Go Green for 2012!

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

2012 is right around the corner, what is your New Year’s Resolution?  Go green this year and help better our planet for 2012. Here are some easy steps to get started!

Recycling is very important, here is one way to help you get started! Put a separate container next to your trash can and one by your printer and keep an airtight container in your kitchen for food scraps to be composted.  According to Green Prophet, right now for each pound of aluminum recovered, Americans save the energy resources necessary to generate roughly 7.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity- enough to power a city the size of Pittsburgh for six years.

Don’t use so much electricity inside your home, turn off the lights! Just flipping a switch is one of the easiest ways to save and reduce your energy bill. If you have a lot of windows, it is not necessary to have lights on in the house during the day.  Also, switch to greener light bulbs. According to Green Prophet, Australia completely phased out incandescent bulbs in 2010, cutting an estimate 4 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2012.  Compact fluorescent lamps use only 20-30 percent of the energy required by incandescent and LEDs use only 10%.

Use your tap water instead of bottled. Nowadays they have water filtration systems that you can connect to your sink and shower as well as containers you can use.  According to Green Prophet, the energy required to produce and transport bottled water could fuel an estimated 1.5 million cars for a year, yet approximately 75% of these bottles do not get recycled and end up in landfills or littered in the streets.

Adjust your thermostat this winter. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that consumers can save up to 15% on heating and cooling bills. All you have to do is turn down the heat by 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 hours and it can reduce your bill 5-15%!

If you know someone in the office that lives near you, suggest carpooling. According to Green Prophet and the University of California Transportation center,  each shared vehicle replaces 15 personally owned vehicles There are also car share programs out there you can join.  In 2011, 26 of these programs were developed in the U.S. with more than 560,000 people sharing over 10,000 vehicles! By using a shared car when traveling in a city, you can greatly reduce your environmental impact.

There are so many other ways to go green this year; just doing a few things differently will make a big difference in the long run!

For more information give us a call at (718) 416-1656 and visit ourwebsite!



Thermostats are a Major Source of Mercury Pollution

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com



Most people don't realize, but mercury contamination has been a real issue  in New York State. Environmental Protection Agency claimed that throwing away thermostats in regular trash are a major source of contamination.

According to CBS Money Watch, mercury is highly toxic to the brain and nervous system, especially for developing infants and children. The state health department has issued health warnings against consuming fish from the Catskills, Adirondacks and nearly 100 bodies of water elsewhere due to mercury contamination.

New York State passed a law in 2005 phasing out the sale of mercury containing thermostats and banning the disposal of most consumer products containing mercury.  This law has not been enforced, considering that no effective collection programs took place for old thermostats.According to CBS Money Watch, 99% of the estimated 310,000 mercury thermostats that have been taken out of service each year in New York end up in the trash.

Over time, as little as 1 gram of airborne mercury can contaminate fish in a 20 acre lake over time, according to the interstate Mercury Education and Reduction Clearinghouse.

In New York, proposed thermostat recycling laws have been considered by the state for the past couple of years, but both have failed to pass. They are still trying to get a law passed today.

To learn more, give us a call at: 718-416-1656

Please visit our website:  www.borowiderecycling.com



Recycle or Reuse For the Holidays!

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

It’s the Holiday Season; many of you are wrapping your gifts and preparing for the big day where all of the wrapping paper will go in the trash. Think about all the paper, tissue paper, cards and gift boxes that will be thrown out this year across the country.  You may want to consider reducing the amount of waste this year while coming up with creative ways to recycle.

According to ABC news, one of the ways you can reduce the amount of paper is using color-coded wrapping paper. Assign each family member a color and you won’t need to use gift tags.  You may also want to use leftover newspapers or wallpaper to wrap the gifts to save on the amount of paper used.

Buy reusable shopping bags and reduce the amount of plastic bags being wasted. Instead of going out and buying tissue paper for your gifts,save the tissue paper from other purchases and reuse it.

Save your Christmas Cards and make into gift tags for next year! Bows,ribbons, gift bags and tissue paper can often be saved and used again the following year. You can even shred wrapping and tissue paper to use as packing or shipping material.

With all of those new gifts you received, where do they go? You may need to make some room! If you need to find space in your drawers and closets for tops, pants, etc., consider donating clothes you don’t wear anymore to your local thrift store or find a clothing collection bin.

