Green Gatherings

June 20 marks the first day of SUMMER and along with summer comes a wide variety of picnics and parties.  Although you may not have realized it, many of the containers that hold summer’s favorite refreshments are in fact, recyclable.

Be on the lookout for these at your next gathering, making sure to have a designated area for both your trash and recyclables:

• Food and beverage cartons
• Metal drink cans
• Plastic food and beverage containers and bottles (with numbers 1-7 listed on the bottom inside the recycle symbol)
• Condiment bottles such as empty ketchup and mustard bottles
• Aerosol cans such as empty sunscreen or bug spray cans
• Clear, brown, blue, and green glass in the form of food and beverage containers such as condiment jars and drink bottles

Remember, caps and straws should be removed and the recyclables should be rinsed out in order to remove any residue.

Thanks to your conscious effort to recycle, these same items will become:

• New Aluminum Cans
• New Plastic Bottles
• Plastic Buckets & Containers
• Plastic Lumber
• Paper Towels, Napkins & Tissues

Some other tips to consider during the summer months are to use reusable dishware. This is a green alternative to paper and plastic products. Reusable dishware is a sustainable option at both meal time as well as packing snacks on the go.  This will help reduce waste.  Also, instead of purchasing water bottles consider using a water filter and refilling reusable bottles.  All of these are ways in which you can better the earth both today and every day.