New Year’s Resolution: RECYCLE!
Throw off the throw aways
And so it piled up to the ceilings:
Coffee grounds, potato peelings,
Brown bananas, rotten peas,
Chunks of sour cottage cheese.
It filled the can, it covered the floor,
It cracked the window and blocked the door
With bacon rinds and chicken bones,
Drippy ends of ice cream cones,
Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel,
Gloppy glumps of cold oatmeal,
Pizza crusts and withered greens,
Soggy beans and tangerines…
--From Shel Silverstein’s
“Sarah Sylvia Cynthia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out"
(January 3, 2006) – Looking for a New Year’s resolution the whole family can make together? Consider participating in the City of Oklahoma City’s curbside recycling program and help your community divert trash from local landfills.
If you don’t have a blue recycling bin, and you are eligible for the program (urban customers only), you can get one for free by calling Water and Wastewater Utilities Customer Service, 297-2833.
According to U.S. EPA, the average American generates four pounds of trash a day for a total of 210 million tons per year. Every month, Oklahoma City customers send on average 19,400 tons of trash to local landfills. On the flipside, customers recycle about 713 tons every month.
The City of Oklahoma City sorts recyclables for customers. Items that are easy to toss in your recycling bin include:
• Plastic milk jugs and beverage bottles
• Aluminum and steel food and beverage cans
• Glass food and beverage jars and bottles
• Newspapers, newspaper inserts and magazines.
“It’s especially important that people recycle paper and yard waste,” said Jennifer James, spokesperson for Water and Wastewater Utilities. “Nationally, paper accounts for more than 35 percent of trash taken to landfills and yard trimmings account for another 12 percent. In Oklahoma City, the number is higher.
“We estimate between 20 and 30 percent of the waste Oklahoma City crews pick up is yard trimmings. Many people don’t realize this waste is recyclable. Creating a compost pile in the backyard is something a family can do together and kids will get a lesson in science to boot.”
How to Create a Compost Pile
1) Find or buy a large bin.
2) Don’t bag your leaves or yard trimmings. Dump them in the bin!
3) Go one step further – place your kitchen scraps (fruits and vegetables only, please!) in the bin. (Placing meats, fats, etc., can create festering globules that breed all sorts of vermin.)
4) Stir the pile every week.
5) Be patient. Composting can take up to six months.
6) Watch the pile turn into humus – a rich soil full of nutrients you can spread on your garden.
In addition, families should consider buying a mulching mower to mulch leaves and grass, which makes recycling yard trimmings easier.
