It’s estimated that an additional 100 million tons of trash are generated every week between Thanksgiving and New Years Day. All that food, wrapping paper, cardboard and packing material adds up! So, we’re going to get you ready with some pointers for Recycling Right this holiday season.
- Capture the Cardboard & Preserve the Paper: there’s so much packaging! Hold on to what you can reuse and recycle the rest. Cardboard and chipboard (like those shirt boxes or the wrapping paper tubes) are accepted in the curbside recycling programs offered by Ray’s Recycling and Republic Services. Large pieces should be cut down so they fit easily in your curbside bin. Flattened cardboard and chipboard are also accepted at the District’s Recycling Drop-off Centers. While we’re on the subject, let’s talk holiday cards for a minute: the paper ones are recyclable (along with the envelope they came in), but the photo cards are not.
- Battery Basics: gadgets and gizmos use batteries. Alkaline batteries are safe to be thrown away (they can be recycled at Tox-Away Days or at a few local retailers for a fee). Button batteries and rechargeable batteries should always be recycled at any one of these fine, local retailers, or at Tox-Away Day.
- Lights to Lowe’s: let your old Christmas lights have a new life by recycling them at Lowe’s. Look for bins near the customer service desk inside the front door. (FYI: Lowe’s accepts compact fluorescent bulbs, plastic bags and rechargeable batteries for recycling, too. Rock on, you recycling rock stars!)
- Electronics Everywhere: if you have some old, unwanted electronics to get rid of, first consider reuse! If the item still works, consider Goodwill, Salvation Army or the Habitat ReStore as options (except for TVs…no one wants your old, huge CRT TV, sorry…). If the life has left your old device, recycling is the next best option (and landfilling them is no longer allowed). Fortunately, e-waste recycling options abound here in Hendricks County. In addition to our Tox-Away Days, these other organizations will accept most of your electronic waste for recycling free-of-charge. TV’s are a different kettle of fish, however. Recycling TVs is expensive and only a handful of companies will even accept them for recycling. You can expect to pay to have them taken away and recycled. The District will also accept TVs at our Tox-Away Days–we charge $20 or $25 each, depending on size, to recycle them.
- Taking out the Tree: natural, undecorated Christmas trees can be recycled this winter into excellent mulch for next spring. The District will be collecting (naked) Christmas trees at our Yard Waste Recycling Centers in Brownsburg (90 Mardale Drive) and Plainfield (7020 S. County Road 875 E.) from December 21st through January 21st. The sites will be open 24/7 and there is no charge to drop off your tree. Our friends at GreenCycle-McCarty in Danville will also accept Christmas trees for recycling. They are located at 494 S. County Road 200 E. and their number is 317-745-2000.
Have questions about other stuff we didn’t cover above? Check out our online Recycling Directory or contact us at the District office. We’re always glad to help! Season’s Greenings!
