The longer I’m around, the more I notice the cyclical nature of, well, life. What goes around does, indeed, come around.

The question of recycling, where, how & why is often asked. And so, the question is revisited with the hopes that it will help make “reduce, reuse, recycle” an easy, fun, frequent activity. Plus, isn’t that part of going around & coming around, too?

Here are a few great on-line resources for reducing, reusing & recycling. Some serious & some just serious fun:

• earth911.com & 1800recycling.com (All Kinds of Recycling): For all kinds of info on where to recycle what, when & how in your neighborhood. These are a couple of those go-to sites.
• batteryrecycling.com (Batteries): For rechargeable & single use batteries, check out Battery Solutions.
• habitat.org/env/restores.aspx (Building Stuff): Habitat ReStore accepts leftovers in good condition from construction & remodeling jobs & uses the proceeds to fund affordable housing projects.
• dressforsuccess.org (Business Clothing): Donate wearable women’s business clothing to Dress for Success & they’ll give them to low-income women searching for jobs.
• ncadv.org (Cell Phones): Donate old cellphones to help raise money for your favorite charities. NCADV (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence) is one that’ll take them.
• delforte.com/rejeaneration (Del Forte Jeans): Return old Del Fortes back to the company. They’ll give you 10% off your next purchase. And make some things you might end up purchasing with your jeans.
• swapadvd.com (DVDs): Post ten DVD titles to receive credit on the site. Each time you mail a movie, you accumulate more points. Then trade for new old DVDs with those points. Who needs cable!
• myboneyard.com & venjuvo.com (Electronics): PCs, MP3 players, cameras & more can be traded online for cash at these sites. AND…
• radioshack.com/tradein & officedepot.com/techtradein & staples.com (Electronics): Those items can also be traded online for store credit or for a small fee.
• buymytronics.com (Electronics): Recycle broken or used electronics in exchange for cold, hard cash. They’ll pay dollars, reuse the working parts & recycle the rest.
• www.usps.com/green (Electronics): A pilot program with Clover Technologies Group & the USPS is available a select post offices. Where it’s happening, you can ship stuff for recycling for free through the Mail Back program. So cool.
• patagonia.com/recycle (Fleece): Drop off or mail fleece garments (of any brand) to Patagonia & they’ll recycle the old fabrics into new clothing for future seasons. Everything old is new again!
• reecycle.org (Free Stuff): Join your local Yahoo! group to search for free stuff in your ‘hood. Everything’s free & you can rid yourself of the clutter you no longer want.
• swapnstuff.com & swaptree.com (Fun Swaps): Trade CDs, DVDs, books & video games at these to groovy sites.
• recycleplace.com (Ink/Toner Cartridges): Not only will you recycle those cartridges, but they’ll give you cash for them.
• gimmeyourstuff.blogspot.com (International Swaps): Swap stuff with someone from another country. Think souvenirs & cultural kitsch!
• proquo.com (Junk Mail Reduction): Register your name & address to remove yourself from mailing lists for all those offers, catalogs & coupons you never wanted in the first place. Down with junkmail!
• recycleoil.org (Motor Oil): This site will help you find Used Motor Oil Hotlines for each state. Oils meant for recycling, not gunking up our water supply!
• plasticbagrecycling.com (Plastic Bags): Find a local spot for recycling plastic bags – think bread, produce, shopping & even Ziploc bags. Bags begone!
• oneworldrunning.com (Shoes): Shoes in still wearable condition will be sent to athletes in need in Africa, Latin America & Haiti.
• playitagainsports.com (Sports Equipment): Resell or trade your sports equipment with Play It Again Sports. Croquet, anyone?
• nike.com/nikebiz/reuseashoe (Sports Shoes): Send worn out athletic shoes to Nike & they’ll make ‘em into “Nike Grind” (even if they’re not Nike shoes). This stuff’ll be donated to children’s organizations & used in sports surfaces.
• greendisk.com (Technotrash): For a small fee, GreenDisk will send you a cardboard box in which you can ship them up to 70 pounds of technotrash including CDs, jewel cases, DVDs, audio & video tapes, cell phones, pagers, batteries & so on & so forth. Awesome!
• videofitness.com (Workout Videos): Yes, you can even swap exercise videos on line. Om that’s good.
• recycline.com (#5 Plastics): Send your Preserve products, yogurt containers & other #5 plastics back the Recycline & they’ll make them into more groovy BPA free products. Here’s the address: Preserve Gimme 5
  823 NYS Route 13, Cortland NY  13045.

