It’s Not So Hard 2 Recycle
By: Bobbi Holland
The new year is here, and with it typically come all kinds of new intentions and resolutions. For many people, the most common one is, can you guess? To lose weight or exercise more.
It got me thinking: Even if you’re not someone who’s determined to shrink the inches around your waist, there’s probably more you could do to reduce your waste and recycle. Because let’s face it, all the garbage we throw away every day can add up quicker than calories.
The City of Asheville is working toward a 50% reduction in the amount of household waste that goes to our landfill by 2035. And it’s going to take all of us to reach the goal to extend the life of our landfill and support better, sustainable solutions.
So what can you do?
One easy way to go on a “Waste Diet” is to make a conscious choice to recycle more at home and at your place of business. Put a recycling bin close to the garbage bin you use most often (such as in your kitchen or at your desk), so it will require zero extra effort to choose recycling over the garbage.
If you have City waste collection, make use of your blue all-in-one, no sorting, no bags required recycling bin. Review the lists of acceptable items at the city’s recycling site. You may be surprised what you learn! For instance, all rinsed plastics #1-7 can go in, but ice cream cartons stay out (not that you’re buying ice cream anymore for a while, right?).
If you’re really on top of it, you can print out the handy lists for metals, glass, plastics, and paper to refer to as needed. And parents, here’s a fun tip: use the lists to play a quiz game to see who in your family knows what’s recyclable and what isn’t. Odds are you’ll all be better recyclers as a result.
If you don’t pay for Asheville waste collection services, confirm what your recycling provider collects. Waste Pro works a little differently for county residents but collects similar items.
Beyond the bin:
- Keep reusable bags and containers handy for shopping, and return plastic shopping bags to Ingles for recycling. Ingles also takes ziplock bags, cereal bags, dry cleaning bags, and chip bags (if they aren’t on your new year’s no-no list).
- Lowe’s will take CFL and fluorescent light bulbs, and your plastic planting pots.
- For a lot of the “everything else” stuff, check out Asheville GreenWorks for collection sites and mark your calendars for their quarterly “Hard 2 Recycle” collection events. The Hard 2 Recycle event is a one-stop drop for your batteries, water filters, clean food grade and white packaging Styrofoam, old electronics, toner cartridges, books, toothpaste tubes, and more, including donations for Habitat for Humanity and the Asheville Humane Society.
Better yet—join us in volunteering! Our family is pictured below, volunteering at a Hard 2 Recycle event.
The first Hard 2 Recycle for 2019 is Jan. 19th from 10-2 at 1298 Patton Avenue—just in time to responsibly discard any lingering packaging from the holidays and other recyclable items you don’t want hanging around in the new year. Note that some nominal fees apply depending on item and volume (e.g., $10 for TV’s, $5 for a carload of styrofoam). I recommend reviewing the list before you go and getting there early.
It’s pretty ambitious to aim for zero waste. But just like exercising, taking a few more steps than before toward your waste reduction can really add up to a big improvement that you’ll feel good about and one that will make a difference in our community.
Bobbi Holland is a NAR Green designated REALTOR with Nest Realty Asheville, and member of the Green Built Alliance in Western North Carolina. She is a purpose-driven professional known for her dedication to her clients and consummate attention to every aspect of their transactions.