Recycle, Re-use, Help Reduce Waste and SAVE$$$$$$$$$$$$

You can save up to $4.00 per month with our new Recycle Waste Service

All of us at Select Sanitation are working hard to help you save money on your trash bill and at the same time reduce waste as well. We feel that the old way of doing things has worked but not as well as it should. It seems as though the trash industry does not reward people that help us save on waste and the people that generate the most waste do not pay any extra for their service. We are now going to offer two levels of service, one for people that recycle a small amount each week and another for those that are big into recycling. If you recycled each week, the items we accept, you could reduce your waste by at least 70%, if not a whole lot more. We offer a huge list of recyclable items we accept

Our two levels of service are listed below: Please Click here to Review our Recycle list so you can see just how many items that can be recycled.

Traditional Waste Service: Includes a 95 Gallon Garbage container and a 20 Gallon recycle bin. Waste and recycles are picked up once a week. We use two separate trucks, one for waste and the other for recyclable material. Recycles do not have to be sorted, all materials are place in recycle bin. We place them in a compactor truck a take to the recycle facility and they put it on a conveyor belt and sort the materials. Please visit our recycle page for a list of all items we take at the moment.

New Recycle Waste Program: Includes a 95 Gallon Container to be used for recycling. Garbage will be bagged and place next to the can or customer can provide their own 32 gallon Rubbermaid can. Customers will only be allowed no more than 3 bags of garbage weekly. If you recycle properly, up to 85% of your trash will easily be recyclable material, there fore you can save up to $4.00 over traditional price because you are reducing waste and landfill costs. This way you can help us save money and you will save money and are doing your part to reduce waste

Read the articles below for other Recycle tips!

Don’t throw away those exercise videos and ubiquitous AOL CDs. Jim Williams wants you to mail old videotapes and CDs to him, so that more than 40 disabled staffers at his ACT Recycling in Columbia, Missouri can recycle them. And, oh, don’t toss out those used Fed-Ex envelopes or broken smoke detectors; their manufacturers take them back for recycling.

Indeed, these days, it seems that more cast-offs than ever can be recycled. No matter where you live, you can recycle a wide range of discards—aseptic juice packages, printer cartridges, ordinary batteries, iPods, PDA's, and even cell phones.
Surprised? Recycling has leapfrogged ahead, meaning if you haven’t checked the recycling scene since the mid-1990s, it’s possible that much of what you thought you knew is wrong. Not only can you recycle more things, but your discards are very much in demand, perhaps more than you realize.
Get this: Recycling and reuse businesses now employ about as many people as the auto industry, if not more, according to a 2001 “U.S. Recycling Economic Information Study” commissioned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and several states through an agreement with the National Recycling Coalition. At least 1.1 million people now work in the industry, more than triple the jobs in mining. Business Week in February pegged the number of auto factory workers at about 950,000. Demand from industrializing China and India is helping spur the U.S. recycling industry, which now provides a “major source of raw materials,” according to Jerry Powell, editor of Resource Recycling magazine.
“Without recycling, given current virgin raw material supplies, we could not print the daily newspaper, build a car, or ship a product in a cardboard box,” says Powell. “Recycling is not some feel-good activity; it is one of the backbones of global economic development.” To his way of thinking, recovering cast-offs and putting them to good use “are key ingredients to industrial growth and stability.”

Is the Job Getting Done?
And yet, there is a problem. It becomes obvious when peering into a garbage can at a community festival or in the dumpster behind your local shopping mall. Curiously, while recycling has grown to more than 9,000 curbside programs nationwide, a greater percentage of recyclable plastic bottles and aluminum cans are ending up in the regular garbage.
Aluminum can recycling has dropped steadily, from a 1992 high of 65 percent of cans to 45 percent by 2004, according to the Container Recycling Institute. The Aluminum Association puts the latter figure at 51 percent. Plastic bottles fare worse: While nearly 40 percent of PET plastic bottles were recycled in 1995, only about half that many—21.6 percent—were recycled in 2004, according to the National Association for PET Container Resources. Powell says recycling levels exceed 50 percent for such materials as corrugated cartons and steel. 