For additional recycling info, do a Search in our Blog (i.e., type “Recycle That” for some local resources).

But, one of my favorite resources, the Council on the Environment of New York City, has even more recycling info on their site.  Below is their condensed version…  I suggest you visit their site & sign up for all kinds of great environmental info!  Enjoy & happy recycling…

NYC has an extensive recycling program, and there are many ways to recycle additional materials. Here are just a few resources. Check out www.NYC.gov/nycwasteless for a comprehensive collection of recycling information and resources.

Batteries

Rechargeable batteries are prohibited from household garbage and can be recycled at stores that sell batteries of that type. For more info on this law, visit www.nyc.gov/nycwasteless or call 311. Select Greenmarkets have collection bins for cell phones and rechargeable batteries or you can visit www.RBRC.org to get a bin for your building.

Single-use alkaline batteries can be recycled at Interstate Batteries on Berrian Blvd in Astoria and at the NYC Department of Sanitation’s Special Waste Drop-Off Site in your borough. (Note: Whole Foods and 3RLiving have suspended their in-store battery collections).

For more information on disposing of batteries in NYC visit NYCWasteLe$$.

Business Recycling

All businesses must recycle in NYC. Visit the NYCWasteLe$$ page dedicated to businesses, which provides tips and resources for setting up a recycling program. Looking to get rid of reusable items without loading up a landfill, or trying to save money by acquiring used goods? Check out NY WasteMatch – a free match-making service for used and surplus goods. This commercial materials exchange helps businesses save money on purchases and/or disposal, while also helping the environment.

Bicycles

Tired of your old bicycle? Donate it to Recycle a Bicycle or Time’s UP! and make someone’s day!

Building Materials

Save money on renovations by buying from and donating to NYC’s building materials reuse centers, Build It Green! and Rebuilders Source. Visit their websites to view their inventories of cabinets, doors, appliances, paint and more.

Cell Phones

Any store that sells cell phones in New York State has to take them back. You can also recycle your old phone for a cause through Collective Good, which will refurbish it for reuse if possible.

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs)

Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) save energy and last much longer, but still require disposal eventually. These items, which contain trace amounts of mercury, are permissible in household garbage but can be recycled at several sites in the City. Get more info on light bulb recycling and CENYC’s CFL recycling pilot program at www.cenyc.org/CFL.

Compost

Why let your food scraps go to waste? Many NYC community gardens offer composting to turn your coffee grounds, vegetable trimmings and other organic waste into “black gold” to fertilize flowers, vegetables and trees. Find out where at www.nyccompost.org or drop it off at the Union Square Greenmarket with the Lower East Side Ecology Center or at the Ft. Greene Greenmarket for composting at local community gardens. Check out the Manhattan Compost Map from Green Map for more local compost resources.

Clothing & Textiles

Materials such as old clothing and linens represent 6% of NYC’s waste but are 100% recyclable at our weekly Greenmarket textile recycling collections: Fridays at 97thSt. (8a-2p); Saturdays at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn (8a-4p), Ft Greene (8a-3p), McCarren Park (8a-2p), Inwood (8a-3p); Sundays at Tompkins Sq. (8a-2p) and Jackson Hts (8a-3p)JUL-NOV only; and Mondays & Saturdays at Union Square (8a-6p). Items in wearable condition can also find a new home through Freecycle™ New York City or local charities. Contact Wearable Collections for information on setting up a collection in your very own apartment building!

Computers & Electronics

Although they are a small portion of the waste stream by volume, computers and electronics contribute about 70% of the toxicity to landfills. There are many recycling opportunities for these items. Find upcoming collection days on our Recycling Events page, visit Take It Back NYC for info on manufacturer recycling or click here for info on free computer recycling at local Goodwill stores.

Food

Food that is still edible need not go to waste. Find a soup kitchen or food pantry near you with this handy interactive map from the NYC Coalition Against Hunger. Large volumes of canned food can be donated through the Food Bank for NYC. Contact City Harvest for information on donating large amounts of fresh, perishable and prepared foods.

Furniture

Goodwill Industries, The Salvation Army, St. Vincent DePaul, Housing Works, Everything Goes, Furnish-a-Future and other non-profit organizations provide good homes for old furniture. You can also look for takers through Craigslist.org and Freecycle.org

Ink Cartridges

Refilling ink cartridges reduces the amount of plastic that goes into the landfill. See Fine Star Imaging, Cartridge World, and Staples. Prepaid return labels or envelopes are available on all brands of toner and ink cartridges so you can return them for free recycling.