And if you get new electronics, like an iPhone, recycle your old one. It’s now easier than ever since New York passed a law mandating that electronics manufacturers offer “free and convenient recycling of electronic waste.” You can take your items to stores that sell these electronics regularly to get recycled.

Don’t forget that you can recycle your tree in some towns. They usually pick up trees in the first week of January, and grind them for mulch! So check to see if your town recycles trees.

To find out more please give us a call at 718-416-1656 and visit our website: www.borowiderecycling.com

You can also write on our wall and let us know your recycling/reuse ideas for the Holidays!

Heads Up for New York State about your Rechargeable Batteries

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

For those of you living in New York it is now illegal to throw away rechargeable batteries in the garbage.

In December of 2010, there was a law signed by the governor called the NYS Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act, which states that we now have to take unused and worn-out rechargeable batteries to be recycled.

Now stores that sell them and the manufacturers have to accept rechargeable batteries for recycling according to Bloomberg Business Week, so that the toxic chemicals are kept out of landfills.

Most rechargeable batteries contain toxic metals that can be released into the environment when improperly disposed. These rechargeable batteries include those for laptops, cameras, cell phones and rechargeable alkaline batteries.

Those who are caught throwing away rechargeable batteries face fines of $50 for the first offense and $100 for the second.

As consumers we should make every effort to be responsible and recycle our used rechargeable batteries. For more information please give us a call at 718-416-1656 and visit our website at www.borowiderecycling.com



E-Waste on the Rise

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

Planning on getting a new ipod or Kindle for a loved one this Holiday Season?  Most people are, along with many other different electronic gadgets, but what do you do with the old ones?  Over recent years e-waste has been on the rise with so many new platforms and upgrade options. Electronics become out of date in such a short span of time these days that we need to figure out how we can dispose these high-tech gift that were under the tree last year.

According to Columbus Dispatch, the U.S. is producing millions of tons of electronic waste- or e-waste annually. The average U.S. household contains at least 24 electronic products. News Electronics states that the U.S is also the producer of the largest amounts of e-waste in the world, it is estimated that over 100 million computers, monitors and televisions become obsolete each year and it is growing each year. Also, over 130 million mobile phones in the United States and over 105 million mobile phones in Europe reach the end of their life each year and are thrown away.

What most people don’t realize is that E-waste contains more than 1,000 different substances according to News Electronics. These include toxic metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and flame retardants. During this Holiday Season and for a better 2012 we need to make our contribution to producing less e-waste. Don’t buy what you don’t need, and recycle devices that have reached the end of their life instead of throwing them out.

The e-waste recycling and reuse industry, which is fairly new, is booming, especially with the help of gold, copper and other materials’ skyrocketing value found in some electronic components.

Find out what we can do for you about your e-waste recycling needs. Give us a call at 718-416-1656 or visit our website.

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

When one think’s of recycling, the number one item that comes to mind is paper. Paper is one of the most common items to recycle.

Newspapers are most often tossed in the trash instead of recycling bins. Because of this, the New York City Subway System is proposing to have recycling bins instead of trashcans in the subways, substantially benefiting the environment.

To give you an idea of how much paper gets recycled, I’ve listed some statistics from last year: According to Forbes, the U.S. recovered 51.5 million tons of paper in 2010 and this accounts for 63.5% of the paper consumed in the U.S. AND approximately 335 lbs. for every person in America.

According to Forbes, in 2010, paper processing was an $8.9 billion dollar industry in the U.S. Nearly 77% of all U.S. papermakers use some recovered paper to make everything from newspaper to paper packaging to office paper. Recovered paper is also exported to other countries across the world such as Canada, China, India and Mexico.

Paper may seem insignificant to you, especially in a world of technology, but tons of it gets wasted! When it does get recycled, though, it gets reused in so many beneficial ways. An entire community can significantly impact the environment by recycling all paper products.

What are your thoughts? Post on our Facebook wall today!

Reasons Why Most People Don't Recycle

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

Going Green has become extremely popular in these last few years. Despite what most people believe, the majority of the U.S. is still not recycling!  Here are some key reasons why.