Books
First, consider selling books to used bookstores or online at such sites as Amazon.com. Or donate them to libraries, thrift stores or the International Book Project (888-999-2665, www.intlbookproject.org). No go? Some curbside recycling programs, including New York City’s, accept paperbacks, comic books and other soft-cover books. Hardbacks, too, are accepted for recycling on the Stanford University campus and during special monthly “Electronics & Books Recycling Days” in Kane County, Ill. Check your recycling program’s rules.

Car Batteries, Motor Oil, Oil Filters, Antifreeze
Many auto-parts stores and service centers that sell these items will take your old ones for recycling; to find locations near you, go to Earth911.org. Nearly 40 states have laws ensuring consumers can return old car batteries; to view your state’s status, go to BatteryCouncil.org.

Carpet and Padding
Ask your carpet dealer if his or her company has access to a carpet recycling network, which is likeliest in California, says Bob Peoples, executive director of the carpet industry’s Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE). You may strike out. Trouble is, there is no routine system for recycling old carpet, says Peoples. The picture should begin to brighten by the end of 2007. “We’re trying to build the infrastructure for collection around the country,” says Paul Ashman, head of Environmental Recovery and Consolidation Services (866-873-2244). “It’s an industry that’s just beginning.”
If you’re in the commercial sector, Peoples’ organization advises calling your mill representative, who can work with you to get your carpet recycled for a fee. Find potential contacts and locations of carpet reclamers at CarpetRecovery.org.

Cell Phones, Pagers, PDA's

Drop them off at Staples office supply stores or go to CollectiveGood.com, where you’ll choose a charity to benefit before shipping them to: CollectiveGood, 4508 Bibb Boulevard, Suite B-10, Tucker, GA 30084. Many programs accept cell phones (which have an average life span of 18 months), including police stations and Call to Protect (www.DonateaPhone.com), which gives phones to domestic violence agencies. The nonprofit Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp. recycles phones and gives a portion of proceeds to charity; for drop-off sites near you, go to Call2Recycle.org or call 877-2-RECYCLE. Alternatively, get cash, $2 to $100-plus, for newer-model cell phones from CellForCash.com (800-503-8026). It is now illegal in California to toss cell phones in the trash.

Clothing
Thrift stores want usable clothes, but not tattered items. Turn frayed or torn clothing into rags for painting and cleaning at home. In Vermont’s Chittenden County, residents can take clear bags of clean, dry clothing and linens to the solid waste department’s drop-off centers for no fee. Also, consider joining or hosting a local clothes swap event (learn more at www.swaporamarama.org).

Computers

Give your computer to charity or a school if it’s still good; find possible outlets at ShareTechnology.org or Earth911.org. Broken? Obsolete? That’s another story. Ever since “the dirty little secret of the high-tech revolution”—the dumping of toxic electronic waste on developing nations—made national news in 2002 with the release of a graphic report by Basel Action Network and four other groups, e-waste has been a touchy issue for consumers. To see a list of recyclers who’ve signed pledges to be good stewards, go to www.ban.org/pledge/Locations.html.
Alternatively, ask your community’s hazardous waste program for recommendations of responsible recyclers. Seattle’s “Take It Back Network,” for instance, lists local recyclers who’ve pledged to recycle responsibly and not ship waste to developing nations. Find that list at www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/electronics/index.asp.
About 20 states have passed or considered legislation that would require manufacturers to recycle their computers. That’s an approach supported by Dell and HP. Dell will take back certain Dell and non-Dell monitors, desktops, towers, notebooks, printers and peripherals. Example: recycling a PC and a monitor would cost you $20 to cover home pickup, shipment and recycling. Fee may be waived if you buy a new Dell computer. Get instructions at www.Dell.com/recycle. Manufacturer HP will take back any computer hardware from any maker. That includes printers, scanners, fax machines, monitors, handheld devices, plus their cables, mice, keyboards or other external components. The company says they’ll be reused or recycled “in a way that conserves resources.” Fee: $13 to $34 per item. Get details at http://tinyurl.com/57hz.

Eyeglasses
Drop them off at LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, BJ’s Optical, the optical stores at Sears or Target, or your local Lions Club. Refurbished glasses are delivered to developing countries.

Fluorescent Lights
In San Francisco, where in February it became illegal to dump fluorescent bulbs in the garbage, several hardware stores accept them, including Brownie’s, Cliff’s Variety and Cole Hardware. Check the rules of your community’s hazardous waste program, which may accept the bulbs at solid-waste drop-off sites, as in Vermont’s Chittenden County. For a list of companies that say they recycle the spent bulbs, go to Lamprecycle.org.

