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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
How do you recycle?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ahh, curbside recycling, a luxury I miss…
Unless you’re moving to, say, a convent, or prison, moving is waste. There’s just so much STUFF.
For that, I offer my sincere apology to my movers, who packed and hauled many, many, many boxes of books and CDs, only so I could go through a massive purge when I got here last month.
The cardboard alone was overwhelming. I spent an entire day breaking down boxes and rolling up packing paper into tidy bundles tied with yarn. And then there was the other waste, the cotton balls, cereal boxes, banana peels and packaging from carbon monoxide detectors, compact fluorescent light bulbs and shower curtains.
Having moved from one of those pampered places where there’s a giant, blue recycling bin the same size as your trash can waiting when you move in, I arrived here and dutifully sorted and carried my recyclables downstairs in a paper bag. All good.
Except there was no bin. And it would require a dizzying array of phone calls, policy shifts, eye of newt, toe of frog, wool of bat, and tongue of dog to convince someone to allow me a bin at my current address.
The trouble is that my building has eight units.
::smack:: No recycling! Bad multi-family unit dweller! Bad!
According to Marketek Inc./Databank, there are 186,167 multi-family units in Fulton County and 111,198 in DeKalb. That might mean a lot of people without easy access to recycling.
Admittedly, it’s a huge job to organize multi-family recycling. The AJC reported in late 2007 that Atlanta Recycling, provided by the contractor Dreamsan, was having trouble keeping up with requests from single-family homes. The backlog was eliminated by Feb. 1, reports said.
So how do you recycle here? Where do you take it? What do you take?
Before I managed to find another recycling option — albeit, the less curb-licious kind — boxes left on the curb swiftly disappeared, maybe to other overwhelmed movers. As for the rest, when it became a gymnastic feat to cross the kitchen without causing a category five domestic disaster, I guiltily shucked it into a trash bin like I was dumping evidence of a crime instead of yogurt containers.
The good news: it doesn’t have to be so hard. Click below for curbside recycling info for the area, plus a few options if you live in a multi-family dwelling, or if you’re trying to unload items that aren’t usually accepted, like, say major appliances, juice boxes, computer parts and gym shoes.
The most helpful resource on recycling and reusing I found for metro Atlanta was an April, 2008 Lake Claire Clarion article by Stephen Wing. You can download the newsletter as a PDF, and see the list of resources starting on Page 6.
It provided the easiest solution for me right now: dropping my recyclables in the community bin behind the Midtown Whole Foods, 650 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE. There’s no need to sort and they seem to accept just about everything.
If you’re lucky enough to be eligible for curbside recycling, here’s some info collected for an AJC story by John Becker in late 2007. If you’ve got updates, leave them in the comments section and I’ll add it to the list.
METRO AREA RESIDENTIAL RECYCLING PROGRAMS
Check your local government’s Web site for more information. All programs are voluntary.
ATLANTA Program type: Curbside collection for most recyclables (no sorting required); drop-off locations for corrugated cartons, electronics, other items. Accepted items: HDPE#2 (i.e., milk jugs) and PET#1 (i.e., soda/water bottles) plastic containers; aluminum/steel food containers; glass bottles/jars; newspapers; mixed paper (junk mail, phone books, magazines, catalogues, etc.). Cost: $30 per single family home per year. Contact: Dreamsan, 404-792-1212 or the Atlanta Solid Waste Disposal call center, 404-330-6333.
DECATUR Program type: Curbside collection for most recyclables (no sorting required); drop-off locations for batteries, toner cartridges, clothes, furniture, other items; electronics recycling events held twice yearly. Accepted items: Aluminum/metal food/beverage cans; glass bottles and jars; HDPE#2 and PET#1 plastic containers; newspapers, telephone books, and mixed paper; corrugated and non-corrugated cardboard. Cost: No direct cost for recycling; residents pay $235 annual sanitation fee and pay for bags for solid waste disposal. Contact: Decatur’s Sanitation Department, 404-377-5571 or service provider Dreamsan, 800-835-0212.
DEKALB COUNTY Program type: Curbside collection for most recyclables (paper items go in blue bin, co-mingled containers in blue bags); mixed paper items can also be put in designated containers at all county fire stations and public buildings. Accepted items: Newspapers; mixed paper; cardboard boxes; all plastic food, beverage and household cleaner containers designated PET, HDPE, PVC, LDPE, PP, PS or Other. Cost: $15 one-time fee for blue bin; $15 fee for box of 100 bags. Contact: DeKalb County Call Center, 404-294-2900.
EAST POINT Program type: Limited curbside collection. Accepted items: Newspaper, glass (all colors), and aluminum cans. Cost: Free. Contact: East Point Sanitation Department, 404-270-7140.
HAPEVILLE Program type: Central site drop-off only; no curbside collection of recyclables. Accepted items: Mixed paper, glass, cardboard, plastics, metal food containers and aluminum. Cost: Free. Contact: Hapeville Community Services, 404-669-2120.
COLLEGE PARK Program type: Customers can take approved recyclables to any of three drop-off locations; no curbside collection of recyclables. Accepted items: Aluminum, cardboard, newspapers, magazines, glass. Cost: Free. Contact: College Park Sanitation Director, 404-669-3778, ext. 103.
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