Talkin’ Trash & more

Tips for Keeping Thurston County Healthy

www.ThurstonSolidWaste.org Summer/SpringFall/Winter 20132011 How works When your hauler empties your recycle cart, What happens when I put the they take your mixed recyclables to a facility to wrong items in my cart? sort them out. Thurston County’s recyclables Which plastics go in go to SP Recycling, near Tacoma. SP’s special In order to get the highest value for equipment sorts the items into different recyclables, SP must sort items carefully and my cart? categories. The sorted recyclables are sold to not let the wrong items contaminate the In Thurston County, the number on the manufacturers who want to make something material that buyers want. When folks put bottom of a plastic doesn’t tell new from them. non-recyclable items in their recycle carts, SP you if it is recyclable. Use the following has to spend more time sorting them out and Using recycled materials requires less energy guidelines to determine if your item can must pay to throw them away. This increases be recycled: and fewer new materials than using virgin the overall cost of recycling. resources. For example, it takes 95% less energy to make an aluminum can from Buyers aren’t happy when the materials recycled cans than from virgin materials. Two- they buy are contaminated with the wrong 1. with a neck smaller than thirds of the aluminum ever produced is still in items. If too many of the wrong items get the base are recyclable. circulation today! mixed in with the good stuff, it can wear Examples: soda , milk , out equipment or produce a lower quality and peanut butter . product. Manufacturers have to pay to dispose of the contaminants or sometimes the entire load of materials. If that happens too often, manufacturers may decide not to buy materials from SP anymore. Some items don’t go in your recycling cart because they cause more trouble than they’re worth. Plastic are a great example. They can’t go in your recycle cart, but some people put them in anyway. When plastic bags go 2. Tubs that hold dairy products are recyclable. In this edition of Talkin’ Trash, we’ll explain through the sorting process at SP, they get Examples: yogurt, sour cream, some of the more technical aspects of recycling caught and tangled in the sorting equipment. cottage cheese, and margarine. to give you a better idea of how it all works. SP’s workers must shut down the sorting equipment and manually cut the bags free. Why can’t I recycle _____? These shutdowns cost the facility about $1,000 per day. People often ask us why they can’t recycle certain items in Thurston County. Most often, this question is about plastic containers. Plastic bottles, yogurt cups, and detergent jugs go in your recycling cart. Deli containers, - style containers, and drink cups go in the 3. Buckets (kitty , 5-gallon) are trash. So what makes one item recyclable and also recyclable. Must be clean with another trash? handles removed. For the most part, recycling is about supply and demand. Technically, almost everything could be recycled into something new. However, there are some items that manufacturers just aren’t interested into recycling into new Workers remove plastic bags that have tangled products. In business terms, this means there in sorting equipment at SP Recycling Corp. needs to be a market for an item before it can Photo courtesy of Waste Connections, Inc. actually get recycled. Recently, the market for This is why it’s so important to only put plastic bags and film declined so sharply that accepted items in your recycle cart. Too much LeMay had to stop collecting them. of the wrong stuff increases the cost of the Like many other markets, the market for recycling program in Thurston County. Keeping NO plastic bags or molded foam recyclable items fluctuates up and down. out unwanted materials is just as important in your curbside bin. Recycle When the cost of virgin resources is higher, as putting the good stuff in! Remember this foam at the Waste and Recovery manufacturers will pay more for your recycled recycling mantra: Center at Hawks Prairie. Plastic items. When the cost of resources drops, so bags go in the trash. does the value of recyclables. “When in doubt, throw it out!” Quick recycling collection ends Last month, LeMay discontinued its plastic Can I still recycle plastic bags at my local updates film recycling service. Until then, LeMay grocery store? had collected plastic film from several local Check with the store. Some grocery stores businesses as well as the plastic film drop Help us improve signs may still collect bags if they have found at the Waste and Recovery Center. The another recycler. Check with the store at the WARC program included plastic bags, wrap, manager to make sure the bags actually get and plastic . Over the next few months, Solid Waste recycled. educators and LeMay’s decision to end the program was Can I put plastic film in any of the drop other county staff based on lack of markets for mixed plastic film. at the Waste and Recovery Center? will discuss ways Recycling is a business - it takes equipment to improve the and staffing to collect recyclable materials. No. You can’t mix plastic film with plastic signs at the Waste If nobody will buy the plastic film, there’s no containers in any of the drop boxes. and Recovery money to collect it. Center (WARC). What should I do with my plastic grocery Commercial customers and drop box users Our goal is to help bags now? generate more than 15 tons of plastic film our users - you If you can’t think of some way to reuse them each month - around 187 tons each year! - navigate more (many folks use them to line smaller trash cans Right now, several tons of plastic film still sit easily throughout or to pick up dog poop), they go in the trash. unsold in a LeMay warehouse. the site. Next time you shop, bring your reusable It’s unfortunate to see the program go, but shopping bags. Remembering your bags is like We need your it’s important to remember that recycling isn’t any other habit - it takes time and practice. input! If you visit the WARC and notice a magic cure for waste. Recycling only works specific areas where the signs are when someone wants to create a new unclear, please let us know! product from old materials. That’s Email ThurstonSolidWaste@ why it’s so important to make careful co.thurston.wa.us or call 867-2281. choices when buying items in the first place. You can help prevent waste by Help us update choosing reusable items and only buying something if you really need it. WhereDoITakeMy.org Can I put plastic bags and other Our database provides locations to take film in my SingleStream recycle cart over 180 different items for reuse or instead? recycling. We get our best information from you, the community. No. Plastic bags and film tangle in equipment at the sorting facility. They If you know of a local business or do NOT go in your recycle cart. organization that accepts items but you don’t see it listed, please let us know! Send your information to Loni Hanka Learn more at [email protected] or call 867-2282. What should I do with grocery bags? Take your clean, dry paper bags to the Thurston County Food Bank. Food bank staff and volunteers use them to distribute food to Changes to green clients. The food bank is located at 220 Thurston Avenue NE in Olympia. business program It’s easier than ever to apply for the Thurston Green Business program. Now there is no application fee! Learn What’s in a number? more or apply now at www.thurstongreenbusiness.com. A yogurt container and a plastic drink cup Items made from different resin grades cool both have the number “5” on the bottom. The and melt at different temperatures. This yogurt cup goes in your curbside recycle cart, creates a gloppy mess when recyclers try to so that means the drink cup can go in too, make new products out of the recovered right? plastic. As a result, plastic of mixed resin grades can only be recycled into lower-grade Wrong. Then what do the numbers mean? products, like plastic railroad ties and park This is one of the trickiest recycling issues. benches. Recycling processors Although two plastic items may share must keep the resin grades the same number on the bottom, that separate in order to turn doesn’t mean they recycled items back into new are equally recyclable plastic bottles and tubs. in Thurston County. To add confusion, the “chasing New compost That number - arrows” icon that circles the collection route called the Resin number doesn’t mean the Identification Code coming container can be recycled or that (RIC) - indicates the it is made from recycled materials. LeMay is creating a new food and yard type of plastic resin waste collection route for residents in used to make the What does this mean for your the Lake Lawrence and Scenic Shores item. But each resin type isn’t an curbside recycle cart? Forget the areas. For questions, call LeMay at exact formula; it’s more of a group numbers. Instead, recycle items by shape: 923-0111. of related types of plastic. Manufacturers add • Bottles, jugs, and jars (have a neck smaller different chemicals to the same base resin to than the base). produce different kinds of products. So even • Dairy tubs (like yogurt, sour cream, and though cups, bags, and trays have the same margarine containers). RIC on the bottom, each item may be made • 5-gallon and kitty litter buckets. from a different grade of that resin. 2 Local governments say

