12/14/2009

Sometimes, when we put items in our recycling bins, we don’t even second guess ourselves because it’s obvious. Paper, plastic, cardboard boxes, and aluminum cans among many others are common items that we recycle everyday. However, if we’re not careful, we may be doing more harm to the environment by recycling items that are not recyclables. I’ve compiled a list of everyday household items commonly mistaken as recyclables.

1. Shredded Paper and Paper Towels: If you thought whole paper and shredded paper were alike, you’d be wrong. Shredded paper are less valuable because longer fiber lengths can be recycled to be made into stronger higher grade paper as opposed to shorter fiber lengths. For the same reasons, paper towels and napkins have very little recycling value due to short fiber lengths. Also, paper mills that buy recycled paper sort according to quality. When the paper is shredded, it’s becomes impossible to determine quality and is tossed into the lowest quality paper pile. Recycling facilities also use a filtering process to weed out all the non-fiber contaminants and small bits of shredded paper often becomes filtered out. For these reasons, many facilities do not accept shredded paper. If you must recycle shredded paper, bag them separately in a clear plastic bag so the recycling personnel can see what’s inside the bag. Many recycling centers train their employees not to open any bags unless it can be clearly seen what’s inside them. Otherwise, they are tossed into the landfill.
2. Plastic Bags: Plastic bags can be recycled but recycling trucks won’t collect them. Plastic bags are the top nuisance at recycling facilities. They get caught in the machinery and they eat up valuable staff time, since workers have to remove them one by one. Instead, most of the plastic bags that are at the recycling facilities end up at the landfill. However, most grocery stores these days offer plastic bag recycling. Just bring in your extra plastic bags with you next time you go grocery shopping and drop these bags in. When these bags are handled properly, they can be easily recycled. It takes about 90% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than to recycle a pound of paper.
3. Plastic Bottle Caps: Plastic caps usually are not recyclable due to a different melting point than the bottles they come with. Most plastic bottles are made of polyethylene which are easily recycled. However, the caps are made of different material that may not be deemed recyclable. What you can do is remove the caps from the bottle and then toss the caps in with your normal garbage. Another available option is to collect them separately and recycle them at your local Aveda stores. They will recycle these caps and reuse them for new Aveda products. They only accept polyproplyene plastic for recycling (plastic #5). You will usually see a number on the the side of the cap or inside the cap. If you don’t see #5, toss them away.
4. Frozen Food Containers: Although common sense tells us that a simple food cardboard box can be placed in our recycle bins along with other recyclables, frozen food boxes should not be placed in the bin. Actually, they cannot be recycled due to a thin layer of plastic liner sprayed onto the box/container to prevent freezer burn. The extra coating prevents the paper to break down properly for recycling. Another carton that cannot be recycled are soy milk cartons. They also contain an extra layer of plastic coating that prevents the carton to break down prooperly. Next time, don’t think twice and just throw the frozen food box and soy milk cartons away along with your everyday garbage.
5. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs: These compact fluorescent bulbs contain mercury so placing them in your recycling bins can be very harmful to the environment. Instead, place all unbroken bulbs separately and drop them off at your local recycling center. They will properly handle the bulbs not to release any mercury toxin into the atmosphere.

When in doubt, it’s best to check with your local recycling center and ask them if the item in question is recyclable. Usually, even if it’s not recyclable, you may still be able to drop it off somewhere where it will be properly handled that will be environmentally non-hazardous.

Overview

Today, many homes across the United States are saving more energy by switching from incandescent light bulbs to more energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. Not only do you save energy, but you also save a little money, and help save the environment, all at once.

So how much money will I save by switching over?

Compact fluorescent light bulbs typically use about 1/4th the energy consumption of comparable incandescent light bulbs. That means energy will be saved, guaranteed by switching over. But by how much and is it worth it? Let’s take a look at the table below. The last column shows how much energy can be saved if compact fluorescent bulbs were used instead of incandescent bulbs. This is assuming that each bulb is used about 4 hours in a given day. I know, this is just an average number. Some people may use more and others may use less. If you have a lamp fixture that uses incandescent bulb all the time, say 24 hrs, every day, all year, then you can save 6x as much energy as shown on the last column.

This is great but I don’t know what those numbers mean, you might ask. Well, to simplify, instead of using energy units, let’s use dollar signs. The electricity rates differ greatly depending on where you live. For instance, in California, the average rate is 15.29 cents per kWh. In West Virginia, the average rate is 6.51 cents per kWh. The national average cost per kWh is about 10.42 cents. Where I live, in Baltimore Metropolitan area, my local gas and electric company charges me 11.97 cents per kWh (Maryland average is 13.57 cents). Now, let’s see what that equates to in dollars saved over the course of a year, using a 10w compact fluorescent bulb instead of a 40w incandescent bulb.

You can find the average rates for all other states here.

As you can see, you’re not going to save millions of dollars to change your life. But these figures are for replacement of ONE bulb. To give you perspective, I counted about 54 light bulbs I use around and inside my house. For simplicity, let’s assume they’re all 40w incandescent bulbs. I can save $282.96 (54 x $5.24) every year simply by replacing them with 10w compact fluorescent bulbs.

Aren’t Compact Fluorescent bulbs more expensive?

The answer is yes and no. Let’s investigate how long it will take to pay back the costs of the replacement bulbs.

At Amazon.com, a pack of four 40w bulbs costs $5.86 or $1.47 each. A comparable 10w compact fluorescent bulb goes for $23.97 for a pack of 6 or $4.00 a piece. So, yes, the more energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs cost about 2.75x the cost of their counterpart incandescent bulbs. The table below summarizes how much it will cost through the life of these bulbs.

This is again assuming only consuming 4 hours a day every day which equates to approximately 6,000 hours. Let’s complete the math here. I’m going to use my house as an example. Again, I have 54 bulbs in and around my house.

That’s another savings of $65/year on the cost. So, although compact fluorescent bulbs costs more on individual basis alone, it actually costs less when you consider the life expectancy of the bulbs. To sum everything up, by switching all the light bulbs in my house to compact fluorescent light bulbs, I will save $283 on energy savings and $65 on cost savings for a total savings of $348 every year! The bulbs will have paid for itself in just about 9 months. After that, it’s all savings!

What’s the proper way to dispose compact fluorescent light bulbs?

Please check with your local county or community recycling program to see if they have any special procedures set up for recycling CFL bulbs. If your local government does not offer a special recycling program for CFLs, your local Home Depot stores have their own CFL recycling program. Please do not dispose these bulbs with your household garage. New York Department of Environmental Conservation provides good detailed information on the mercury content of CFLs and how to properly dispose them.

Have you switched?