Junk Mail

Take your name off of mass mailing lists with the Direct Mail Marketing Association and reduce catalog waste with Catalog Choice. Opt out of offers for credit cards and insurance through the Consumer Credit Reporting Industry. Stop unsolicited telephone books with the new Yellow Pages Opt Out.

Plastic Bags & Plastic Film

They make up 7.5% of our waste, and they never degrade. The key is to reduce your use of plastic bags. If you need to recycle your “stash” you can do so at many stores around the city, thanks to a recent local law that requires recycling of plastic film such as shopping bags, dry cleaning bags and newspaper bags.

Tubs, Cups & Other Plastics

Though not collected for recycling by the city, plastic tubs such as margarine and yogurt cups can be recycled at the Park Slope Food Coop. Bring #5 containers and Brita pitcher filters to most Whole Foods locations, mail to Preserve Gimme 5, 823 NYS Rte 13, Cortland, NY 13045. Click here to find drop-off sites in NYC.  NOTE: You can drop them off at Green in BKLYN, too!

Shoe Repair & Recycling

Don’t throw them out, resole them. An artifact of the past in many cities; the shoe repair business in New York City is thriving. These shops offer great value by extending the life of good shoes. If your running shoes are worn completely, you can recycle them through the Reuse-a-Shoe program, which makes them into athletic surfaces. You can drop off any brand of rubber-soled shoes at Niketown, 6 East 57th Street (212.891.6453) or mail them to the Nike Recycling Center, c/o Reuse-A-Shoe, 26755 SW 95th Ave., Wilsonville, OR 97070.

Swaps & Exchanges

Items that are no longer useful to you can still be helpful to others. Try catch-all resources like Craigslist.org or Freecycle.org or search NYC Stuff Exchange for a wide array of reuse options. And don’t miss CENYC’s Stop N’ Swaps!

Technotrash

Recycle CDs, floppy disks, VHS tapes, etc. by purchasing a Technotrash bin from Green Disk.

Since they launching the Gimme 5 Program, Preserve has collected over 45,000 pounds of #5s.  That is the equivalent of over 2.9 million 6 oz. yogurt cups.

If you’d like to participate, drop off your clean #5 plastics at Green in BKLYN & we’ll send them on to Preserve.

Number 5 plastics are marked with a “5″ inside a triangle somewhere on the bottom of the item.  Said items usually are yogurt containers or take-out containers.  The groovy thing is they’re recyclable.  The not so groovy thing is that’s not true in NYC.  So off to Preserve they’ll go to transcend into toothbrushes, razors, food containers, bowls, cutting boards & so on.  All dishwasher safe & BPA free.  Pretty cool for leftover plastic.

PS – We also take batteries for recycling (for just 5 cents/battery).

After our September collection of #5 plastics (along with batteries & cell phones), we are now shipping them off!

They’re going to the Preserve Collection Site to be turned into products (all made with 100% post-consumer #5 plastics)…

Then we’ll have said products (including bowls, cups, cutting boards, storage containers, razors & toothbrushes) returned to Green in BKLYN to be available to you!

The glorious cycle of reduce – reuse – recycle in perfect action.

If you missed our recycling drive or would like to ship stuff off yourself, Preserve will take your clean #5 plastics at their collection site.  Just box them up & send them off to:

Preserve Gimme 5

And, again, thank you to everyone who brought plastics, batteries & cell phones in for our September recycling drive.  We’re hoping to do it all again along with an e-waste (computers, appliances, etc.) drive sometime next year!

We’ll be sending the #5 plastics off to Recycline – the company that takes those plastics & turns them into bowls, cups, toothbrushes & razors as well as all sorts of other home treasures. We love their products (have them in the shop) & love what they do with plastic (reduce, reuse & recycle)…  And, if you buy a toothbrush from us, as long as they have them for us, we’ll send you home with a Recycline pre-paid envelope so you can recycle your toothbrush yourself.

The cell phones will be used for… art!  We have a fellow who’ll be picking them up & adding them to a series of installations he’s doing.  We’ll give you details when we know where & when.  And will include photos!  Our mystery artist’s work is fascinating.  Stay tuned.

Amazingly, standard alkaline batteries are now accepted in the trash…

Directly quoting from the Department of Sanitation for New York:
“Standard alkaline batteries are not considered hazardous waste, since they no longer contain mercury.  Place batteries with your regular trash, not in your recycling bin.

And – All household batteries are accepted at any NYC Department of Sanitation Self-Help Special Waste Drop-Off Site.”