Q. Should I flatten cans? NO to plastic bags Olympia, Tumwater, and A. No. Flattening cans was a requirement unincorporated Thurston County have back in the early days of recycling. Today, the passed ordinances that ban stores from processing plant that processes our recyclables giving out plastic carryout bags. The Since you asked! needs the cans unflattened. This helps the ordinance goes into effect July 1, 2014. When we’re out and about in the community, sorting equipment easily identify them. we often talk to folks who proudly consider The ban only applies to bags that Q. How well should I rinse containers? Do they themselves the “recycle police” at home. stores put your items into at checkout. need to be squeaky clean? These super recyclers remove every bit of the Plastic bags NOT included in the ban from a can or clean plastic bottles in the A. Remove any food from your containers, include: dishwasher. and give them a quick rinse if there is any food • Bags used for bulk items, produce, or residue left inside. You certainly don’t need to meat. We love that these folks go the extra mile, but send your containers through the dishwasher. don’t worry if you prefer a simpler recycling • Dry cleaning bags. routine. Here are some frequently asked Q. Do I need to remove the plastic spout from • To-go bags for prepared food. questions about preparing your recyclables: a half-gallon size milk or juice ? • Newspaper bags. • Any bags sold in packages. Q. Do I need to remove from bottles, A. No. You can leave the plastic spout, but jars, or cans? throw the in the trash. Stores can choose to give customers paper bags, but must charge at least A. No. You can leave the labels on cans as well Q. Should I remove the little metal or plastic 5 cents per . Paper bags subject as plastic and bottles and jars. rings from the necks of bottles and jars? to the fee are standard grocery store Q. Should I remove the clear plastic windows A. No. You can leave the rings on bottles and size or larger. They must be 40 percent from and food boxes? jars. This is true for plastic and glass containers. recycled content - usually this is printed on the bag. There is no fee for smaller A. No. You can leave the little plastic windows Q. Should I remove the paper bags and paper bags customers on. plastic handle from a use before they get to checkout - like metal pot or pan? Q. Do I need to remove staples or the metal paper bakery or produce bags. binding on spiral notebooks? A. No. You can leave Paper bags will be free for customers the handle on. It will paying for food with an Electronic A. No. Recycling equipment can remove burn off when the Benefit Transfer card (food stamps) or staples and metal spirals. You DO need to metals melt down. other food assistance program. Food remove plastic binding from notebooks. banks and food assistance programs Q. Can I put Q. Do I need to remove the clear plastic sleeves can still use plastic bags to distribute my recyclables that newspapers and magazines sometimes food. Reusable bag giveaways will in a plastic come in? focus on these audiences. bag inside my Stores will use the fee to A. Yes. You must remove the plastic sleeve cart? before recycling paper. Plastic bags of any type offset the higher cost of paper bags. It A. No. Put all items DON’T go in your curbside recycle cart. also acts as an incentive for the public loose in your cart. to bring their reusable bags, which have a much lower environmental Learn more impact than disposable bags. A stakeholders group of local residents Got a recycling question? Email [email protected] or call 867-2491. and businesses developed the draft ordinance language. The group provided the draft ordinance to all city councils and the Thurston County The trouble with recycling and caps Board of Commissioners. Each of the remaining cities has the choice to adopt the ordinance. If all jurisdictions Caps left on bottles can become projectiles 3 adopt the ordinance, it will provide a when the bottles are compacted, which level playing field for businesses and poses a danger to workers. create consistency for shoppers. 4 Lids and caps can trap liquids inside These actions come after a two- containers. To be recycled properly, year process of working with the containers must be empty. community to find ways to reduce the What should I do with lids? Throw all plastic use of disposable shopping bags. Faced with declining markets for recyclables, We’re often asked why plastic caps and lids lids in the trash. This includes plastic LeMay had to stop collecting plastic aren’t recyclable in Thurston County. If the caps and plastic lids from dairy tubs (such as bag and plastic film last month. Lack of container is recyclable, why not the top? yogurt and margarine containers). recycling options just emphasizes the 1 Caps are often made out of a different type If you can’t stomach throwing lids away, find a need for alternatives. of plastic than bottles and other containers. creative way to reuse them. Some people reuse The bag ordinance doesn’t go into Workers at the sorting facility don’t have the flat plastic lids by placing them under sticky effect until July 2014. This gives Solid time to take caps and lids off of bottles. bottles in cupboards or under flower pots. Waste time to inform residents and Different types of plastics can’t be recycled What about metal lids? You can recycle a businesses. It also gives the community together, so caps and lids will contaminate metal lid only if the lid is still attached to the time to adjust before the holiday other recyclables. can (and folded into the can itself). If the lid is shopping season, which minimizes the 2 Lids of all sizes are a problem at sorting not attached, put it in the bottom of the can impact on businesses. centers. Small lids can jam the equipment. and squeeze the opening slightly to prevent Learn more, read the draft ordinance Dairy lids are larger, but they’re also it from falling out. Loose lids accidently get language, or sign up for email alerts at flatter. The automated sorting equipment mixed in with paper and cardboard during the www.ThurstonSolidWaste.org/Plastics. can’t separate them from paper and sorting process and pose a hazard to sorting cardboard. staff. 3 Waste sort at the Give waste-free gifts this holiday season Waste and Recovery As the holidays approach and crowded • “Adopt” an endangered animal from an Center shopping trips loom in your future, consider a organization like The World Wildlife Fund. Every five years, Thurston County Solid creative, low-stress and waste-free approach The symbolic adoption helps support the Waste hires a company to sort through to gift giving. Between Thanksgiving and New effort to protect wild animals and habitat. samples of the county's garbage when Year’s Day, Americans throw away 25 percent Go homemade. more trash. it arrives at the Waste and Recovery • Put homemade cookies and treats in reusable Center. Waste sort workers separate How can you minimize your impact this holiday tins or plates. Bake a cake or pie and include the waste into nearly 90 categories season? Try these waste-free gift ideas! the pan as a gift. including yard debris, food, textiles, Give the gift of experience. • Create a cookbook with favorite recipes. and metals. • Plan a day trip to the Nisqually National Prepare a sampling of treats to go along with The results help Solid Waste educators Wildlife Refuge or bike the Yelm-Tenino or it. understand what businesses and Chehalis-Western trail. Pack a picnic lunch to • Make soaps, candles, framed photos, residents are throwing away and how add to the fun. ornaments, or other crafts. to develop programs to help reduce • Take a walk on the wild side. Visit the • Give coupons for a service waste. We can also compare data from rescued animals at Wolf Haven you can do, such as a home previous waste sorts to see how our in Tenino or head to Northwest repair or washing a car. waste stream has changed over time. Trek, Olympic Game Farm, or Choose recycled or Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. reusable gifts. • Spend an evening at the • Re-gift something theater. Harlequin meaningful that you no Productions and the longer use, such as a Washington Center well-loved book. for Performing Arts in Downtown Olympia • Shop at thrift stores or are just two local estate sales for that hidden opportunities to watch treasure of jewelry, books, or live performances. dress-up clothes for kids. • Give tickets to a sporting event • Give a travel mug, durable water or treat someone to a day at a bottle, new lunchbox, or cloth The waste sorts don’t just look at the museum. produce and sandwich bags. county's waste stream in general. If you do plan to buy new gifts . . . They also collect individualized data • Buy lessons for a new sport about waste from City of Olympia or hobby like rock climbing, • Choose items with recycled content residents and businesses, and waste kayaking, or painting. and less packaging. that Thurston County government Donate to a worthy cause. • Pick durable, well-made items employees generate. • Donate locally to an organization that won’t be headed for the landfill in a month’s time. Green Solutions, an environmental such as the Thurston County Food consulting firm, will conduct four Bank. • Choose items that get used up waste sorts between October 2013 and • Help a family in need by donating to an or eaten, such as specialty foods or July 2014. The waste sorts are spread international relief organization. For example, artisan candles and soaps. out quarterly to capture changes in the Heifer International uses your donation to • Give practical items, such as seeds for a waste stream at different times of year. purchase a farm animal, seeds, or clean gardener or fabric and thread for the sewing enthusiast. Once all four waste sorts are complete, water for people in developing countries. we will post the results online. Visit www.ThurstonSolidWaste.org and click Learn more “Regulations, Plans, Studies” to see results from previous waste sorts. Check out more holiday resources online. Visit www.ThurstonSolidWaste.org/Holiday to find where to recycle holiday-related waste, learn how to care for a live tree, and get tips for Waste sorts for schools throwing a waste-free holiday party. and businesses Wish you had data about what’s in your organization’s trash? We can City of Olympia news: help! Solid Waste staff can help your business, school, non-profit, or Give a waste-free gift certificate for the holidays government agency conduct a waste One of the best gifts you can give is the gift Certificate ideas: sort at your facility. of your time. A custom certificate giving time • Share a talent and give a lesson. through an experience or showcasing your • Bake some bread or cookies. talent or skills is a great gift. Find PDFs of five • Take a loved one out on the town. customizable certificate designs at • Offer a trip to the museum or zoo. www.olympiawa.gov/zerowaste. • Offer yard work, house repairs, or babysitting. You can download a PDF template, choose a background photo, and add custom text to the appropriate fields. The possibilities are endless! Simply print the certificate and put it in an . A few ideas are Visit www.ThurstonSolidWaste.org or listed below, but you'll find many call 867-2491 to learn more. more on the city's website.

4 Program saves nearly 100,000 lbs of food! Recycle your tree for Over the past year and half, the Restaurant reheated or served to students on another day. free! Rescue program has prevented prepared, As a result, a lot of good food goes to waste. Pickup options unserved food from going to waste. The Last May, Olympia High School became the LeMay compost collection/yard Thurston County Food Bank has been turning first school in Thurston County to join the waste customers: Put trees in or near extra food from restaurants into delicious and program by running a pilot to collect extra your compost cart (in sections 3 feet or nutritious meals for its clients. food prepared for lunches. The pilot was so less). Call 923-0111 for info. The food bank’s new refrigerated van keeps successful that the program has expanded City of Olympia garbage customers: donated food at the proper temperatures to include all 18 Olympia schools this fall. As For customers with Thurs./Fri. service, during transport. Food bank volunteers take this issue goes to press, Olympia schools have tree pickup is Sat., Jan. 4. For those bulk-sized donations and repackage them into rescued 1,000 pounds of food this school year! with Tues./Wed. service, pickup is Sat., individual portions in the newly renovated The food bank is making creative use of the Jan. 11. Place tree in regular pickup kitchen. food they’re collecting from schools. For spot by 6 a.m. on your collection day. During its first year, Restaurant Rescue example, they cut up school hotdogs and Call 753-8368 and choose option 2 for recovered a whopping 21,867 pounds of combine them with beans rescued from a local more info. prepared foods from restaurants in Thurston restaurant to create a ready-to-eat meal. City of Lacey residents: The City of County! The program also rescued over Lacey and local boy scout troops are 75,000 pounds from World Class Distributing, partnering to provide tree pickup inside the distributor for Trader Joe’s stores. city limits. For details, please visit In addition to local restaurants, school districts www.ci.lacey.wa.us/treepickup or call have expressed interest in donating extra Lacey Public Affairs at 491-3214. food prepared for school lunches. To ensure City of Tumwater residents: Place there is enough food for every student, school trees at the nearest street corner by 8 kitchens sometimes prepare food that doesn’t a.m., Tues. Jan. 6. Call 754-4150 for get served. U.S. Department of Agriculture more information. guidelines prevent a lot of this food from being Drop-off locations All Thurston County residents: Learn more Take trees to the Waste and Recovery Center at 2418 Hogum Bay Road NE Your restaurant or school can help members of our community and prevent wasted food too! in Lacey from Dec. 26 to Jan. 12. Open It’s easy - restaurants interested in joining can contact Thurston County Food Bank Director weekdays 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sat. Robert Coit at 352-8597. Schools wanting more information should contact Peter Guttchen and Sun., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed New at [email protected] or 867-2283. Year’s Day. Rainier residents: Take trees to the drop box at 13010 Rainier Acres Road Local business spotlight: from Dec. 26 through Jan. 11. Open Fri, Sat., and Sun. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Holy Lamb Organics strives for zero waste Rochester residents: Take trees to the Holy Lamb Organics is a small, local business drop box at 16500 Sargent Road from that makes natural bedding products including Dec. 26 through Jan. 12. Open Tues., mattresses, pillows, and comforters. Owner Sat., and Sun., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Willow Whitton is proud to say her business Tenino residents: Take trees to 418 creates little if any waste. South Wichman Street S from Dec. 25 So how does a business approach zero waste? through Jan. 15. Holy Lamb reuses, recycles, or composts almost Yelm residents: Take trees to Yelm all manufacturing by-products and sends City Park anytime from Dec. 26 almost nothing to the landfill. With some through Jan. 10. thoughtful planning, Whitton has incorporated Residents near Shelton: Bill a variety of creative solutions to get rid of McTurnal Enterprises at 721 Kamilche waste. For example, the smallest scraps of Lane accepts trees from Dec. 28 thread, wool, and fabric are upcycled into through Jan. 9 during daylight hours. small products in Holy Lamb’s new ReKindle Weekends, leave trees by closed gate. product line. Anything too small to use is composted using a vermiculture (worm) NO flocked trees. Please remove all composting system or used as the bottom layer ornaments, lights, tinsel, for paths in the community garden. stands, and nails prior Holy Lamb Organics uses only organic cotton green commuting program and to work in the to recycling. Multi- fabric and top-of-the-line wool grown by small community organic garden. family complex U.S. sheep farmers. The manufacturing site Whitton came up with the idea for Holy Lamb residents should is chemical and scent-free, and Holy Lamb Organics while on a backpacking trip in the check with used green building practices to restore the Redwoods. When forced to buy a completely their property old general store that houses its showroom synthetic backpacking pillow, Whitton manager and manufacturing site. Holy Lamb also uses discovered the need for an all-natural pillow for tree waste-free packaging to ship finished goods to option. By the time she returned home, she placement customers. Whitton feels she has an obligation had a full business plan mapped out in her locations. to educate her customers about why and how head. Eleven years later, Holy Lamb Organics Holy Lamb Organics incorporates zero waste is thriving and growing. practices into everything it does. Visit Holy Lamb Organics at 104 West Pine Besides providing 14 green jobs to a Street in downtown Oakville. The shop is open rural town, Holy Lamb pays employees a Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. competitive wage plus benefits. Employees Learn more about the business or check out also have the opportunity to participate in a the products at www.holylamborganics.com. 5 Attention teachers: Check out these Are your kids eating the lunches they resources for your students! bring to school? Trash Talk newsletter Schools throw away a lot of stuff, and a lot of Cut up fruits and veggies. If you pack a that stuff is food. In fact, 65 percent by weight whole orange or peach, kids are more likely to Like Talkin’ Trash? Now fourth and fifth of a typical school’s garbage is uneaten food. throw away what they don’t eat. Slice fruits grade students can get their own free Food to Flowers program staff spend a lot of and vegetables to control portions and let your Trash Talk publication! We’ll deliver a time in school cafeterias and see a lot of food child easily save leftover pieces for later. copy of the newsletter to each student wasted at lunchtime. Imagine all of the great in your class four times throughout Make a deal. Before offering your kids an food that goes to waste - whole sandwiches, the school year. Trash Talk features after-school snack, request that they finish full yogurt cups, and tons of untouched fruit information on recycling, reuse, uneaten items from their lunches. and vegetables! household hazardous waste, yard Don’t forget the packaging. While you look waste, waste reduction, and more. It All of this uneaten food is part of a larger for ways to cut down on food waste, consider also has activities like word searches, problem. The National Resource Defense also reducing the amount of packaging crossword puzzles, and other games to Council estimates that we waste 40 percent you send in your child’s lunch. Use reusable make learning more fun! of all edible food in the U.S. This means the containers instead of disposable bags, and average household wastes $1,350 to $2,275 Classroom presentations avoid single-serving packaged food items. a year on uneaten food. When you toss out Solid Waste offers free, fun that food, you also waste all of the water and Visit www.wastefreelunches.org/parents.html presentations for kindergarten energy used to grow, transport, package, and for more great waste-free lunch tips. through eighth grade students about landfill or compost it. recycling, worms and worm bins, waste reduction, and household hazardous As a new school year begins, here are some products. To read a description of each tips to help your family reduce lunch waste, presentation, visit conserve resources, and save money. www.ThurstonSolidWaste.org/Youth. Pack it in, pack it out. When your kids bring lunch from home, ask them to bring home Youth opportunities any food they didn’t eat. Looking at leftover Earn your RRR patch lunch items is a great way to learn your kids’ preferences and the right portion size. You Kids can earn the Reduce, Reuse, may even be able to recover some of the Recycle patch from Thurston County uneaten food for future meals. Solid Waste as a group activity or individually. The program is designed to Let’s do lunch. Involve your kids in packing teach youth the meaning of “reduce, lunch the night before. Kids are more likely to reuse, recycle” by encouraging them eat a meal that they helped prepare. to take better care of the environment Learn what they like. Make a list of foods and their neighborhoods. After your kids like to eat for lunch and update completing activities and action it often. You may find a simple change like projects, each group fills out a Patch switching to a different apple variety will help Requirement Sheet. Thurston County your kids eat the apples in their lunch boxes Solid Waste will then send each more regularly. participant a free patch for practicing Eat ‘em again. Pack last night’s leftovers into the 3 Rs. Download instructions at today’s lunch, especially if it was popular the www.ThurstonSolidWaste.org/Youth. night before. You can even dress it up with an added ingredient or two.

