling machines, or drop-off bins. If you check the bottoms of plastic containers, you will notice a raised number from 1-7, found within a triangle, that indicates the type of plastic. There should also be a recycling symbol if the container is recyclable.

Almost all county’s have some form of plastic recycling. Check your local yellow pages to find a recycling center, then call and find out which types of plastics they recycle and where to drop them off. For statewide recycling information, call 1-800-CLEAN-UP.

Recycling tips:

1. Rinse and sort your plastics by number as mixing numbers may cause contamination during the recycling process.

2. Types 1 and 2, which consist of soda and water bottles, milk jugs, some plastic bags, detergent containers, cooking oil bottles, can be recycled curbside–if your city offers this service.

3. Take plastic grocery bags back to the store to be recycled.

4. Take lids and spray-pumps off of bottles, they are generally made with a different type of plastic, unless otherwise marked, that is not recyclable.

5. Find out if your city requires you to remove labels from plastic containers prior to recycling.

6. Types 3, 5, and 7 are generally not recyclable at this time due to the recycling industry still being in its early stages of development.

7. Type 6 is foam packaging called Expanded Polystyrene. Call The Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers at (410) 451-8340 to find out if this material can be recycled in your community. Other type 6 items, such as, plastic silverware, may need to be thrown out.

How is Plastic Recycled?

The recycling process begins with collected plastic bottles being clumped together into bales at the recycling center. Bales can weigh up to 1200 lbs. These bales get shipped to a reclaiming company where they are split into pieces and shredded into even smaller flakes by a machine called at bale breaker. The flakes are washed, dried, and then melted. The liquid is formed into beads that have the potential to become many other products, such as: carpet, jacket filling, and clothing. Plastic bottles do not get recycled into plastic bottles.

Most recycling collectors will not take plastic bags because they are light-weight and get caught in the machines. As previously mentioned, these can be recycled at most grocery stores. Many Americans reuse these bags as liners for small trashcans. According to http://www.earth911.com, 380 billion plastic bags are used in America each year; plastic bags made up 9% of litter found along U.S. coasts during a 5 year study; and plastic litter may take up to 1,000 years to decompose. With this knowledge, many people are saying “no” to plastic bags and opting to bring their own reusable bags to the store or requesting paper bags instead of plastic.

Office Recycling – 5 Ways to a Greener Business

Greener Paul Brown Friendswood Business By Marjorie Jackson.

Recycling has become an increasingly popular activity for homeowners all over the world. More and more families are choosing to go green and help save the environment with easy at-home solutions. From recycling and composting to reducing energy and water, keeping the environment healthy has become a huge initiative for homeowners.

What’s surprising is the lack of participation from many companies all over the country. One company (depending on the size) can have the same impact on the environment as a small village of homes. If your company could make the world a greener place, wouldn’t you want to be part of it?

Here are some simple things you can do in the office that will not only make the environment healthier but will cut back on costs as well:

1. Recycling Bins. It’s important to promote recycling within your company. Not only should employees be aware of the initiatives but all measures should be taken to ensure that recycling is as easy as possible. Place the recycle bins close to the garbage cans so employees don’t have to walk further to the bins (they might lose interest if it means more work). You may even want to give each employee a normal waste basket and a recycle one so they don’t have to leave their desks to recycle their products.

2. Water Coolers vs. Water Bottles. Water bottles are not environmentally friendly and they cost significantly more than water coolers. Opt for switching from water bottles to a single (or multiple if you work for a larger company) water cooler instead of countless water bottles.

3. Energy Efficient Dishwashers. Purchasing an energy efficient dishwasher will make a huge difference in the amount of water and energy it takes to wash your dishes every day. There are several types of energy efficient dishwashers to choose from, in a variety of price ranges to suit all budgets.

4. Email vs. Paper. Communication is an integral part of every company. More and more companies are choosing to communicate via email rather than paper. Power Point presentations are becoming increasingly popular and 10-page paper handouts are becoming a thing of the past. Some companies are even opting to do pay stubs via email to cut back on the paper usage every pay period.

5. Carpooling, Public Transportation etc. You can’t force your employees to carpool to work or take the bus instead of driving every day, but you can persuade them. A lot of companies have chosen to promote carpooling and public transportation through reward programs.