For many people across the country, recycling is not convenient. In some towns there are no recycling pickup programs.  People have to go on their own time to different facilities and throw out their recyclable items, which have been stored in their homes for long periods of time.  Recycling products can be confusing with only certain plastics, cans and cardboards considered recyclable, and others completely excluded. This makes things more confusing and difficult to figure out, so people opt to just stay away from it altogether.

Another key reason keeping American’s from “going-green” is economic value. Many feel that it is potentially a waste of money and do not see an immediate benefit or gratification in contributing. They rather the local government spend their tax-dollars on- what they feel are- more important causes such as education or healthcare. Besides that, recycling is not enforced in most schools therefore students and children do not even think about it.

These are serious issues that need to be corrected!  All towns across the country should have a recycling pick up along with garbage pickup program. Because many towns do not have an adequate program for recycling, it makes it hard for people to stick with it.

Whether there is a recycling pick-up program or not, there are times where the money you receive back from recycling is just not worth it to citizens. There needs to be a money incentive to make it worthwhile for people to commit to recycling.

There is a lot that needs to be done to advocate recycling and to make it accustom to daily routine in peoples’ lives, but we need to start somewhere. What are your thoughts? Does your town have curbside pickup? Share your thoughts on our Facebook Wall!

The Occupy Movement has Scattered Across the Country

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

The Occupy Wall Street Movement has been ongoing for over 2 months, spreading like wildfire over the country.  Most people claim that they are more disruptive and chaotic than being a peaceful protest.  “There have been sanitation hazards and drug overdoses, even occasional deaths and sexual assaults,” reports The Washington Post.

Other cities besides New York have been slowly continuing this outrageous form of protesting, including Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Oakland and Baltimore. City officials have been complaining about the disruptiveness of Occupy Wall Street for a long time. Recently, police officers began raiding encampments in the middle of the night, citing a public safety disaster.

The police have arrested 200 protesters in New York so far. 

“Protesters in Chicago violated a noise ordinance; a protester in New York defecated on a police officer. In Oakland, when police forcibly cleared protesters from Frank Ogawa Plaza,  due to rat infestation, leaning crews hauled away more than 100 tens, dozens of molded mattresses and 27.8 tons of trash,” (The Washington Post).

Since these concerns over the encampments in the past month, city officials from all over have looked to each other for guidance and shared what has worked for them and what has not to try and regulate this problem nationally.

Due to the lack of structure and controversy with these protests claiming to represent all but the wealthiest 1 percent, they are starting to lose some of its support.  

What do you think of the Occupy Movement? Share your thoughts on our Facebook Wall, linked HERE.

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Sky High Metal Prices Combined with Weak US Economy Has Led to Increased Theft, at Cemeteries!

 Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

The theft of thousands of vases at cemeteries across the country has brought thievery to an entirely new level. 

Sky high metal prices combined with the weak US economy in recent years have led brazen thieves to strip copper wire out of vacant homes, swipe stainless-steel beer kegs from bars, make off with manhole covers and fire hydrants, and the latest trend- stealing bronze vases from cemeteries. 

This past August, a man stole 51 bronze vases attached to grave markers in about 15 minutes, and then drove to a scrap-metal yard where police say he had already sold hundreds of vases with a replacement value of up to $600 each, (WSJ.com). He told the scrap yard that his grandfather had an old cemetery and the vases were just leftover.

In Reno, Nevada, 115 vases were stolen in August. The operations manager of the cemetery where the theft took place said it would have cost them between $5,000 and $6,000 to replace, so she was forced to buy plastic replacements. And yet another occurrence happened in Elmhurst, Illinois where 410 vases were recovered when a man was arrested (WSJ.com). 

“It’s definitely a new low,” says Lan Price, an assistant manager of Ridge Crest Memorial Park in Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina, where thieves recently stole dozens of vases. 

Vases are about “10 inches high and three inches in diameter,” and are made of bronze, “an alloy rich in copper,” (WSJ.com). They usually screw into a plate on the grave marker and are secured with a small chain. “Although the price of copper has dropped about 20% this year, most major metals prices are still near historic highs,” (WSJ.com).

Companies that sell cemetery supplies like bronze vases are beginning to offer alternatives to supplies, especially the bronze vases because of the thefts. Additionally, some cemeteries are beefing up patrols, keeping gates locked at night and/or installing motion sensors hooked up to video cameras to ward off thieves and foul play.