PF23

PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID EVERYDAY MADE EASY Kid’s Corner CONCORD, CA 1850 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Ste. 320 PERMIT NO. 122 Walnut Creek, CA 94596

APARTMENTS & CONDOS EDITION FALL 2016 What do those

’s mean? LDPE 4 Low-Density It’s all in the numbers. Plastics are made of many different chemicals. Filmy plastic used in shrink-wrap, dry cleaner and squeezable . The little “chasing arrow” triangles contain a number code that Place clean plastic bags together in Rewarded with identifies which chemicals were used to create that . one plastic , in the blue bin. Not all plastics are recyclable but RecycleSmart will take them RECYCLED INTO: Trash can liners, $2,500 Scholarships shipping , floor tiles and all and do the sorting for you—just give them a little wipe clean first. bins. Demian RecycleSmart, in partnership with Mt. Diablo Recycling, started the student scholarship PET HDPE PP Polyethylene High-Density program in 2015 to inspire and reward student 1 2 5 Terephthalate Polyethylene Tough and lightweight; used for cereal leaders who have made significant contributions One of the most common Stiffer plastic; used for liners, plastic tops, yogurt to reducing waste at their high schools. This plastics; used for soft drinks milk , detergent and and ketchup bottles. A special year $2,500 scholarships were awarded to: and water bottles, salad cooking oil bottles, shampoo RECYCLED INTO: Brooms, ice scrapers, Can You Turn A Banana treat! bottles and peanut butter . bottles and yogurt tubs. signal signs, cafeteria trays, and Dara Feller RECYCLED INTO: Polar RECYCLED INTO: New bottles, auto battery cases. Acalanes High School fleece, fiber, floor tile, plastic pipe, plastic Peel Into A Carrot? A Phone Call carpet, tote bags lumber, park benches and Dara boosted campus-wide and sometimes new truck bed-liners. PS education with her music video containers. 6 Rigid Plastics & Polystyrene Yep! It’s not magic, just a little plant science. Recycling Saves the Day is great! “Responsible Waste.” “It’s not Ultra lightweight used for take out containers, foam packaging and Here’s how to do it. confusing. The bin that you are styrofoam trays and ​rigid plastic ​ “People weren’t actually sure we had recycling.” That’s Avalon choosing. Cuz now you’ve got such as compact disk cases. 1 Peel a banana—maybe have a banana split! this music in your head.” Yes, we 3 Walnut Ridge resident Demian Hardman talking about his 466-unit Please do not put polystyrene 2 Pull the banana peel apart until the strips separate. do! Search for it on YouTube. (styrofoam) in the blue ; condo complex a while ago. “The trash was really overflowing.” place in black landfill bin. 3 Find a potting container and fill it with soil to a few PVC Pedram Majbuleh Polyvinyl Chloride inches below the top. Property manager CJ Bass confirms Demian says. And the residents Las Lomas High School Softer but firm plastic; Other 4 Water the soil, put the banana peel strips in it and that the maintenance crew had spent (many Millennials who order tons Pedram expanded the used for child and 7 BPA, Polycarbonate pet toys, plumbing put carrot seeds on top, 1 inch apart. hours several times a week taking of stuff online) are on board, breaking compost collection program and LEXAN pipes and larger Mixed plastics found in cardboard out of the garbage down their boxes and putting them and spearheaded a lunchtime cooking oil bottles. 5 Cover the seeds with ½ inch of soil, and water gently sippy cups, water cooler bottles, and breaking them down. “Trash was in the blue recycling bins. recycling and composting every few days to keep soil moist. The banana peel RECYCLED INTO: iPod cases, and sunglasses. piling up, a couple of feet above the program. Because lunch isn’t Deck and will feed the carrots! “First, we scheduled two recycling RECYCLED INTO: Plastic lumber. over until you compost. building materials. (Follow growing directions on the seed .) enclosure. People couldn’t even get to pickups a week,” says CJ. “Then the recycling bin.” Wait a few weeks and enjoy eating your carrot! we realized the trash was fine, but Connor Sinclair Demian acted. “I got the property the recycling was overflowing, San Ramon Valley High School manager to call Republic Services. They so we went to three pickups. We’re Connor managed the campus Leadership Award! came to us and brought solutions.” considering four!” can and bottle recycling program. TIP Sustainable Contra Costa has Republic provided signage, did an email He promoted by If you have a green organics cart, And the garbage? Only two pickups honored RecycleSmart with the 2016 education campaign about recycling and encouraging students to bring put your banana peel in it. We’ll a week. “We now have more recycling Leadership in Sustainability Award for provided free recycling totes. “The best reusable bottles rather than compost it for you and your banana than we do trash,” Demian says, “and “Sustainable Resource Management,” thing was adding small blue recycling tossing single-use bottles. will become food for the fruits and my garbage bill hasn’t increased at all!” citing our comprehensive organics bins by the mailboxes for junk mail,” vegetables you eat! Each of these students worked hard on the and recycling programs for residents, environmental “4 R's” for schools: reduce, reuse, businesses and schools. Is your blue bin or dumpster full, even overflowing? Get larger bins, get more pickups! No recycle and rot. Our thanks and congratulations! extra charge! Ask your property manager to call Republic Services and they’ll get right on it: 925-685-4711. Color the

What’s in Our CURBSIDE PICKUP OF How it REUSABLE ITEMS FOR Republic Services recycling! SINGLE FAMILY HOMES Apartment and works picks up END OF THE LINE; Condo Bins? LANDFILL FOREVER

RECYCLING ORGANICS 3% WE GET +1% RID OF LANDFILL TO KELLER CANYON LANDFILL, 18% We buy THINGS! PITTSBURG 5 Recycling Myths things

1 Pizza boxes, towels 4 It’s best to put food waste down and napkins are paper so they the garbage disposal. go in the blue recycling bin. Nope. Food and grease can clog pipes 79% Nope. They’re often contaminated and cause backups and sewer spills. with food and grease and can’t be Prime cloggers are cheese, gravy, salad Second life TO COMPOSTING FACILITY, ORGANICS begins! RICHMOND reused as paper. They can go in a dressing and meats. Plus, it takes a lot green organics bin if you have one, of resources and energy to remove all of LANDFILL or the black landfill bin if you don’t. the food waste at the water treatment We send more than three-fourths (79%) of our waste directly to 2 Styrofoam should go in the plant. If you don’t have a green organics Recycled blue recycling bin. cart, it’s actually best to put food in your landfill. But, most of that stuff goods go back to market. trashcan or black landfill bin. isn’t really trash! The main Nope. Unfortunately, Styrofoam culprits: Cardboard and paper should go in the black landfill bin; 5 I need to wash all the bottles and boxes, loose , aluminum RECYCLABLES TO MT. DIABLO RECYCLING, it is not easily recyclable. containers before I recycle them. cans and plastic bottles. Making PITTSBURG Nope. Just make sure they’re empty 3 Throw plastic bags away; the recycling pie slice just 1% and fairly clean—use a spoon, spatula they can’t be recycled. larger would be like taking 1,180 or napkin to clean out the container Nope. They can be recycled! Just cars off the road every year. (and compost the napkin in your green put clean plastic bags in one plastic organics cart if you have one). bag, right into the blue recycling bin. PROCESSED INTO NEW SENT TO SORTED AND BALED PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL RECYCLING MARKETS

12–18 weeks Need More Info? later MICROORGANISMS SHREDDED ANYTHING THAT WAS BREAK IT DOWN INTO ONCE ALIVE CAN BE RICH COMPOST COMPOSTED RecycleSmart Republic Services FARMERS USE IT TO RecycleSmart.org www.RecycleSmart.org Organics, Recycling and Landfill ENRICH SOIL RecycleSmart.org 925-906-1801 925-685-4711 [email protected] ONE PERSON’S TRASH IS… ACTUALLY A TREASURE! Ask your property manager to contact Republic Services about additional recycling, organic or landfill carts or Over 70 percent of the materials in California Landfills can contaminate the soil, groundwater bins, computer and TV collection, special clean ups or to request motor oil recycling kits, recycling tote bags landfills could be recycled or composted and used and aquifers below them and produce methane, and kitchen food containers. again, according to CalRecycle. Which means a greenhouse gas that is 56 times more

Printed on paper made from responsibly harvested wood with 50% recycled content Californians throw away over 20 million destructive than carbon dioxide. Just a little (25% post-consumer); processed chlorine free. tons of recyclable materials every year. more recycling can have a big impact.

RECYCLESMART FALL 2016