Can I Recycle That?

How to Recycle Effectively When Spring Cleaning

By Kate Finlay Zimmerman, Publisher, Macaroni KID Pasadena March 16, 2024

Can I Recycle That

Image Credit: photo by hxyume

	Spring Cleaning? How to Recycle Everything Effectively
	Spring cleaning always makes me think about purging all the things in my home that my family doesn’t use or need any longer. I’ve made several trips to thrift shops already this season to deliver things that can be reused by others. But what about items that are broken or no longer valuable for their original purpose?I took a deep dive into our local recycling rules and processes. In the Pasadena area, there are multiple waste pick up services, but it seems Los Angeles County governs where recycled items ultimately end up. Throughout most (perhaps all) of LA County, it’s the blue bin that’s dedicated to recycling of plastic, glass, metals, paper, and cardboard. Materials disposed of through the blue recycling bin are brought to a Materials Recovery Facility, such as the nearby, state-of-the-art MRF in Sun Valley. Once weighed and dumped out at the facility, plastic bags are torn open, and materials are sorted. Sorting involves running the materials through a series of machines that use weight, rollers, blown air, and magnets to separate materials, then optical sensors sort using infrared and AI technologies. According to Athens, the Max-AI Sorter “Exceeds human performance in every metric: speed, accuracy, consistency, and cost.” Once fully sorted, re-usable materials are baled up and shipped to other facilities that incorporate them into manufacturing.
	In researching the recycling process, I learned several things that aren’t immediately obvious to most residents: Plastic trash bags can get caught and jam up the sorting system. To diminish this, we are asked to place recyclable materials loose in the blue bins. You should always keep the cap on the bottle or jar you are recycling. That helps keep any drips inside, rather than mixing with other items in the bin. Jars that still contain organic matter (like the mayonnaise at the bottom of the squeeze bottle), or cardboard that has absorbed oils, are considered “contaminated” and cannot be recycled. To prevent these items from ending up in landfills, be sure to rinse out all containers. Oil-soaked paper and cardboard can now be tossed in the green waste containers instead. When possible, separate materials from each other like aluminum and plastic parts on the same item: break it into 2 and put both in the same bin. They can then be sorted separately at the recycle center.
	Household Hazardous Waste and E-Waste can’t be simply thrown into the curbside bins, and more fit into those categories than you might expect.
	Household Hazardous Waste, or HHW, includes cleaners, solvents, chemicals, oils, paint, medications, needles / sharps, light bulbs, lighters, pepper spray, e-cigarettes, empty helium or propane containers, as well as some things you might not think of as HHW, such as light-up shoes. E-waste is electronic equipment that contains toxic materials. This includes any device with a video display larger than 4 inches.Specifically, the State of California lists the following examples of e-waste: televisions, computer monitors, laptops, tablets, smart displays, printers, radios, CD players, calculators, and household electronics with LCD screens. What can we do with these items? There are both permanent and temporary drop-off centers within the community. Los Angeles County lists its upcoming HHW & E-Waste Collection Events online, and the City of Pasadena has drop-off sites for some of the most common items.
	City of Pasadena Drop-off Sites LA County HHW & E-Waste Collections
	Regular household batteries- Can be recycled safely for free in specially marked bins at Staples stores, public libraries including La Canada – Flintridge Library (Rosemead and Duarte public libraries also), or City of Pasadena drop-off locations. Light bulbs are considered Hazardous Household Waste and can be safety disposed of for free at Home Depot Stores, or any HHW location, such as the City of Pasadena drop-off locations. Used motor oil can be deposited at the County Maintenance Yard in Altadena or at Jiffy lube centers. Paint, including latex, acrylic or oil-based paints can be disposed of at via a PaintCare Program drop-off facility such as at Dunn-Edwards or Frazee Paint stores. Shredded Paper should be sealed inside a bag marked “shredded paper” before being placed in the blue recycling bin. Loose paper makes a mess and is very difficult to recycle. Alternatively, look for “Shred Days” in the community and take your sensitive documents there to be shredded and recycled. Altadena Library has a Shred Day coming up on Saturday, March 23^rd! Fabric, sewing & craft supplies in usable condition can be kept out of landfills by donating them to Remainders Creative Reuse in Pasadena Wednesdays through Saturdays. Wire clothes hangers are recyclable via your blue recycle container, but if they are in reusable condition, please consider dropping them off at any local dry cleaner. (My friendly dry cleaner is always thankful!) Ink cartridges can be dropped in marked bins at Staples stores. You can also join an ink recycling program online, such as doorstepink.com, and download a free shipping label (plus get a discount off refilled cartridges).