Recycling Starts At Home
Thursday, December 16, 1999
Follow these guidelines to ensure your recycling doesn't end up in the landfill.
Cans and bottles should be empty. Don't waste water washing them, but do scrape out excess food and dump out leftover liquid. Flatten plastic and aluminum containers, and pinch tin cans shut. Remove lids from bottles, but don't bother removing labels.
Thoroughly wash out peanut butter and syrup containers; their contents can jam recycling equipment.
Cardboard can be recycled. Place flattened boxes underneath your paper recycling bin at the curb.
Separate newspapers from other waste paper. (In the city of Monterey, paper does not need to be sorted.) At the curb, place newspapers in the recycling bin. Place other paper in a brown paper bag and put on top of the newspapers. Magazines, phone books, junk mail, file folders, white and colored paper, pizza boxes, cereal boxes (with liner removed), and egg cartons are all recyclable. Waxed, tissue, and carbon paper is not recyclable.
Compostable yard waste includes clippings, dead plants, and weeds. Shrub and tree trimmings should be no thicker than six inches in diameter and less than four feet in length. Don't put rocks, ashes, soil, palm fronds, or animal waste in your yard-waste bin.
If your city does not offer yard-waste pick-up (Marina and Seaside do not), encourage your City Council to implement a curbside program.
Sources: Waste Management Companies, Monterey Regional Waste Management District.
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