So, since you brought us so many batteries, we’ll be dropping them off at the Brooklyn Special Waste Drop-Off Site at Bay 41st Street & Gravesend Bay, south of the Belt Parkway  & adjacent to the DSNY Brooklyn 11 garage.

If you’re looking for other Special Waste Drop-Off Sites, check out NYC WasteLeSS.

If you’re looking for additional ways & places to recycle stuff, check out the  NYC WasteLeSS list of Recyclers & Vendors.

And, finally, we’re working on setting up an e-waste collection in or near Green in BKLYN.  It may take a while but we are working on it!

For Green in BKLYN’s schedule, just check it out below!

• Sunday, September 13th: Buskers (that’s music to our ears!) & a two-person bicycle with 9-foot tires (really!)
• Sunday, September 20th: Pangea Organics will stop in (from 12-4pm) with samples, demos & info… And we’ll have more buskers (more music!)
• Sunday, September 27th: We’ve got an art opening (“Indian Summer” at 6pm) & this time the band’s amplified (with a bicycle!).

AND… All three of those Sundays:
We’re collecting batteries, cell phones & clean #5 plastic for recycling!

Join us on Sundays in September for Move About Myrtle & a rockin’ good time!  We’ll see you on the Avenue!

Well, many of the plastics we use (water bottles, take out containers & so on) have a number on them that not only directs recycling but can help you avoid bisphenol A (or BPA), which is a chemical that’s been linked to breast cancer.

The plastic coding system can help you identify the safest options, which are typically opaque & not known to contain carcinogens or hormone-disrupting chemicals.  These are the plastics that are numbered 2 HDPE, 4 LDPE & 5 PP.

What you want to avoid are number 7 plastics, which contain polycarbonate, the hard plastic that can potentially leach bisphenol A.

One way to avoid BPA is to use a stainless steel water bottle (like the Klean Kanteens we carry at Green in BKLYN) instead of using plastic water bottles.  That way you know BPAs are not leaching into the water you’re drinking.

Plus, it keeps plastic water bottles out of our landfills.

And, now we carry Klean Kanteen’s nifty new Sport Cap 2.0, which has a loop, dust cover & sport top.  Very convenient, very klean & very cute (see?).

The information below details plastics even further (with thanks & a nod to Natural Home Magazine for the info)…

Number 1 (PET, PETE or polyethylene terephthalate):

- Found in soft drink & water bottles, boil-in-bag & condiment containers
- Recycling = most curbside recycling programs
- Recycled into fleece & other fibers, tote bags, furniture, carpet, paneling

Number 2 (HDPE or high density polyethyylene):

- Found in milk jugs, personal care bottles, trash & shopping bags, butter & yogurt tubs, cereal box liners
- Recycling = most curbside recycling programs
- Recycled into detergent bottles, pens, floor tile, pipe, lumber, outdoor furniture, fencing

Number 3 (V, PVC or vinyl or polyvinyl chloride):

- Found in cleaning product bottles, cooking oil bottles, clear food packaging, medical equipment, siding, piping
- Recycling = rarely recycled but accepted by some plastic lumber makers
- Recycled into decks, paneling, mudflaps, gutters, flooring, cables, speed bumps, mats

Number 4 (LDPE or low density polyethylene):

- Found in grocery bags, dry cleaning bags, squeezable bottles, tote bags, clothing, furniture, carpet
- Recycling = not often recycled thru curbside programs; shopping bags can be recycled thru many stores
- Recycled into trash cans & liners, compost bins, shipping envelopes, lumber, landscaping & tile

Number 5 (PP or polypropylene):

- Found in syrup & ketchup bottles, yogurt containers, drink lids, caps & straws, medicine bottles
- Recycling = recycled thru some curbside programs & can be sent into places like Preserve (!) to be reused
- Recycled into streetlights, battery cables, brooms, rakes, auto battery cases, ice scrapers, landscape borders, bicycle racks &… Preserve toothbrushes, razors, bowls & cups (found at Green in BKLYN!)

Number 6 (PS or polystyrene):

- Found in disposable dishes, meat trays, egg cartons, carry out containers, medicine bottles, CD cases
- Recycling = recycled thru some curbside programs
- Recycled into insulation, light switch plates, egg cartons, rulers, foam packing, carry out containers

Number 7 (miscellaneous including polycarbonate):

- Found in “bullet-proof” materials, sunglasses, DVDs, iPod & computer cases, signs & displays, food containers, nylon
- Recycling = traditionally not recycled; some curbside programs now take them
- Recycled into plastic lumber, custom-made products