Learn more

The Food to Flowers program can help your school prevent waste! For more information, visit www.ThurstonSolidWaste.org/FoodtoFlowers or contact Peter Guttchen at 867-2283 or [email protected].

Don’t stop with the patch program! Solid Waste can help Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and youth in other Business may have a new opportunity to organizations earn badges, pins, and service hours. Our helpful presentations recycle foam! show you what you can recycle in your community, how you can recycle at Does molded foam packaging take up too DART accepts molded foam blocks and clean home, and where your garbage goes. much space in your company’s trash dumpster? foam food service products. We also have “learning by doing” How about recycling it instead? Recycling at DART is free, and the drop-off activities that let group members LeMay is exploring the possibility of adding a bins are open 24 hours each day. become the teachers. Activities foam collection route for businesses. For more Before recycling your foam: include showing people how to sort information, please contact Emmett Brown of • Make sure it has a number “6” recycle their waste at a public event like the LeMay at 486-8606 or [email protected]. Thurston County Fair. symbol. In the meantime, you can take your foam • Rinse all food to DART containers. Container For information about any of our • Put all items in 4 Corporation school or youth programs, please clear plastic bags. at 600 Israel contact Colleen Minion at 867-2280 Road in or [email protected]. Tumwater. 6 Health Matters

News from Thurston County Environmental Health www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehadm

Deep-frying a turkey? Recycle your used Happy, healthy holidays cooking oil! Holidays bring brightness to winter’s gray. and store it again safely once you are done. Gathering with friends and family gives us With deep-fried turkey increasing in Suitcases and purses are tempting for children something to look forward to during dreary popularity, more of us wonder what to to explore, so make sure that medicines, winter days and long nights. Keep your do with gallons of leftover cooking oil. vitamins, or personal care products are stored household healthy this holiday season with the where kids can’t get to them. Don’t dump it down the drain; oil following tips. sticks to pipes and can cause backups. Decorate Safe. Some decorations, such as Wash hands often. We all know it’s important Instead, take it to the Thurston County Christmas lights and artificial trees, can contain to wash hands after using the bathroom and Waste and Recovery Center (WARC). lead or other heavy metals. When buying new before eating, but what about after grocery From there, it gets recycled into new decorations, choose safer materials, such as shopping, pumping gas, or using an ATM? fuels. This service is available during cloth, and look for lead-free lights. Keep any Scrub germs and toxins away with warm water regular WARC hours. Businesses should decorations that may contain lead (lights, older and soap! Lather hands for 20 seconds per continue to use their disposal service. painted ornaments, and red napkins) away washing, several times a day. Alcohol-based from young ones; their bodies readily absorb Find tips on preparing your oil for hand sanitizers kill germs in a pinch, but plain lead. For everyone else, decorate and then recycling and storing oil for reuse at: soap (avoid antibacterial soap, which contains wash up! www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehhm/ toxins) and warm water work best. pdf/cookingoil.pdf. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Recycle what you Take Care with Guests. Make sure that can, limit what you use, and take unwanted New Environmental hazards such as cleaning household hazardous materials to HazoHouse products, hot liquids, (see back page for hours and location). Health Matters blog and medicines HazoHouse accepts unwanted hazardous There’s a new way to get information are always out of products such as cleaners, art supplies, used about environmental health in Thurston reach of children. fluorescent lights, and anything that says County—the Environmental Health Store hazardous caution, warning, danger, or poison on the Matters blog! You’ll find real-time products in closed, label. To find out where to take unwanted or information about issues like lake locked cabinets, within outdated prescriptions, call us or visit closures, beach advisories, and food- another container in www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/personalhealth/ borne illness outbreaks. of leaks or spills. unwantedmedication. Keep an eye on The blog also provides tips for protecting young kids when Check out our Healthy Holidays posts on the your family from toxins, keeping using the product Environmental Health Matters blog. drinking water clean, food safety, and more. You can also ask questions and join discussions about environmental health. To follow the blog and get Dispose of sharps properly to protect others notified about new posts, visit www. environmentalhealthblog.blogspot.com. Every day, people with diseases such as 5. Place the sharps container in your trash; diabetes, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis never put sharps in your recycling. Tips to keep mold away B and hepatitis C use “sharps” (hypodermic Many of us know that intravenous drug use needles, syringes, lancets, and auto injectors) During winter, when windows are closed is on the rise. This is true not only in Thurston to manage their conditions. Consider that and humidity indoors increases, mold County, but also across the nation. As a result, diabetes occurs in over 8 percent of Americans, can grow in our homes. Here’s how to finding dirty needles in public places is possible. and that many of those individuals test their keep your home mold free. If you find a used syringe or other type of sharp blood sugar several times and use insulin daily. on the street, in a park, or anywhere else, take Increase ventilation. Open a window or A used syringe can carry germs and infect the following steps to protect yourself and use a bathroom fan for 30 minutes after others, and it’s easy to see why sharps waste others: bathing or cooking. Vent appliances is a growing concern for solid waste handlers such as dryers, dishwashers, and stoves and public health officials alike. 1. Prevent a needle stick by using heavy-duty to the outdoors, or open a window leather gloves, tongs, pliers, or a dust pan when running them. To help stop the spread of infectious diseases, and a broom. take the following steps to discard sharps 2. Don’t try to re-cap a needle. Increase fresh air. Warm air holds more properly. moisture than cold air, so outside air 3. Pick syringes up by the "non-needle" end. 1. Never flush sharps down the toilet or place is drier than the heated air inside your them loose in the trash. 4. Put the syringe in a home. Open windows and external puncture-proof plastic 2. Place sharps in a sharps container (available doors daily. Doing this for only a few bottle (see steps 1, 3, at pharmacies, medical supply stores, minutes prevents too much heat loss, and 4 to the left). while bringing in fresh air and lowering and online) or an empty, puncture-proof, indoor humidity. with a tight fitting lid. Two- 5. Place the container in the liter pop, bleach, or laundry detergent trash (or in one of our Allow for air flow. Pull furniture away bottles work well. Water bottles are made syringe disposal drop from walls. Open curtains or blinds daily. of a weaker plastic and aren’t a good boxes—coming soon). Heat rooms to at least 60º and use a de- option. humidifier if needed. 6. Wash your hands 3. When your container is full, tightly fasten thoroughly with soap For help reducing exposure to mold, the lid. and warm water. toxins, asthma triggers, and other housing-related health risks, request a 4. When using an empty plastic bottle, tape Teach your children not free Healthy Homes visit by calling the lid shut and write “sharps waste” on to touch needles and 867-2674 or e-mailing the bottle in large letters with a permanent to tell an adult right [email protected]. marker. away if they find one. 7 PRSRT STD Produced by: US POSTAGE Thurston County Public Works PAID 9605 Tilley Road S Olympia, WA 98512-9140 OLYMPIA WA PERMIT NO 167

