Tips For Recycling In Schools

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

 

With most schools opening their doors next week for the first time since last year, most teachers and administrators are putting the final touches on their set ups and are getting ready to house this year's group of students. With so many students, teachers and other faculty members utilizing the resources in schools all day long, it's no surprise that a great deal of trash piles up by the end of the week.

This year, we encourage all students, teachers and school administrators to focus on their recycling habits to ensure that the materials and items that can be recycled end up in the proper waste bin after they are used. See below for a few tips that everyone can start utilizing to improve recycling and reduce waste in schools:

• Reduce the amount of handouts that are distributed during each class session.
• Always copy and print on both sides of the paper.
• Post assignments and announcements on a digital platform that students can access.
• Keep a scrap paper box in the classroom to collect pieces of paper that can be reused.
• Reuse office or classroom supplies such as folders and binders whenever possible.
• Encourage students to bring their lunches in lunch boxes rather than brown paper bags.
• Buy school supplies or cafeteria food in bulk.
• Update student mailing lists to avoid sending out letters to those who don't need them.
• Start a school supply exchange where students can trade school supplies with one another.
• Collect all unclaimed items at the end of each week and place them somewhere all students can access them for further use.

At Boro Wide Recycling, we work to keep our planet safe by providing comprehensive recycling services to commercial and residential customers. Join us in our efforts! Contact us to learn how we can help you in your recycling efforts, and don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest news in recycling efforts and eco-friendly tips.  

Tips For Saving Water At Home

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

 

Aside from recycling and monitoring the types of items you use and purchase, there are many other ways that you can be environmentally conscious and participate in the go green initiative. Specifically focusing on your habits at home, watching the amount of water you use each day is one of the simplest ways you can start to go green and help reduce the amount of natural resources that are wasted each day.

Are you ready to make a change? The following are a few tips that can use to start saving water in your home:

1. Install a low-flow shower head and take shorter showers.
2. Check your toilet periodically to ensure that there are no leaks.
3. If when flushing your toilet the handle gets stuck in the "flush position," replace or adjust it to prevent water from running.
4. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth or shaving.
5. When taking a bath, only fill up the tub about half way and cover the drain before starting to fill up.
6. Only use the dishwasher when you have a full load of dishes that need to be cleaned.
7. Avoid rinsing off the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.
8. Limit the number of loads of laundry you do each week by only doing wash when you have enough dirty clothes.
9. Insulate your water pipes to avoid wasting water while waiting for it to heat up.
10. Replace leaky faucets as soon as you notice them.

For more ways to save water at home, click here.

At Boro Wide Recycling, we work to keep our planet safe by providing comprehensive recycling services to commercial and residential customers. Join us in our efforts! Contact us to learn how we can help you in your recycling efforts, and don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest news in recycling efforts and eco-friendly tips. 

5 Items You SHOULDN'T Put In Your Recycling Bin!

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

 

When you hear or read anything about recycling, it usually has to do with why you should recycle or the importance of recycling as much as you can. However, it's important to realize that not everything can be recycled, and by placing the wrong items in the recycling bin, you could actually be hurting the environment more than you're helping it.

To help you improve your recycling efforts and become a better recycler, we've compiled a list of items that you should never put in your recycling bin. Check them out below!

• Pizza boxes
• Juice boxes
• Paper towels or napkins
• Plastic bottle caps
• Styrofoam

Although these items are made from recyclable materials, such as paper or plastic, their overall composition makes it difficult for them to be processed in your local recycling facility. For example, items that have food residue, such as pizza boxes or napkins, cannot be recycled the same way that items without it can be. This is due to the impact that food has on the makeup of the cardboard or paper. Furthermore, although plastic bottle caps are, well, plastic, local recycling agencies only accept certain kinds of plastic! That's why it's so important to glance over your plastic products and see what number they are labeled with - this will provide you with the insight you need to know whether or not it belongs on the curb for recycling.

For a more detailed list of items that don't belong in the recycling bin, click here.

At Boro Wide Recycling, we work to keep our planet safe by providing comprehensive recycling services to commercial and residential customers. Join us in our efforts! Contact us to learn how we can help you in your recycling efforts, and don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest news in recycling efforts and eco-friendly tips.  

Paper Recycling in New York City: How It Works

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

Although the rise of computer technology has encouraged many to go paperless, paper still makes up a large chunk of the trash that is produced everyday. In order to improve the city's recycling efforts and reduce the amount of paper that ends up in landfills, paper recycling has been mandatory in New York City since 1989. But what happens to the paper after we've done our part and put in the recycling bin? We'll tell you!

According to NY1, paper pickups in New York City start at 6 a.m when roll call takes place at each of the 59 Sanitation district garages. After being given their assignments, drivers and their partners take out their trucks and begin to travel through New York City neighborhoods, collecting the paper that is put out for recycling. Once drivers have completed their routes across Manhattan, all of the paper winds up at the 59th Street Marine Transfer Station on the Hudson river. From there, the paper is emptied into barges which transfer it to a private recycling facility located on Staten Island.

After the paper has reached the Pratt Industries Staten Island Paper Mill, employees work to remove any additional items that may have ended up in the trucks, i.e metal. After the materials are sorted the paper goes into a pulper machine where hot water breaks down the paper's fibers. Once this step is complete, the pulp-like mixture that is made passes through a variety of other machines where it is cleaned, dried and recreated into new sheets of paper!

While the end result of the recycling process is new paper, the recycling plant actually transforms all of the recycled materials into boxes for companies such as Home Depot and Kraft.

For more information on paper recycling in New York City, click here.

At Boro Wide Recycling, we work to keep our planet safe by providing comprehensive recycling services to commercial and residential customers. Join us in our efforts! Contact us to learn how we can help you in your recycling efforts, and don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest news in recycling efforts and eco-friendly tips.  

Eco-friendly "Back to School" Tips

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

 

It's that time of year again, when parents and children are bustling through school supply and clothing stores to prepare for the new school year. While back to school shopping can be an exciting time, it can also be a very costly time for parents with more than one child who requires bulk purchases of pens, pencils, notebooks and folders. Additionally, you mustn't forget about the new backpacks, lunchboxes and clothing items that are needed to replace last year's worn out goods.

This back to school season, we suggest being an eco-friendly shopper. We'll tell you how! The following are a few "green" back to school tips that you can use when you get your little ones prepared for the big day:

1. Always survey last year's left overs to see if anything can be reused. People are often surprised to see that they have unused pencils and loose leaf paper that can easily be placed in this year's supply pile. 
2. Instead of sending children with bottled beverages to school, purchase a reusable water bottle or other beverage container that they can refill and reuse each day.
3. If your budget allows, spend a little bit more money on the backpack you buy your child this year. By buying something that can withstand a bit more wear and tear, you increase your chances of being able to reuse the same product next year.
4. When shopping for clothes, consider shopping in stores with eco-friendly values. Many clothing stores offer recycling programs where you can donate old clothes when you come in for new ones, so do some research to find a participating store near you.
5. Look for school supplies that are made from recyclable materials. If you can't find any stores near you, think about looking for some on the Internet - you might even find better deals!

At Boro Wide Recycling, we work to keep our planet safe by providing comprehensive recycling services to commercial and residential customers. Join us in our efforts! Contact us to learn how we can help you in your recycling efforts, and don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest news in recycling efforts and eco-friendly tips.   

How To Organize Your Recycling

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

 

When approached about recycling, many people often get discouraged because they believe it takes a lot of work to be successful. However, recycling can be one of the easiest parts of your day when you have a plan set in place. Organization is key in order to be a smart recycler - in fact, it can even make the job of recycling seem effortless!

With help from Better Homes and Gardens, we've collected a few tips that you can use to organize your recycling:

Pick a location: Dedicate a spot in your garage, mudroom or kitchen to recycling. It is in this location that you should house all of your recycling bins or bags, making recycling easy and accessible.

Use labels: Labeling different bins or bags is one of the easiest ways to organize your recycling. By using labels, you outline exactly where certain materials need to be - this way, there are no questions when it comes to recycling!

