As the EkoGang member it is one of your Holy duties to recycle. You may get randomly selected for a “recycle raid” of your house, by “yours truly” so I strongly recommend being extra precious about what goes where, if you know what I mean:-)

• Recycling one aluminim can, saves enough electricity to power a tv set for 3 hours- that’s like watching 6 episodes of “Friends” carbon footprint-less... I’m in!
• Incinerating 10,000 tons of waste creates one job; landfilling 10,000 tons of waste creates six jobs; recycling 10,000 tons of waste creates 36 jobs.- Hello? Unemployment?!? - it’s like killing 2 birds with one stone- but please don’t kill any birds...EkoMiko loves birdies:-)
• Throwing away a single aluminum can, versus recycling it, is like pouring out six ounces of gasoline. Last year, Americans recycled enough aluminum cans to conserve the energy equivalent of more than15 million barrels of oil- There’s a cure for our oil addiction!
• Think recycling is expensive? Consider this: aluminum cans are the most valuable item in your bin.  Aluminum can recycling helps fund the entire curbside collection. It’s the only packaging material that more than covers the cost of collection and re-processing for itself.- God I wish I drank Coke, so I could feel extra good about myself, when recycling the can.
• Recycling 35 percent of our trash reduces global warming emissions equivalent to taking 36 million cars of the road.- I still hate traffic:-)
• 75% of each tree that is cut down for paper is not used in a paper product- Think about THAT every time you use another napkin when you eat that hot dog!
• Every Sunday 500,000 trees could be saved if everyone recycled their newspapers.- I just knock on my neighbor's door on Sunday and say “Are you done with that? They’re about to cut another tree somewhere...Let me take care of that for you sir”
• Recycled plastic is made into carpet, plastic lumber, clothing, flower pots, insulation for sleeping bags & ski jackets, car bumpers and more.- Who knew....

What you can recycle usually depends on where you live and the services offered in your area.

To get info state to state....check out:

http://www.nrc-recycle.org/localresources.aspx

Now let’s take a little quiz...

RECYCLABLES LIST- WHERE ALL THE MAGIC HAPPENS!

• Newspapers
• Mail, magazines, mixed paper & catalogs
• Paper bags
• Pill bottles
• Phone books
• Cardboard
• Strip-cut shredded paper (in see through bag)
• Aluminum cans
• Metal cans
• Ferrous metals
• Glass bottles and jars
• Juice boxes, milk boxes (remember to rinse them and flatten them)
• Bagged plastic baggs
• Paper or frozen food boxes
• Plastic bottles (all colors) - You can get a crusher to help you minimize the space it takes
• Round dairy tubs

Now remember these are a big NO-NO in the trash in ANY of the bins...

-No used syringes- USED SYRINGES SHOULD ALWAYS be placed in a hard plastic or metal container with a lock on it. There should be slot to drop them through, where you can not reach in and touch one. They should be then taken to a hospital or a med lab. Call first to make sure that they accept them.

-No batteries (it’s illegal to put them in your trash)-look for yellow buckets at your local hardware stores, City Hall. Also Whole Foods and Best Buy will accept them.

-Cell phones- cellular retailers will take back old cell phones or look online for companies that will take them as charity. Go to http://www.charitablerecycling.com/CR/home.asp

-Electronics and TV’s- Goodwill will gladly take those for you.

-Paint supplies, automotive supplies, pesticides, solvents, pool supplies, any other electronic waste, fluorescent lamps, unused prescription/over the counter drugs-Check for your local HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL CENTER to get rid of all of these

SOMETHING FOR THE BRAVE ONES

Composting bin at home: