Make Your Holidays Green!

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

The holiday season often brings out our gluttonous side due to the overwhelming amount of food and gifts we have all come to expect.  Every year our mailboxes are stuffed with holiday cards and trips to the grocery store become more and more frequent. Between office parties, “friendsgiving”, and the usual holiday gatherings we find ourselves eating our way through the winter months not considering the consequences. This behavior affects more than just our waistlines. We want to remind you to be conscious of disposing waste this season. Check out these Green alternatives to holiday traditions:

• Bring your own reusable bags when you go grocery shopping.  Many stores will reward you with a discount! 
• Send an e-card! There are many electronic services that allow you to custom design your own personal e-card including photos!
• Keep your leftovers fresh with recyclable aluminum foil, rather than plastic wrap!
• Out with the old, in with the new! Rather than disposing of used and outdated cell phones or clothing, donate the items to a shelter or charity!

For more recycling tips check out http://www.grownyc.org/holidaytips. 

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp. is a full service provider of waste management services.  Click here to contact us for more information on how we can assist you in your stride to go green!

New York Makes Strides For Climate Sustainability

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

Mayor Mike Bloomberg continues to fight for climate sustainability with the proposal of banning foam food containers from being used.  New Yorkers alone dispose of 23,000 foam containers per year and while street vendors and restaurateurs prefer these heat-keeping containers, they have proven to have a slow breakdown rate within landfills.  

The banning of this container, which has already been implemented in some west coast cities, will result in a higher cost for take-away products by vendors and restaurant owners.  As a result, there is much controversy revolved around the issue.

The future of the foam container in New York will be up for debate this winter.  For more recycling information visit our website at http://www.borowide.com/.   

Holiday Recycling

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

The Holidays are a great opportunity to incorporate recycling into your daily routine.  With Thanksgiving coming up, many of us are reflecting on what we're thankful for.  At Boro Wide Recycling, we're thankful for this great planet we live on, and plan to spread the word to others about how they can help to take care of it!

Did you know that the there is 25% more trash produced during the Holiday season?  This amounts to a lot more waste.  What a perfect opportunity to recycle.  There are a lot of holiday items that you may have not realized are recyclable, especially items used for decorating.  Before the season begins, here are a list of items to "be in the know" about:

- Unwanted/Broken Holiday Lights
- Paper/Plastic Lawn Decorations
- Wrapping Paper (You can even re-use it!)
- Gift Boxes
- Used Cooking Oil
- Batteries
- Holiday Cards (Think GREEN and send out E-Cards this year!)
- Christmas Tree
- Wreaths/Garland

All the above items should be recycled this holiday season.  We hope you'll participate!  If we work together to recycle everyday, we can make the world a better place.  Call Boro-Wide Recycling for all you residential and commercial recycling needs!

November 15th is America Recycles Day!

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

Did you know that tomorrow, November 15th is America Recycles Day?  It’s a nationally recognized day chosen to raise awareness on why recycling matters and to encourage people to get involved.  The day serves as a perfect platform for recycling education. 

We’d like to share a few tips we found on America Recycles Day’s website:

Tip #1: Plastic bottle caps are usually recyclable along with the bottle! Check with your  local solid waste & recycling office to be sure, but many recycling programs accept bottle caps, made from #5 and #2 plastics.

Tip #2 Half is better than none! Although you can’t recycle your whole pizza box, you can tear off and recycle the top half, as long as it’s grease-free. As always, check with your local solid waste and recycling office to be sure. Keep this tip in mind if you’re picking up a pizza or ordering in this weekend!

Tips #3: When it comes to recycling,every community is different. Do some research to make sure you’re recycling all the materials accepted in your community. Check with your local solid waste and recycling office or americarecyclesday.org/find-recycling for information on your local recycling options.

Tip #4: A trick up your sleeve: Many recycling programs don’t accept paper cups because of the waxy lining. Don’t forget to recycle the cardboard sleeve!

Tip #5:  Look beyond the daily paper. Does your community recycling program accept cereal and tissue boxes? Magazines? Mail? Check with your local solid waste and recycling office to make sure you’re doing all you can to save trees!

Tip #6: Plastic bag and film recycling doesn’t stop with grocery bags. Recycle your dry cleaning, newspaper, & bread bags and also the plastic film on products like paper towels. 

Tip #7: Reduce and reuse first to shrink your environmental footprint! Reduce your unwanted mail by unsubscribing via CatalogChoice.org.

Tip #8: What you don’t put in your recycling bin is just as important as what you do recycle. Know what’s recyclable in your community so you don’t contaminate the recycling process.

Tip #9: Keep bags for both trash and recycling in your car. Pre-sorting makes it easier to recycle on the go.

Tip #10:  Recycling: it’s not just in the kitchen. Don’t trash your and shampoo bottles and toilet paper rolls just because they’re in the bathroom!

Tip #11: Can it! Metals are among the most valuable materials in the waste stream and almost all recyclers welcome aluminum and steel. So, recycle your cans!

Tip #12: Answer the call to recycle your wireless phone! 100 million of them go out of use each year, according to the U.S. EPA. Donate your out-of-use cell phone to a local charity or find a drop-off facility near you (AmericaRecyclesDay.org/find-recycling).

Tip #13: Don’t exclude your food. Not ready to dive into composting just yet? Toss your egg shells and coffee grounds into the garden instead of the trash. You’ll be diverting a little waste and enriching your soil at the same time.

Tip# 14: Close the loop by buying recycled content material. Recycling is the first step in the cycle, then the material is processed, and the last step is up to you:  Keep recycled content products in demand.

Tip #15: You don’t need to rinse out your glass bottles and jars before recycling!

We hope you'll take the time to spread the word.  Looking for a recycling or waste management solution?  Call Boro-Wide Recycling at (718) 416-1656 today!

5 Things You Didn't Know About the Recycling Industry

Dropping a plastic bottle in the recycling bin can be very simple, which is why most people do not think about what happens to it after.  Where does it go?  It falls into the hands of a $500 billion global industry that impact the life of every American, and likely employs more people than any other industry except agriculture.  Here are 5 things you need to know about recycling if you hope to understand how and why it is already transformed your world, whether or not you practice good recycling habits. 

1. Only around 60% of the recyclable waste generated in the US annually is recycled in the US.  The rest is exported, mostly to China.
2. China is both the top importer of recyclable waste, also the world's top recycler. 
3. Before the USA began exporting its recyclables around the world, the world sent its recyclables here.  In the 19th century, when Americans were desperate for steel to build the nation's railways, steelmakers imported hundreds of thousand of tons of steel scrap from Europe. 
4. The media has depicted the so called e-waste (electronic waste like computers, smartphones etc.)  as being dumped on the developing world by the US.  Earlier this year, the US International Trade Commision released the most comprehensive study of the American e-wast industry ever.  It concluded that only .13% of the 4.4 million tons of e-waste generated by America in 2011 was exported for "final disposal.
5. The American automobile is still the world's most recycled product, by weight. 

Remember that the next time you bring your recyclables to the trash room, you are not only committing a good deed on behalf of the environment, you are contributing to a global trade that predates your grandparents.  For more information on the facts above please visit http://goo.gl/Rkjnvo.

Call Boro-Wide Recycling for all of you recycling needs, residential and commercial.718-416-1656.

NYC Restaurant Challenge

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

New York City is one of a handful of cities that is working to keep food waste out of landfills.  Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a lot to do with the recycling efforts of many of NYC's citizens.   This year 100 if the city's 24,000 restaurants signed on to the city's voluntary pilot program and committed to recycle their food scraps.  Mayor Bloomberg has recently introduced legislation to the city council to mandate the City's largest restaurants to separate their food waste by 2014.  The head of the New York State Restaurant Association worries that the infrastructure is just not available to accomplish this lofty goal. Find out more about the NYC Restaurant Challenge: Recycle All Food Waste here: http://goo.gl/5vwt91

Call Boro-Wide Recycling for all of you recycling needs, residential and commercial.
718-416-1656.

Producers Should Shoulder More of the Recycling Cost

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

Over the past 11 years, Mayor Bloomberg has made great progress to help improve the environment for New York City, like planting hundreds of thousands of trees, reducing indoor air pollution by banning smoking in restaurants and bars, and creating more than 350 miles of bike lanes in the five boroughs.   These are great strides to improve our environment, but he has neglected the quantity of waste that the city sends to landfills, until recently.  The outgoing Mayor announced a major expansion of the types of plastics New Yorkers can toss into their recycling bins. 
Why should the burden fall upon the taxpayers?   Who should be responsible for what happens to consumer products and packaging when we're through with them?  For the most part, our current systems is very lenient with producers of single-use plastics, allowing them to offload costs related to disposal onto the taxpayers.  The taxpayers pay for collection and transfer to recycling facilities, or landfills. 
Things are changing, more states, cities and concerned individuals have begun voicing their demands that producers of consumer goods take a greater responsibility for their products at the end of their useful lives. For more information on the problem at hand and what is currently being done please visit http://goo.gl/I3wPg2.

Boro-Wide Recycling is dedicated to creating a better world through recycling.  Please contact us for all your recycling and waste removal needs, residential or commercial!

Things You Never Knew Were Recyclable

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

Sometimes recycling takes creativity and also some knowledge of the industry.  It can be confusing deciding what is recyclable and where to dispose of it.  Recycling can really help our environment and also make it a healthier place for us to live.  It is not always easy to know exactly what can be recycled, there are some great recyclable items that are available in your everyday life that you would never think to recycle. 

• Hair- Human Hair is compostable and recyclable.  The hair from your brush or fur from your pet holds a lot of useful nitrogen that can be thrown in a compost pile.  You can donate your hair to create booms that soak up oil spills.
• Jeans- Donating your jeans to Goodwill is always a good option.  But if they are too raggedy, they can be recycled to make insulation products, to be used for interior and exterior walls and ceiling applications. 
• Cotton Swabs- Cotton is also a good material for a compost bin.  Cotton balls, cotton swabs, lint from the dryer and even old shredded cotton and wool clothing can go into your compost.
• Keys- Keys are made of valuable metal, programs like Keys for Kindness raise money for Multiple Sclerosis through recycling keys.
• Golf Balls- Most golf balls are made in two or three parts.  A two piece ball is composed of just rubber and plastic which are obviously recyclable.

For a full list of obscure recyclable items please visit http://goo.gl/n7yHVH.  Call Boro-Wide Recycling for all of your recycling and waste removal needs residential or commercial.