Rhode Island Recycles Analog TVs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sarah Kite, 401-942-1430 x112
RECYCLING UNWANTED ANALOG TVs A MUST
Recycle retired televisions for free at RIRRC
JOHNSTON, R.I. (January 12, 2009) – Analog televisions are the modern equivalent of the 8-track player but at least the analogs can have a second life. And Resource Recovery is making it easy on the wallet by waiving the $5 recycling fee starting February 1.
Unwanted analog televisions can be recycled at Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, and the service is limited to Rhode Island residents only.
Many Rhode Islanders are expected to replace their analog TVs because of the federal requirement for local TV stations to discontinue broadcasting analog TV signals. February 17 marks the last day of analog transmission.
“If you choose to buy a new TV rather than buy a digital converter box for your analog, please recycle the old TV at RIRRC,” said Mike O’Connell, executive director of RIRRC. “Actually, it is the only disposal option. As of January 31st, land-filling televisions is banned in Rhode Island.”
The televisions’ cathode ray tubes contain lead and other hazardous substances that threaten human health. They cannot be put in curbside trash.
RIRRC holds special Saturday collections throughout the year at the Central Landfill and at other locations throughout the state for electronic waste. The Saturday collections for the next six months are: February 7, April 25, May 9, June 13 and June 20 in Johnston; March 28 in Smithfield; April 18 in Middletown; and May 16 in Narragansett. Computers and cell phones may also be recycled at no cost at these collections. Appointments are not necessary.
Visit www.rirrc.org for more information about recycling electronics and the entire 2009 calendar.
Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation is the quasi-state environmental agency dedicated to providing the public with environmentally sound programs and facilities to manage waste. The agency helps fund and promote the state’s recycling program, and owns and operates the Materials Recycling Facility and Central Landfill in Johnston
The holidays and Mother Nature
Here is a feature article authored by Sarah Kite, Director of Recycling Services at Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, about how to get rid of holiday waste properly.
The 12 Wastes of Christmas
RIRRC Shares Tips for a Greener Christmas
You shop. You mail. You cook. You wrap. You give. And in the process of giving, you generate waste. The time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day sees the highest volume of trash in local landfills. Last year, the Central Landfill in Johnston experienced a 29 percent increase in waste during this time period. So instead of giving the Central Landfill your annual “gifts” of wrapping paper, Styrofoam peanuts and poinsettias, here’s some advice on reducing your trash.
12 plastic shopping bags. Keep your baggage to a minimum. Make sure to have reusable bags in your car for those spur of the moment shopping trips. But, if you find yourself starting to accumulate plastic bags, recycle them in ReStore bins. These bins are located in supermarkets and other retail stores throughout R.I. For sites, go to rirrc.org/restore.
11 bows and ribbons. Have you heard that thrifty is the new black? Collect ribbons or bows from gifts and reuse them next year. For your own gifts, tie environment friendly alternatives such as pine cones, candy canes, bells, or old ornaments to your gifts. This will give them a more personalized look.
10 pounds of food waste. All food preparation yields waste. Apple cores, potato peelings, egg shells, coffee grinds and the like are organic and should be composted instead of mixed with trash. Can’t make it out to the backyard right away? Fill a zippered plastic bag with food waste and freeze it. Your nutrient-rich compost will be a lasting gift to your flower beds.
9 champagne bottles. Whatever your poison, chances are its container is recyclable. Champagne and wine bottles, as well as beer cans and bottles, eggnog cartons, milk & cream cartons, soda bottles, and cider jugs can all be recycled in blue bins.
8 miles of wrapping paper. More than 8,800 tons of gift wrap are used each year by consumers during the holiday season. Sadly, the life cycle is only a few days. When opening gifts, collect the torn gift wrap in brown-paper, leaf-and-yard waste bags (no bows or ribbons, please). Leave the bag at the curb beside your green bin and all that paper will be recycled. For your own gift-giving, use gift bags. The holiday patterns never go out of style and are easily reusable.
7 gift and cardboard boxes. Online shopping is convenient, but it often results in an abundance of corrugated cardboard boxes. Give them extra life by reusing them as gift boxes. If you have no secondary use for them, flatten them out and recycle. If they are longer than six feet, cut them down and tie them up with string; otherwise they won’t fit in the recycling truck.
6 bundles of greeting cards. Isn’t it nice to get something in the mail other than a bill? Continue the good feelings of your friends and family by recycling the envelopes and cards in your green bins. Or, for those crafty people out there, cut off the front of the card and re-use it as a gift tag.
5 lumps of coal. If Santa gave you coal, it might be a hint from him to reform your naughty anti-environment practices. Use that coal to add a smile to your snowman, and promise to adopt one new earth-friendly practice in 2009. For suggestions, go to thedailygreen.com.
4 dried-up decorations. Once your holiday greenery (wreaths, boughs, poinsettias, and boxwoods) dries up and turns brown, remove the wiring, bows, foil wrap and decorations and add them to your compost bin.
3 holiday catalogs. More than two million tons of direct mail winds up in the trash each year. You can recycle all of those catalogs, flyers, coupons and special mailers by putting them in your green bin. Even better, cut down on unwanted mail by delisting yourself at dmaconsumers.org. If concerns about identity theft keep you awake at night, rip off the address page and shred it before recycling the rest of the catalog.
2 mountains of bubble wrap. Save packing materials for future mailings. Or, you can donate the Styrofoam peanuts and bubble wrap to a local pack-and-ship businesses. Call 800-828-2214 for the nearest location.
1 brown Christmas tree. Cut Christmas trees are accepted free of charge at RIRRC. Most RI municipalities designate a certain week for tree pick-ups after the holidays. Contact your local department of public works for more information. Resource Recovery chips the trees so they can live again as mulch and compost.
This holiday season, be sure to add one more person to your gift list: Mother Nature.
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Do we really need to buy all these gifts?
How are you feeling this holiday season. A little stressed or overwhelmed trying to figure out what to get everyone. Below is a link to an article about how we can bring more meaning to the holidays than just buying something for someone who probably doesn’t even need it.
How about doing things for people instead? Or making things. I plan to make some things with my kids. It will be quality time spent as a family and I think the gifts will mean more. There is also the idea of doing things for people. Offering to babysit or to prepare a meal. Taking your parents or grandparents out to lunch. Planning a mini-vacation with extended family.
And then there is whole idea of doing some volunteer work. Helping out some needy people. Doing something good in your community. Check out the following article having to do with thinking differently about gift giving for the holidays.
http://www.grist.org/feature/2007/11/20/say-no/?source=weekly
RI Businesses Get Free Recycling for Electronics
CONTACT: Sarah Kite, 942-1430 x112
R.I. BUSINESSES GET FREE OFFER FOR 11/14
Recycle computer and electronic waste courtesy of RIRRC, Arpin Van Lines
JOHNSTON, R.I. (November 6, 2008) – In commemoration of Rhode Island Recycles Week, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation will host a special electronic waste recycling collection for local businesses.
The free computer recycling collection will be held on November 14 from 8:00 a.m. to noon at Arpin Van Lines, 99 James P. Murphy Highway, West Warwick. Companies that need to recycle more than 50 items may contact Arpin at 884-0321 to arrange for a free pick-up.
Items that are eligible for recycling are CPUs, servers, network equipment, routers, telephones, radios, scanners, keyboards, monitors, laptops, mouse devices, laser printers, fax machines, cables and wire, cell phone, window air conditioner units and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).
Arpin and Cartridge World RI/Office Recycling Solutions are working with RIRRC to ensure that the business waste will be recycled appropriately.
“On any given day, Rhode Island businesses must pay special recycling vendors to discard their electronic waste. On November 14, they’ll get to recycle all that unwanted and broken equipment for free,” said Mike OConnell, executive director of RIRRC. “It’s a bargain, and we encourage business owners to take advantage of this opportunity to divert the sometimes-hazardous material from the Central Landfill to the much better alternative – recycling.
RIRRC is the state environmental agency dedicated to providing the pubic with environmentally sound programs and facilities to manage solid waste. The agency funds and manages the state’s recycling program, and owns and operated the Central Landfill and Materials Recycling Facility in Johnston. For more information, visit rirrc.org.
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Beth Bailey
Vice President/Director of Public Relations
RDW Group, Inc.
