Myths and Misconceptions

Transcription

1 Inside This Issue Myths and Misconceptions 1 In The Bathroom 2 It s All Connected 3 In The Kitchen 4 Master Plan Open House 5 Take A Telephone Survey 5 Recycling Carts 5 Never In The Drain 6 Tap Into It 6 Working Together In this issue of Enviro Tips we have teamed up with the City of Windsor s Pollution Control Division and the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup to bring the residents of Essex-Windsor some new information regarding water conservation, water protection, recycling and how it s all connected! We would like to thank our partners for their valuable input! Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority TTY: ask@ewswa.org web: The Detroit River Canadian Cleanup is a partnership between the government, scientists, environmental organizations, local industries, and citizens, like you, working to cleanup, protect, and restore the Detroit River ecosystem. Printed on recycled paper with vegetable based inks. Myths and Misconceptions The Rules of Recycling? We would like to correct some misunderstandings regarding why we request the public to package their recycling in a certain way. First and foremost the recycling program in Essex- Windsor is TWO stream - this means that all container items have to go in a Blue Box and all paper items have to go in a Red Box. This is because we have two separate facilities that process the material and the recycling trucks have two separate compartments. Market? Yes, did you know we sell what we collect from you in order to reduce the cost of recycling programs. It is the markets that determine how the material is recycled and how it must be packaged. For example the glass bottle market wants ONLY glass bottles. They do not want caps and they do not want other types of glass. The plastic bottle recyclers want ONLY plastic bottles, they do not want clamshells, plastic toys, and other types of plastics and they defi nitely don t want liquid or product in the containers. If the recyclables we send to market contain items that the market does not want, the entire load of recyclables may be rejected. We don t want this situation to occur, therefore we are diligent about the types of materials we accept and how they are packaged. We re Doing Great! Our TWO stream recycling system reaps one of the highest levels of revenue earned in the province for the materials we manage, and that s due to the residents of Essex- Windsor doing an excellent job of packaging their recyclables! Remember to keep giving us ALL of your recyclables! Keep up the good work Essex-Windsor. Bales of plastic bottles await transport to market Master Plan We d like your feedback! The EWSWA is looking for feedback from you, on how we can all do a better job of reducing what goes in our local landfi ll. We are undertaking a study to determine what else residents of Essex- Windsor can do to decrease waste. We are having two open houses (Nov. 2nd & 3rd), and the public is invited to attend! We ll have refreshments and draws to win prizes! Spend a few minutes with us and let us know what you think! See page 5 for more details.

2 in thethe sewer system is a series of underground pipes that transport sewage from toilets and plumbing in homes and businesses to a wastewater treatment facility. The sewage is treated to a regulated standard - and then it s released into a local river (i.e. Detroit) or lakes. bathroom Blue 72% of homeowners admit to fl ushing items down the toilet that should be disposed of in another manner. Your Toilet Is Not A Garbage Disposal Flushing the wrong things down your toilet can block sewer pipes. This may create sewer backups and lead to basement fl ooding. It can also cause sewage overfl ows into local rivers and lakes. Make sure you only fl ush toilet paper down your toilet. Our sewer system isn t designed to handle anything else. Even some items that claim to be fl ushable should be disposed of in another manner. Water Conservation Tips For The Bathroom 1. Turn It Off: Turn OFF the tap while brushing your teeth, washing your face and shaving! 2. Time Yourself: A 5 minute shower with a standard shower head uses 100 litres of water. A 5 minute shower with a low-fl ow shower head uses less than 50 litres of water. If you are taking a 10 minute shower, try to cut back by 1 minute per week! 3. Shower: It takes about 260 litres of water to fi ll a bathtub, so showers are generally the more water-effi cient way to bathe. 4. Check for leaks: If you fi nd one - repair it! One leaky faucet can lose up to 530 litres of water a week! 5. Displacement: Insert a displacement device (i.e. container fi lled with water) in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water used with each fl ush! When purchasing a new toilet ensure it is a water-saving model. 6. Colour It: Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the toilet bowl without fl ushing, you have a leak. Fixing it can save up to 3,000 litres a month. Turn the water off when brushing your teeth! BATHROOM RECYCLING Box (Containers) Shampoo Bottles Conditioner Bottles Hair Product Bottles (hair spray, hair mousse) Hand/Body Lotion Bottles Hand Soap Bottles Face/Body Cream Jars Hair Product Jars Aerosol Cans (shaving cream, air freshener), etc. Tip: If the plastic bottle has an opening smaller than the base - you can recycle it. Band-aids, bandage wrappers Feminine hygiene products, including tampons and applicators Colostomy bags Disposable diapers Cleaning wipes Baby wipes Cotton balls, swabs, or pads Combs or brushes Razors Red Box (Paper) Toilet Paper Rolls Toothpaste Boxes Feminine Hygiene Boxes Razor /Cosmetic Boxes Diaper Boxes Band-Aid Boxes Tissue Boxes, etc. BACKYARD COMPOSTER These bathroom items can be placed in your composter! Hair (from hair brush) Hair (from tub drain) Dirt (from vacuum) Pet Hair Dryer Lint BATHROOM GARBAGE Dental Floss Rags, cloths Tights, nylons Prophylactics Toothbrushes Soiled Tissue Did You Know? Tip: If you can rip it (paper products) - you can recycle it! Do NOT Flush Down The Toilet: Feminine Hygiene Products, Prophylactics, Kitty Litter, Cigarettes, Fats, Oils, and Grease - place in garbage. Flushable wipes or baby wipes should not be fl ushed down the toilet. These products take longer to break down than toilet paper. After being fl ushed these wipes can get caught up in sewers or pumps causing maintenance issues or worse, they can get caught up in your sewer connection leading to sewage back-ups in your basement. EWSWA / CofW / DRCC - Page 2

3 it s all connected Did You Know That Your Water Supply Is Recycled? Water is a natural resource and our water supply is fi nite - we cannot create more water on this planet - what we use has to be recycled. We have to protect it, conserve it and keep it clean, because we need it to live. Conserving water helps us save money, protects our environment and reduces municipal resources needed to supply and treat drinking water and waste water. Small changes in our behaviour can help us conserve water, especially in the bathroom, where 65% of all indoor water is used. Energy Conservation Due To Recycling The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours or a compact fluorescent bulb for twenty hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials. A 60-watt light bulb can be run for over a day on the amount of energy saved by recycling one pound of steel. In one year in the United States, the recycling of steel saves enough energy to heat and light 18,000,000 homes! Greenhouse Gas Reduction Each metric ton of recycled paper (1,000 kilograms) can save 17 trees, 1,438 litres of oil, three cubic yards of landfi ll space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy, and 26,498 litres of water. This represents a 64% energy savings, a 58% water savings, and 27 kilograms less air pollution! The 17 trees saved (above) can absorb a total of 113 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the air each year. Burning that same ton of paper would create 680 kilograms of carbon dioxide. Turning off the tap when you brush your teeth, recycling paper, steel and aluminum products, not pouring chemicals down the sink all helps with the conservation and protection of our natural resources. Every positive action counts because......it s all connected! EWSWA / CofW / DRCC - Page 3

4 KITCHEN RECYCLING inthe Blue Box (Containers) Red Box (Paper) Cereal / Pasta Boxes Aerosol Cans (no lids) Aluminum Foil / Trays Steel Cans Aluminum Cans Glass Jars & Bottles Plastic Bottles Plastic Tubs & Lids Tip: If the plastic bottle has an opening smaller than the base - you can recycle it. Coffee Grounds Coffee Filters Egg Shells Saw Dust Dried Flowers Dried / Fresh Herbs Fibre Egg Cartons Fruit Scraps Plant Cuttings Tea Bags Vacuum Cleaner Dust Vegetable Scraps, etc. Plastic Packaging Grease Cigarette Butts Meat Dairy Products Bones Oils, etc. BACKYARD COMPOSTER KITCHEN GARBAGE Scrap Paper Paper Packaging Kraft Paper (fast food bags) Sugar / Pet Food Bags Tissue Boxes Junkmail / Envelopes Tim Horton s cups Waste Reduction Tip Tip: If you can rip it (paper products) - you can recycle it! No Meat, Fish, Dairy & Oils! Using your composter correctly will not attract animals. Use A Kitchen Catcher: Use a bucket or pail to collect your organic kitchen scraps! Put them in the backyard composter instead of the garbage. kitchen Many people admit to using their sink as a garbage disposal - all sorts of food and chemical cleaning products are poured down the kitchen sink - to the detriment of our local aquatic life and water supplies. Pouring the wrong things down your kitchen sink can lead to blocked sewers or private drain connections which can cause basement fl ooding. Fats, oils and grease should always be disposed of in the garbage as these products may harden in private drain connections (or sewers) and cause sewage to back up into your home. Your Kitchen Sink Is Not A Garbage Disposal The use of sink grinders to dispose of food waste can also lead to sewage back-ups and increased treatment costs. Also all of those tiny little stickers for scanning fruit and vegetables can end up sticking to screens at the waste water treatment plant causing maintenance issues. Right: The little stickers you have to peel off fruit and vegetables should NEVER be washed down the sink - they should always be thrown in the garbage. Left: This is a photo of a screen in the West Windsor wastewater treatment plant. Often the little stickers from pieces of fruit will collect on the screen, preventing the water from being able to fl ow through properly. This can cause backups in our water system. The West Windsor wastewater treatment plant also treats the wastewater from LaSalle. Water Conservation Tips For The Kitchen 1. Dishwashers: Energy efficient dishwashers use about 15 litres of water per load, and even standard machines use only about 22 litres. Hand washing generally uses about 75 litres of water each time. 2. Reuse Water: Collect the water you use for rinsing produce and reuse it to water houseplants. 3. Thawing: Don t use running water to thaw food. 4. Soak Dishes: Soak your pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them clean. 5. Cool It In The Fridge: Keep a jug of drinking water in the refrigerator. Running the tap to cool the water for drinking is wasteful and the refrigerator water will be colder and more refreshing. EWSWA / CofW / DRCC - Page 4