Printed on recycled-content paper

ECRWSS RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER Recycle drop-off bins Recycle drop-off Newspaper. Glass bottles and jars. Tin and aluminum cans. Mixed paper. Plastic dairy tubs, bottles, jars, jugs, rigid plant pots and buckets. Corrugated cardboard. with #6 recycle symbol) (polystyrene Foam blocks and food containers. Must be clean and in a clear . (WARC only)

Recycling drop-off locations: Recycling drop-off You can drop off recycling at the WARC and the Rochester and Rainier drop boxes (see addresses in the column at the left). Items accepted at the locations recycling drop-off locations Thurston County’s accept: • • • • • • • Please place all materials loose in the bin – not in a bag (except foam). Bagged materials are difficult to separate at the recycling sorting facility.

$9 $18 $45 per ton, prorated $37 per ton, prorated $119 per ton, prorated ...... (through 12/31/2013) (through Where Do I Take My? Do I Take Where Reuse websites Facilities Thurston County’s free online exchange Thurston County’s program: www.2good2toss.com http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly Craigslist: FreeCycle: www.freecycle.org

Holidays The Waste and Recovery Center, HazoHouse and all drop boxes are closed on the following holidays only: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, Day, and July Fourth. New Year’s Hours Weekdays: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. boxes Drop Rainier: 13010 Rainier Acres Road SE. Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Rochester: 16500 Sargent Road SE. Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit www.ThurstonSolidWaste.org for drop box garbage rates. HazoHouse Take household hazardous products to HazoHouse. Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone 867-2912. HazoHouse is located next to the recycling area of the Waste and Recovery Center. Service is free for residents; businesses pay a small fee. Waste and Recovery Center Waste and Bay Road. From Located at 2418 Hogum Road exit (Exit 111) and I-5: take the Marvin onto Hogum Bay Road. head north. Turn right on your right. The center will be Rates One ton = 2,000 lbs Garbage 300 lbs or less...... More than 300 lbs per pound.) (The per-ton garbage rate is 6 cents handling For refrigerated appliances, add a $18 percent fee to the rate above. Rates include 3.6 state refuse tax. Computers, Monitors, Laptops, TVs, E-Readers program. Free through the E-Cycle Washington Take these items to the Goodwill donation station located near the recycle center. Debris Yard 300 lbs or less...... More than 300 lbs: Less than 10 yards More than 10 yards . . . There is no state refuse tax on yard waste. Thurston County maintains a database of locations where residents can reuse and recycle many items. Visit www.WhereDoITakeMy.org. Are we missing any locations? Call 867-2491 or email [email protected]. The following websites provide an excellent way to sell or give away useable items. While you’re there, you might just find some good deals on items you need. • • •

867-2674 923-0111 867-2491 867-2603 (TDD) or 1-800-525-4167 [email protected] [email protected] 754-2933 (TDD) (360) 736-4769 (long distance) 786-5494 (recorded (recorded info) 786-5494 412 Lilly Rd NE, Olympia, 98506 ...... The information on this page is correct through 12/31/13 through correct this page is on The information ...... www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehadm www.youtube.com/user/ ThurstonSolidWaste www.facebook.com/ ThurstonSolidWaste www.twitter.com/#!/ solidwastethuco . . . .

The area code for all phone numbers in this publication is 360 unless otherwise noted. is produced by Trash Talkin’ Public Works. Thurston County staff: Contact Solid Waste By phone Join the conversation online! ? Trash Miss the last Talkin’ Catch up online! Visit www.ThurstonSolidWaste.org and click “Resources.” [email protected] ...... By email Contacts Butler’s Cove Refuse Butler’s Eastern Grays Harbor (Summit Lake) Pacific Disposal Rural Refuse ...... Refuse...... Joe’s ...... www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehhw www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehipm www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehcsg www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehhm www.environmentalhealthblog.blogspot.com Solid and Hazardous Waste section (867-2664) Integrated Pest Management web Gardening guides Healthy home advice Environmental Health blog Web. . . Public Health and Social Health Services, Environmental Phone...... Address Curbside collection (haulers) Thurston County does not own or operate garbage and recycling trucks. Call your service provider for information about collection schedules. • •

The above companies are owned by Harold LeMay Enterprises, which has been purchased by Waste Connections. Compost/yard waste collection service is also available in many of the service areas. Call for more information or visit www.thurston.lemayinc.com. call 278-3525 to of Bucoda residents Town arrange for curbside trash and recycling service with LeMay Enterprises. call 753-8368 or City of Olympia residents visit www.olympiawa.gov/wastewise. Olympia provides its own trash, recycling and organics collection service. Garbage and recycling resources recycling and Garbage 8