| How To Recycle
TimetoRecycle.com is a website designed
for easy access to recycling programs available in the North
Central Texas region.
Recycling is Easy!
Click
on your city to:
- see what sort of recycling programs
are offered in your community
- pickup days for your recycling
- locations of drop off sites and
igloos
- Clean up days
- Household Hazardous Waste Collections
- special events
- and much more!
How to Recycle Glass:
- Remove lids and caps
- It is OK to leave on neck rings, paper
and plastic labels- they will burn or blow off in the recycling
process
- Dump out food residue and lightly rinse
bottles
Check with your city
before including windows, drinking glasses, mirrors or other
glass.
Before you begin recycling, check with your city and the recycling
programs offered or email
Plastic
Types of Plastic:
Most plastic containers have the number type of plastic
it is made of stamped on the bottom. Although you will usually
find the products identified below consistently in containers
made of a certain plastic, that does not mean that a product
will always be contained in that type of plastic. For example,
while ketchup is usually found in #5 bottles, you might also
find it contained in #1 or #7 bottles.
#1
PET - (polyethylene terephthalate) is clear or slightly
tinted and has a high melting point: soft drink bottles,
peanut butter jars, salad dressing, sheeting for microwave
food trays. Recycled PET is also used to produce carpets
and clothing (polyester).
#2 HDPE - (high density polyethylene) -
is translucent or colored: milk jugs, juice bottles, water
and detergent bottles, margarine tubs, cool whip, bleach
bottles, lotion bottles, shampoo bottles, and bubble bath
#3 Vinyl - PVC (polyvinyl chloride): have
a shiny surface and sink in water - vegetable oil and shampoo
bottles laundry detergent containers, cooking oil bottles,
window cleaning products, and fresh meat wrappers
#4 LDPE (low density polyethylene): margarine
tubs, mustard, and coffee can lids
#5 PP (polypropylene): squeezable jelly,
syrup bottles, and ketchup bottles
#6 PS (polystyrene): styrofoam containers
#7 OTHER: all other plastics
How to Recycle Plastic:
When recycling plastic, just follow
these simple rules:
wash out all containers
- remove non-plastic lids
- do not mix different types of plastic
unless that is permitted by your collector
- remove plastic containers from bags
How To Recycle Aluminum:
Many cities only accepts aluminum cans and aluminum foil for recycling.
Most do not accept other aluminum products such as siding
and guttering. To recycle aluminum, just follow these simple
rules:
- make sure that cans and foil are free of
food, liquid, and any other contaminants.
- do not mix aluminum with any other material
- remove any non-aluminum material such
as grocery bags
How to Recycle Steel
Items that can be recycled:
Household items, including folding chairs, fencing, broken
tools, play equipment, plumbing fixtures, bike frames, garbage
cans, etc. Iron items can be recycled with steel.
Other Items:
- clothes hangers: Local recycling centers
may not take them so call first. Give them to your dry cleaners
or second hand stores
- For questions on particular metal items(including
appliances), go to Corporate Recyclers
Further Information on Steel Recycling
visit the Steel
Recycling Institute.
Newspaper
Typically, newspaper can be
recycled 5-7 times. Each time it is recycled, its fibers become
shortened. Eventually, they become too short to make good
paper. When newspaper enters the recycling process at a de-inking
mill it is washed in a solution of warm water and chemicals
that turns it into a kind of mush. Through a combination of
spinning and screening the mush, most ink and other unwanted
particles are removed after which it is air treated in a flotation
cell causes any remaining particles to float to the surface.
After one last washing and screening, the mush is bleached
and, if necessary, mixed with pulp from trees. This mixture
is then squeezed to remove the water after which it is dried
and pressed and is readied for shipment.
How to Recycle newspapers:
- Check with your city concerning specifics
on preparing your newspapers. Generally, the following tips
are important:
- Keep paper dry
- Don’t worry about pulling out all
the glossy inserts
- Don’t recycle newspaper you've used
for birdcages, for housebreaking your pets or for painting
or art projects
Household Hazardous Waste
The United States Environmental Protection Agency considers
a substance hazardous if it can catch fire, it can react or
explode when mixed with other substances, if it is corrosive,
or if it is toxic. This definition includes things that are
probably being stored right now in your garage, basement,
bathroom, or kitchen. Such products may include drain and
window cleaners, flow and furniture polishes, disinfectants,
nail polish and nail polish remover, antifreeze, motor oil,
paint, paint thinner and strippers, fertilizers, pesticides,
weed killers, moth balls, and batteries. The used or left-over
contents of such consumer products are known as "household
hazardous waste."
Before you begin recycling, check with your city and the recycling programs offered or
email us. |