Deposit bags: Do you take bottles or cans to a return center? Rather than have to empty recycling bins into a transportable bag, skip a step when you hang a deposit bag right on the wall. Then, when it's full, you can simply remove the bag from the wall and bring it right to your return center.

Hazardous material bins: One of the reasons many people don't recycle electronics, chemicals and batteries is because they are not sure how to. To help your efforts, purchase one container or bin specifically for hazardous materials. When it's full, research your local recycling policy to find out where you can bring these items for disposal.

For more great tips on how to organize your recycling, click here.

At Boro Wide Recycling, we work to keep our planet safe by providing comprehensive recycling services to commercial and residential customers. Join us in our efforts! Contact us to learn how we can help you in your recycling efforts, and don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest news in recycling efforts and eco-friendly tips.  

Creative Ways to Reuse Newspaper

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

 

Do you sit down to read the newspaper every morning? For many people, reading the newspaper is part of their daily routine, whether it be in the morning with breakfast, on their lunch break at work, or even as they sit down to relax at night. Since newspapers are published everyday, by the end of the week, stacks of old and unwanted issues end up on the curb for the next week's recycling. But did you know that there are many ways to reuse your old newspapers? We'll tell you how!

The following is a list of 5 creative ways that you can reuse your newspapers before disposing of them:

1. Clean Your Windows: Evidently, newspaper is a great alternative to common cleaning products when it comes time to clean your windows. In fact, you can use newspaper to clean any glass surface!
2. Protect Table Surfaces: When engaging in arts and crafts activities, use old newspapers to cover your tables in order to protect your surface from markers, paint, glitter, glue and more. 
3. Wrapping Paper: During the holiday seasons, wrap your gifts in newspaper instead of traditional store bought paper! It will keep your gift concealed just as well.
4. Cage Liners: Are you the proud owner of a new family pet? Use old newspaper scraps to line the bottom of pet cages, or lay some pieces on the floor to help avoid accidents when training your pet.
5. Shoe Stuffer: Do you want to keep your shoes in the same shape they were when they came out of the box? Crumple up a few pieces of newspaper and stuff them on the inside of your shoes before putting them in your closet to keep their shape.

Did you read the newspaper today? Will you read it tomorrow? Keep these ideas in mind the next time you pick up your local paper!

At Boro Wide Recycling, we work to keep our planet safe by providing comprehensive recycling services to commercial and residential customers. Join us in our efforts! Contact us to learn how we can help you in your recycling efforts, and don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest news in recycling efforts and eco-friendly tips. 

Ways to Reuse Old Plastic and Paper Bags

Boro-Wide Recycling Corp.

Maspeth, NY 718-416-1656

www.BoroWideRecycling.com

 

In the recycling world, plastic and paper are two of the top materials that should always end up in the recycling bin. When most people think about plastic and paper items, they're quick to picture plastic bottles or standard paper that one would write on. However, plastic and paper are not limited to these commonly used items. Do you pack your lunch in a brown paper bag? What about a ziploc bag? Although you might disregard these items as plastic and paper at first, they are! And that means they should be recycled.

The following are a few ways that you can reuse your old plastic and paper bags instead of mistakenly throwing them out:

Plastic:
- Store old bags in your glove compartment to use as a trash bag on long road trips.
- Wrap glass or other fragile items in these bags when moving. You can also use this method if you plan on re-organizing your home for construction purposes.
- Separate dirty clothes from clean clothes in plastic bags when packing your suitcase.
- Cover tables or other surfaces when engaging in arts and crafts activities; plastic bags can act as a protective boundary to keep your tables clean.

Paper:
- Create kid friendly place mats that children can color on while at the table.
- Use old bags to store and separate different holiday decorations, or enlist them as trick or treat bags.
- Cover children's textbooks or notebooks with old paper bags and allow children to decorate them in any way they want.
- Make homemade chain decorations by cutting your bags into strips and linking the different pieces together.

For more ways to reuse your plastic and paper bags, click here.

At Boro Wide Recycling, we work to keep our planet safe by providing comprehensive recycling services to commercial and residential customers. Join us in our efforts! Contact us to learn how we can help you in your recycling efforts, and don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest news in recycling efforts and eco-friendly tips.