OLL Justice and Peace Committee’s Earth Day Flyer, April 2008
Using the earth’s resources wisely is one of the
greatest moral imperatives of our time, and includes the challenge to
dispose of our surplus and waste materials correctly. In celebration
of Earth Day 2008, the OLL Justice and Peace Committee has compiled a
list of advice and resources that will help us as individuals and a
community to reduce, reuse and recycle. Check out a great
presentation on resource extraction to disposal of products on the
following website:
Reduce
Don’t buy
bottled water. Reports indicate that it is no better, and often
worse, than tap water. The plastic bottles, even if recycled, take
energy and oil to produce, to transport, and to reprocess into
something else.
Eat a little lower on
the food chain and try to eat local produce! Reduce the amount of
animal products in your diet. Try eating vegetarian meals one or
more nights per week. Enormous amounts of carbon are produced in
the feeding and transport of cattle, hogs, and chickens when they
are raised intensively. Their wastes pollute streams and rivers.
The antibiotics and hormones used in this style of farming are
harming humans and the rest of the animal kingdom. Eating less meat
and more fruits and vegetables is great for our bodies.
Stop using your sink waste disposal if you have one.
Recycle food scraps into compost, either in your own yard or using
the yard waste bins. Sending food down the drain taxes the waste
water treatment facilities, and adds organic matter to Puget Sound
instead of recycling to grow new vegetation and improve soil health.
Avoid receiving “junk
mail” at home by signing up to have your name removed from
mailing lists and catalogs on www.greendimes.com.
This organization also plants a tree for every catalog they save.
When the weather is fine, hang laundry outside to dry.
Drive less – walk, bike, and bus more.
Reuse
Avoid picking up new plastic and or paper grocery bags
every time you go to the store. Remember to bring your reusable
ones.
Those zip lock plastic bags that are so handy for
storage and transport of food are easy to rinse out, dry and reuse –
avoid putting in garbage after only one use.
Donate your reusable
clothes, books, household items, etc. to a charitable organization
such as The Society of St. Vincent de
Paul:
Acceptable
Donations: art, books, CDs, records, cassettes, videos, clean
clothing including shoes and accessories, household items, linens,
sporting goods (no exercise equipment), toys, working small
electronics and small household appliances (no TVs or microwaves),
lamps and light fixtures, excluding fluorescents and halogens,
working lawnmowers drained of all fluids, and BBQ grills (no propane
tanks on gas grills). Beds must be queen size or smaller, inner
spring mattresses without buttons. For donation pickup or
further inquiries, please call Dispatch at (206) 767-3835 or consult
their website: http://www.stvincentdepaulseattle.org/donations.html.
They
are based at 5940 4th
South, Seattle, WA 98108 and the office phone is 206-767-9975 (Monday
through Friday from 8AM-4:30PM).
Recycle
King
County Metro Website and Seattle Public Utilities:
www.metrokc.gov/services2.htm#recycling
Offers
comprehensive information regarding recycling services for all kinds
of solid waste, electronics, batteries, household appliances, etc.
throughout King County. Includes information on the Take
it Back Network.
The Take it Back Network is a partnership among government agencies,
retailers, repair shops, charitable organizations and recyclers that
provides consumers with options for recycling certain wastes –
and their hazardous components – in a safe and cost effective
manner. Take it Back Network locations will accept electronic
products
such as computers, TVs, cell phones and certain household
electronics. Fluorescent
light bulbs
including compact fluorescent bulbs and straight tubes can also be
recycled at certain Take it Back Network locations. More products
will be added to the Take it Back network soon! The Take it Back
Network is a partnership of: King County
Solid Waste Division, Snohomish County, and Seattle Public
Utilities
(www.seattle.gov/util/services/),
with support from The Local Hazardous
Waste Management Program:
(www.govlink.org/hazwaste/business/wastedirectory/wasteindex.cfm)
Some specifics:
GreenDisk:
Located
in Sammamish,
WA (425-392-8700 or 800-305-3475), 15 year history; specializes
in recycling all
electronics; disks, video tapes, DVDs, CDs, cell phones, printer
cartridges, computers. Attention paid to the secure, audited disposal
of the intellectual property associated with this waste stream.
Pack-It self service (best for shipping less than 20 pounds
yourself) or Technotrash Can, a collection box that includes the box,
shipping, processing, recycling and reporting for a single price in
35 lb. and 70 lb. sizes—can be kept up to two years before
sending back. For details:
http://www.greendisk.com/gdsite/about.aspx
InterConnection:
InterConnection
(www.InterConnection.org)
accepts all computer equipment - located at 2222 N.
Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98103. Small fees may apply. Drop
off: 10am to 6pm Mon to Fri, and 10am to 3pm Saturday.
Mail: Package equipment
in a box and ship by post, UPS or FedEx. Pick-up: Call 206-633-1517
to schedule. $35 for the Seattle area.
Batteries:
Seattle Public
Utilities (www.seattle.gov/util/services/)
provides Recycling and Disposal Stations for vehicle batteries
at no charge. They do not recycle other types of batteries and
recommend disposing of household batteries in the garbage.
There are options, however, for recycling your household batteries.
Dry cell batteries can be shipped to Battery Solutions Inc.
from all 50 States. Website:
http://www.batteryrecycling.com/household.html.
These types would include dry cell batteries generated from the use
of cell phones, laptop computers, flashlights, cameras, watches,
hearing aids, toys, two way radios, electric tools, clocks,
electronic devices, etc. The dry cell battery chemistry types are:
Alkaline, Zinc Carbon, Nickel Metal Hydride, Nickel Cadmium, Lithium
Ion, Lithium, Mercury, Silver, and Lead Acid. Check the website to
guide you through proper handling, packaging, shipping, and payment
so that your dry cell batteries are recycled properly. Your cost to
recycle your dry cell batteries is 85¢ per pound, plus the
mailing cost to get them to Battery Solutions Inc., Tel.
1-800-852-8127.
You can recycle
rechargeable batteries (Ni-Cad, NMH) at most retail outlets
where they were purchased. Office Depot (www.officedepot.com)
provides free recycling of rechargeable batteries, cell phones,
and ink and toner cartridges. Bring them to one of the stores.
Fluorescent Light Bulbs:
Always remember that
breaking or crushing these bulbs is hazardous - this releases the
mercury vapor and is a real danger to the person doing the crushing.
The City of Seattle accepts fluorescent light bulbs (either tubes or
compact) for free from homeowners at two sites. Locations of
these and other private business sites that accept and recycle these
bulbs (private companies charge a small fee) are available on a
searchable Web page maintained by King County
http://www.govlink.org/hazwaste/business/wastedirectory/wasteindex.cfm