Earth Month Tip #1- Recycle!

From the City of Seattle
Earth Day April 22, 2007

Earth Month serves to remind us that we need to continue to take daily steps to keep our city and our planet healthy and environmentally sustainable. In the first of a series of environmental tips, Seattle Public Utilities offers the following suggestions to reduce waste:

1. Avoid Waste in the First Place! Bring your own bag when you go shopping. Set your office printer’s default to “double-sided,” avoid purchasing overly packaged products. Small, simple choices like these and others really add up in avoiding waste.
2. Recycle Your Fruits and Vegetables! Seattle residents can now put corn cobs, banana peels, paper plates, napkins, hot dog buns and even greasy pizza boxes in their yard waste cart. Seattle residents recycled 25 million pounds of food and food-soiled paper that was made into natural compost for local gardens and parks.
3. Compost! Composting yard and food waste at home is easy and helps grow a healthy, sustainable garden. Seattle offers compost bins year ‘round at a great price. Two green cones provide continuous, year-round food scrap composting. Yard waste bins compost leaves, grass and garden clippings. Food waste green cones are $25 each or two for $40, including tax. Limit two per household. Yard waste compost bins are $25 each, including tax. Limit one per household. This program is available to Seattle residents only. Order Compost Bins and Rain Barrels online at or call (206) 684-0190.
4. Go Blue to Recycle! There are now more than 300 public recycling containers located throughout Seattle to help you recycle when you’re out and about. Look for the blue bins to recycle your bottles and cans. Recycled aluminum cans can be remade and back on your store shelf in as little as 60 days. Unfortunately, more than 10,000 pounds of soda cans were sent to Seattle’s landfill last year. Why waste a good thing? Recycle!
5. Play the Recycling IQ Game! See how well you know what can and can’t be recycled in Seattle!
6. Take It Back! Televisions, computers and fluorescent light bulbs contain hazardous waste and are not allowed in the garbage. Visit the Take it Back Network to find an electronics recycler near you!
7. Buy Recycled! Buying recycled content products is a great way to save energy and creates a demand for more recycled content products. Check the label on the products you purchase to see if they are made from recycled products and choose the ones with the highest content.

For a list of other great steps to make Seattle and Planet Earth a better place to live, visit the Green Seattle Guide.