125 Holden Street
Providence, RI 02908
401-521-2700 x162
Simple Energy Saving Tips
Simple Energy Saving Tips
Change the filter on your furnace
Change some lightbulbs to the compact florescent type
Put plastic on drafty windows
Use a ceiling fan at a slow, reverse direction setting to help circulate heat
Wrap your water heater with a water heater blanket
Patch leaky forced hot air ducts
Recycling Batteries in Rhode Island
Below is an email I received from Annemarie when someone was looking for resources in Rhode Island for Recycling batteries. There is one option which is to take the batteries to the ECO-Depot and the RI Resource Recovery in RI. But this individual wanted to know if there were other options in our state. Annemarie is a recycling coordinator for a local farmet’s market…. here is her response to the battery issue.
I don’t know about Best Buy, but I’m fairly certain that the only batteries that Radio Shackand Staples take are RECHARGABLE batteries. Some stores used to take any and allbatteries, but that has not been the case for a number of years now; the only place todispose of them safely in RI is at the Eco Depot at the landfill, or at one of the satellitepick-up days they schedule in various communities thoughout the year.It’s unfortunate that so many places make a lot of money selling these batteries, but wantno responsibility for the waste created. I have tried to replace all my batteries with rechargables, but sometimes that isn’t practical or safe (in smoke alarms, for example). As with electronic goods in general, manufacturers and retailers need to step up andenable consumers to recycle or safely dispose of these batteries which last only a short while and are required to power so many things. As citizens, we need to demand that our cities and towns set up more effective recycling and disposal programs to keep these hazardous items out of the landfill. As consumers, we should complain to stores and manufacturers, and try to to buy goods that use rechargable batteries that can be easily returned for recycling. Sorry to go on; the whole battery dilemma infuriates me! Like the first poster, I have several pounds of dead batteries that have never made it out to the EcoDepot. They just sit there waiting for the day that someone gets tired of seeing them there in the cabinet under the sink and throws them in the trash while I’m not home.
Good luck with your batteries!
Annemarie
What is Rhode Island Doing to Save Energy
| One Step Closer to Wind Energy |
|
Here’s some info directly from the Governor’s website. I think RI could be doing a lot more.
At the May 27th deadline, seven companies had submitted proposals to the State of Rhode Island to construct and operate an off-shore wind farm designed to generate 1.3 million megawatt-hours per year of renewable energy. “Every day, Rhode Islanders feel the financial pinch of heating and powering their homes. If we reach the goal I set of achieving 15% of our energy from wind, this burden will be relieved and we will reap long-term benefits for the environment.” the Governor said. Under Governor Carcieri’s plan, the state will review bids on the basis of total cost to Rhode Island ratepayers, the qualification and experience of the bidder in constructing wind projects, and the number of jobs and the amount of tax dollars to be created. The state plans to award a contract to the best bidder, who will then begin the process of seeking the necessary regulatory permits. An evaluation team will review the seven proposals over the next couple of months. |
Organic Lawn Care for New England
Recycling CFLs
Landfill – Trash troubles in Rhode Island
· The Landfill in Johnston is almost full - At this rate, the landfill will reach capacity in two years.
· Rhode Islanders are not very good about recycling when compared to the rest of the nation.
· State Government, Schools, and businesses are even worse when it comes to recycling.
- Here are some of the highlights from this article:
“Only about 4% of commercial waste is recycled. Existing commercial recycling laws are hard to enforce because DEM can’t assign enough people to the task.”· Green and Blue bin goods are sent to the Materials Recycling Facility to be sorted. Workers frantically and monotonously separate the nonrecyclables – clear plastic takeout trays, yogurt containers, motor oil jugs – from the recyclables as the objects move on the swift-moving conveyer belts.
· Dirty commercial loads, such as restaurant waste, can’t be sorted but many other loads contain significant amounts of accessible recyclable materials.
· Those are dumped on the concrete floor of the tip facility where workers in soiled orange jumpsuits and small cranes root through truck after truck of business waste. The purpose is to pull out recyclable goods and save them from taking up space in the landfill.
· Only about 1 percent of recyclable goods from the commercial waste stream are recycled. This includes rubbish from schools, government offices, and apartment buildings and accounts for 60 percent of the annual trash produced in the state.
· In another area workers sort through mounds of paper products and pull out the occasional piece of cardboard that ends up in the load.
· Over the last 15 years, recycling habits and poor enforcement of commercial recycling laws have not improved.
· Items that are biodegradable can take decades to decompose buried in the landfill without air, water and sunlight.
