Thursday, January 28, 2010

Recycling Ideas, Links, Quiz Answers and More



Recycling Used Oil
(Thanks for this info, Van!)

Are you a Do It Yourself (DIY) mechanic? Do you change your own car motor oil? What do you do with the used motor oil? I recycle mine at the local auto parts store.

The Used Oil Management Act under the Utah Environmental Quality Code imposes a recycling fee on sales of oil in Utah, $.04 per quart or $.16 per gallon. This fee is used to support and encourage used oil collection centers. Collection centers then transport collections to a used oil processor, rerefiner, or burner, or they may dispose of the oil as authorized by the Solid and Hazardous Waste Board.

Auto part stores and some auto garages have become collection centers for DIY mechanics, thus making it easy for all DIY to recycle used oil. All a DIY has to do is take a few minutes and collect the oil in a container, then take it to any collection center and deposit it into their collection bin. Remember there is no fee at the collection center; you paid the fee when you bought the oil. The collection center may ask for your name, address and amount of used oil deposited.


Recycling Links - Here are some great links that can answer your many recycling questions:

Why Recycle? https://utahrecycles.org/whyrecycle.php

Recycling Statistics - how much do Americans throw away: https://utahrecycles.org/facts.php

2008 Salt Lake Valley Recycling Guide, recycling the usual and unusual items: http://www.recycle.slco.org/pdf/recyclingGuide.pdf

Salt Lake City's Official Site on Recycling http://slcgov.com/slcgreen/recycle/todo.htm, includes many great links and ideas, like how to reduce personal and business junk mail http://www.globalstewards.org/junkmail.htm (Thanks Chip for providing me these links!)

The Inconvenient Truth Excerpt:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxi-OlkmxZ4&feature=related

Top 10 Things You Can Do to Reduce Global Warming: http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS352&q=top+10+things+you+can+do+to+reduce+global+warming&aq=0&aqi=g1&oq=top+10+things+you+can+do+t


Quiz Answers:

1. False. Plastic bags can be recycled into lumber (TREX), trash can liners and other plastic bags. The good news: Many grocery stores collect clean, dry platic bags for recycling and offer canvas tote bags for sale and reuse.

2. True. All parts of a newspaper can be recycled, including all inserts and newsprint grade periodicals.

3. False. You can recycle aluminum food and beverage containers, including aluminum foil and pie tins, if there is no food residue on them. You dont' have to wash your recyclables in a dishwasher. Just make sure they're clean, empty and dry. Dirty products are a waste of time.

4. True. The majority of cardboard boxes end their lives in an alley behind a store somewhere - clean and in one place - ready to transport to a paper mill. About 70 percent of newspapers now get recycled - usually into more newspapers.

5. True. Metals get great return rates. That's why thieves have put their own twist on the ECO trend - ripping copper out of old buildings and reselling it for hundreds of dollars to scrap yards. Almost 55 million cans are recycled in the US each year, equal to 15 million barrels of foreign crude oil.

6. False. SL County accepts empty aerosol cans.

7. True. Be sure to remove the caps before recycling. They must be recycled separately at the recycling plants in Salt Lake County, so it is easier if you separate them.

8. False. It is necessary to remove tape from cardboard boxes. Tape cannot be recycled and contaminates recycled materials.

9. False. Most communities in Salt Lake County accept #1 - #7 plastics.

10. True. Allow air into your compost pile by occasional turning. Do not add meat, fish, dairy products, or fat.

11. False. Who would work there! Cigarette butts also fall into this category. Remember the clean and dry rules.

12. True. In a landfill, glass will last one million years! There are seven drop off locations for glass in SL County. (Plastic bags will last 500-1000 years, aluminum cans 80-500 years, and an apple core 1-2 months).

13. True. Check out: www.sanitation.slco.org/html/recycle.html.

No comments:

Post a Comment