Health & Fitness
The Do's and Don'ts of Recycling in Albany
This column is written on behalf of the City of Albany's Sustainability Committee, to provide info and local resources to improve impacts on the environment in a cost-effective manner.
We know, we know! .
You put the cans, bottles and paper in the right bin. You might even put your food scraps in the green bin, and possibly even have you own worm composter.
But for most of us, there are those questionable items.
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Can I recycle Styrofoam peanuts? Can fish heads go in the green bin?
November is recycling month, and we’re here to get the recycling facts “sorted out."
Find out what's happening in Albanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Albany’s residential and commercial recycling, garbage and composting collection service is provided of Alameda County.
Alameda County has a website, stopwaste.org, which has a wealth of information on recycling, composting and waste disposal.
Here is some basic information we gleaned and summarized:
DO RECYCLE: Newspapers; mixed paper; junk mail and catalogs; phone books; brown paper bags; egg cartons; cereal and shoe boxes; corrugated cardboard; steel and tin cans; aluminum cans; aluminum foil; empty aerosol cans; glass containers of any color; plastic containers (numbers 1- 7) including clamshells; scrap metal up to 10 pounds (must fit into cart with lid closed); bagged plastic bags and plastic film.
DON’T INCLUDE IN YOUR RECYCLING BIN: Styrofoam containers; Styrofoam “peanuts”; window panes; light bulbs.
DO PUT IN THE GREEN BIN: Vegetables; fruits; grains; meat; fish; dairy. Also, food contaminated paper, including: pizza boxes; paper plates and cups; paper towels and napkins; milk and juice cartons.
DON’T PUT OUT FOR COLLECTION: hazardous waste (this includes florescent light bulbs, household batteries, paint, cleaners, car products, pesticides, etc.). You can take batteries to the Albany Community Center.
Most household hazardous waste should be taken to the Alameda County Household Hazardous Waste facility in Oakland. Electronics can be taken to the Alameda County Computer Resource Center. They’ll recycle just about anything that you can plug into a power outlet.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Nov. 15 is America Recycles Day, the only nationally recognized day dedicated to the promotion of recycling in the United States. See if you can go trash-free for a day!
The next time you see that empty can on the ground, remember that recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours.[1] Recycling is good for the economy and the environment. I bet you already knew that!
Coming in November: The Albany City Council has approved a . The agreement includes a number of new services and opportunities to increase the city’s waste diversion rate.
We’ll keep Albany Patch readers apprised of the new service opportunities!