Fruit Rinds, Veggie Scraps, Coffee Grounds, Tea Bags
Turn them into rich compost for your garden or houseplants by starting a compost bin or worm bin—even in New York City, no matter how small your space, as the New York City Compost Project urges. Find step-by-step instructions for starting an indoor worm bin or backyard compost bin at www.NYCCompost.org.

iPods

If a friend or loved one doesn't’t want your hand-me-down and if selling your iPod on eBay isn’t your thing, then consider Apple’s recycling program. Take an unwanted iPod, iPod mini or iPod photo to any Apple store. You’ll get a minor (10 percent) price break on any new iPod bought that day. The company says your oldie will be processed domestically.

Magazines, Catalogs, Phone Books
Friends or family may want your old magazines. If not, surprise, your curbside recycling program likely accepts magazines and catalogs; call yours to check. Phone books are accepted any time by some recycling programs, as in Meridian, Idaho and Atlantic County, New Jersey, though yearly phone-book recycling events are the norm in many places.
Too few people seem to know that magazine recycling has expanded considerably since the 1980s, when recycling programs tended to forbid glossies, according to ReMix, a National Recycling Coalition program first launched in Boston and Maryland’s Prince Georges County in 2004 to encourage magazine recycling. Case in point: Only 31 to 35 percent of magazines in Wisconsin are recycled, while programs there are doing a better job capturing other items.

Miscellany (Crayons, Art Supplies, Wine Corks, Fabric)
Many states have “material exchanges” where odd stuff is collected and made available to the public for use. Outdated calendars, office paper that is used on one side, wallpaper, flooring samples, crayons and other stuff is gladly accepted by Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts in Eugene, Oregon, whose credo is “creativity is the solution to our garbage problem!” To see if there’s a materials exchange near you, search Google.com for “materials exchange” or call your local hazardous waste department.

Newspaper, Aluminum Cans, Metal Cans

Curbside recycling programs traditionally accept these mainstays; if yours doesn't’t, the nearest scrap yard wants them. Alternatively, ask around to learn whether a local charity collects aluminum cans to raise money. Pull tabs from aluminum cans are welcomed by Ronald McDonald houses, which trade them for cash (www.rmhc.org).

Paint
Your community’s household hazardous waste program will take paint cans and possibly recycle leftover paint into newly formulated paints available for resale, as happens in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Portland, Oregon. Some nonprofit organizations welcome usable paint; to check locally, go to Earth911.org. Empty dried-out paint cans without lids are accepted as part of the regular curbside recycling pickup program in such places as New York City and Kane County, Illinois. Check your program.

Paper, Cardboard Boxes
Chances are that your curbside recycling program accepts more types of paper these days than just flattened cardboard boxes and newspapers. Los Angeles residents, for instance, can also recycle clean and dry computer paper, ledger paper, wrapping, arts and craft paper, mail, flyers, telephone books, note cards, blueprints, magazines, file folders, paper bags, Post-it notes, catalogs and all envelopes including those with windows. They also can toss in “chipboard” boxes including empty rolls of toilet paper, cereal boxes, frozen food boxes, shoe boxes and detergent boxes. Check your program for its latest rules.

Plastic Bags
Use supermarket bags as kitchen garbage bags or as pooper-scoopers for dog and cat waste. Some supermarkets recycle bags; check for a bin at the store entrance. Your curbside recycling program may also recycle plastic bags, so call to check. Dog parks often invite the public to stock their makeshift pooper-scooper-bag dispensers; stuff them with grocery bags, clean produce bags, those plastic sleeve-length bags that come with home-delivered newspapers, and crumb-free bread bags.

Plastic Containers
Community curbside recycling programs often accept plastic bottles marked “1” or “2” on the bottom. Rules for other plastics vary wildly from place to place. Seattle advises residents to ignore altogether the numbers stamped on container bottoms and recycle only plastic bottles, tubs, jugs, jars and pill bottles with a “neck and shoulders,” such as vitamin bottles, but not cylindrical prescription bottles. Meanwhile, some community recycling programs nowadays accept plastic containers marked “1” through “7,” as in Palm Beach County, Florida and rural Franklin County in Massachusetts. Check your recycling program for its latest rules. You may learn that it has started accepting a wider range of plastics than you thought. Otherwise, see if there is a plastic lumber manufacturer in your area, because such businesses will almost certainly take any type of plastic.

