The Whole Foods Store in Seattle’s Roosevelt neighborhood has set up a recycling station with bins for “odd things” as a way they can contribute to living green. Here you can drop off:

• Bottle caps
• Wine bottle corks
• #5 plastic
• Cell phones
• Batteries

The City of Seattle’s hazardous waste stations will allow you to recycle up to 10 fluorescent light bulbs per trip at no charge. Here’s a link to their web site for more details.

Merchants who belong to King County’s Take it Back Network accept a variety of electronic equipment. They also sign an agreement with King County’s Hazardous Waste division to recycle the equipment domestically.

They further agree to not export hazardous electronic waste for recycling to developing countries directly or indirectly through intermediaries.

Each vendor determines what items they’ll accept. The following products are commonly accepted:

• Cell phones, pagers
• Audio/video equipment
• Computer monitors, key boards,
• TV’s, video game consoles
• Printers

The RE Store in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood accepts used building materials on an as needed basis. They will also take furniture and decorative items. Call their store to see what they’re accepting on any given day.

If you have a suggestion or tip for places to recycle odd things please write a post or call me @206.915.1076.

Mary

Long before Pemco brought us the “Compulsive Recycler” I have pulled plastic bottles out of trash bins; picked up aluminum cans on the street and salvaged stuff from the trash if I knew it could be recycled.

This behavior isn’t exactly a compulsion but more than once my husband has asked, “Why do you bring other people’s garbage home?” I always smile and say, “Because I can recycle it!”

Like most people I’ll probably never live in a “built green” home or drive a hybrid; but I do know that the little things add up. That every time I reduce, reuse or recycle I’m making a difference. My carbon foot print is smaller and I’m keeping stuff out of the waste stream.

EZ Ways to Live Green in Seattle will be a series of posts about doing little things that make a difference. You’ll find ideas, information and tips on simple actions you can take to live green.

Mary

P.S. If you’re wondering what kind of difference recycling makes check out these stats* from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

Americans produced 4.3 lbs of municipal solid waste per person per day in 2009

Recycling and composting reduced this number to 2.9lb per person per day, a 30% drop

(Municipal solid waste includes product packaging, grass clippings, food scraps, newspapers, bottles, furniture, clothing, appliances, paint and batteries.)

What makes up those 2.9lbs of solid waste? More than half (56%) is organic material.

Paper and paperboard 28%
Yard waste and food scraps 28%.
Plastics 12%
Metals 9%
Wood is 7%
Glass is 5%.
Rubber, leather and textiles 8%.
Miscellaneous 4%.

*These numbers are based on the EPA’s most current data.