Packaging “Peanuts”
Most UPS Stores accept clean foam peanuts; find nearby stores via 800-789-4623. Alternatively, search LooseFillPackaging.com or call the Peanut Hotline at 800-828-2214.

Pots, Pans, Aerosol Cans, Aluminum Foil

In New York City, it’s the law: Residents must place all of that stuff in recycling bins. Failure to separate them from the garbage or to clean up aluminum first can lead to a ticket. Yet, many recycling programs don’t accept any or some of those items. Los Angeles, for instance, takes clean aluminum foil and aerosol cans, not the rest. Moral: Check your program’s latest rules. Strike out? See your local scrap yard.  

Printer Cartridges
First, save money by refilling inkjet cartridges a few times through ink-refill services offered by such providers as Printpal.com (888-772-1361), CarrotInk.com (877-322-7768), and Walgreens stores. Then take exhausted cartridges to OfficeMax or Office Depot, which will trade you certain models for a free ream of recycled paper. Staples trades them for a $3-off store coupon. Alternatively, Freerecycle.com promises to pay up to $3.60 apiece for nearly 80 types of ink cartridges.

Priority Mail (Tyvek) Envelopes
Tyvek-brand envelopes, such as those used by Fed-Ex and for U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, can be shipped back to Tyvek for recycling. If you have fewer than 25, turn one of them inside out, then stuff it with the rest. Ship to: Terry Fife, Tyvek(r) Recycling Specialist, 5401 Jefferson Davis Highway, Spot 197, Room 231, Richmond, VA 23234, (866)338-9835.

Records
Sell your old records to an independent music store or at Gemm.com, the self-described “world’s largest music marketplace,” or donate them to a thrift store.

Smoke Detectors
They last only 10 years and contain radioactive Americium 241, so send dead ones back to the manufacturer. Send First Alert, BRK and Family Guard Smoke Detectors to: BRK Brands, 25 Spur Drive, El Paso, TX 79906, (800)323-9005; www. first alert.com. On the front of the package, write “For Disposal.” Up to five smoke alarms are accepted for free.
Ship American Sensors and Dicon Smoke Detectors by surface mail to: Dicon Inc., 20 Steelcase Road West, Unit #3, Markham, Ontario L3R 1B2, Canada, (800) 387-4219. On the front of the package, write “For Recycling, $0 Value.”

Styrofoam

It’s easiest to reuse white block foam as packing material. But if there’s a place that manufactures it somewhere near you, that business likely will accept it, says John Gogol, president of PC Plastics in Oregon. Residents of Portland, Boulder, Colorado, and Seattle have it easier: they can take block foam to certain drop-off sites.

Videotapes, Floppy Disks, Zip Disks, DVDs, CDs, Jewel Cases

Ship them to Missouri via media mail, where disabled employees of the nonprofit Alternative Community Training erase and repackage donated media for resale under the GreenDisk label. Download a donor form from ACTRecycling.org. Send items to: Alternative Community Training, 2200 Burlington, Columbia, MO 65202, (800) 359-4607.
Alternatively, you can ship your stuff directly to GreenDisk through its Technotrash Pack-IT service (800-305-DISK, www.greendisk.com). For $5.95, you can ship up to 20 pounds.
Wire Hangers
Wire hangers may be unacceptable to Joan Crawford, but they’re taken in by some dry cleaners and by curbside recycling programs in such communities as New York City, Seattle and Palo Alto, California. Salvage yards may also take them.

Videotapes, Floppy Disks, Zip Disks, DVDs, CDs, Jewel Cases

Ship them to Missouri via media mail, where disabled employees of the nonprofit Alternative Community Training erase and repackage donated media for resale under the GreenDisk label. Download a donor form from ACTRecycling.org. Send items to: Alternative Community Training, 2200 Burlington, Columbia, MO 65202, (800) 359-4607.
Alternatively, you can ship your stuff directly to GreenDisk through its Technotrash Pack-IT service (800-305-DISK, www.greendisk.com). For $5.95, you can ship up to 20 pounds.

Wire Hangers
Wire hangers may be unacceptable to Joan Crawford, but they’re taken in by some dry cleaners and by curbside recycling programs in such communities as New York City, Seattle and Palo Alto, California. Salvage yards may also take them.