5 recycling carts The EWSWA sells residential recycling carts at Home Hardware Stores and at their annual Truckload Sales. These carts are fi tted with a lifting mechanism that allows the recycle truck to attach the cart to the truck and lift it mechanically. These carts hold approximately two to three recycle boxes worth of material and they can get quite heavy - too heavy to be lifted manually (by hand) by the driver. Warning: If you buy a generic recycling cart from a different retailer, and the recycling cart is not fi tted with the proper lifting mechanism, it may not be collected by the recycling truck, since it may be too heavy for the driver to lift by hand. Remember, the driver has an average of 1200 houses on a route. Residential Recycling Carts outfi tted with the proper lifting mechanism are sold in Windsor/Essex County at local Home Hardware Stores. The next EWSWA Truckload Sale will take place in spring Like us on facebook! Look for the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority! Like us on facebook! Look for the Detroit River Canadian Clean Up EWSWA / CofW / DRCC - Page 5

6 One of the most important goals to accomplish in regards to our environment and waterways is NOT to contaminate it. There are many products which end up going down sinks, tubs, and poured down sewers - to the detriment of our local aquatic life. Chemicals should always be disposed of properly - and proper disposal is easy to do. Both Kingsville and Windsor have a facility that accepts residential chemical waste FREE of charge. The Municipal Hazardous and Special Waste Depots (MHSW Depot) are facilities where residents can drop off all of their leftover, unused, and/or unwanted chemicals. Kingsville: 2021 Albuna Townline (County Rd. 31) Windsor: 3560 North Service Rd. East (E.C. Row & Central) (for more information see What Can You Do? Employ The BUD Principle: B: Buy only what you need. U: Use it all up. D: Dispose of any leftovers properly Bring It To Our Depot: Paints, Stains & Varnishes: Bring back your leftover paints, stains, and varnishes to our depot. Over The Counter Medicine & Prescriptions: Pharmaceuticals can have a negative impact on fi sh populations. Bring back your leftover medication to your local pharmacy or bring it to our depot. Batteries: Batteries have toxic components that need to be disposed of properly. Bring all your batteries to our depot for proper disposal. Pesticides & Oils: Bring all your pesticides, fungicides, and oils to our depot for proper disposal. Anything poured down the storm drain goes straight into the river - without being treated. Please keep our fish friends healthy - Don t pour any chemicals down the storm drain! never, never, down the drain! tap into it! Tap water is regulated under the Ontario Safe Drinking Water Act. Laws and regulations protect sources of drinking water and regulate drinking water systems, require regular testing by provincially licensed labs and quick action in response to adverse test results. By choosing to drink municipal tap water you help make sure that water sources and treatment systems will be maintained and protected. While both bottled and tap water that meet or exceed their required health and safety standards are considered safe, there is no evidence to suggest bottled water is safer or healthier to drink than tap water. The A.H. Weeks Water Treatment Plant in Windsor uses ozone treatment for disinfection. Ozone treatment improves taste and odour and has been shown to be effective in removing pharmaceuticals and other chemicals from untreated water. This facility treats water for Windsor, LaSalle, and Tecumseh. Did You Know? Approximately 25% of bottled water produced in Canada originates as tap water. 650 million plastic water bottles are thrown in the garbage each year in Ontario. Canadians pay more for bottled water than for gas. Bottled water costs up to 1000 times more than tap water. In a comparison of Windsor tap water to bottled water from local distributors, Windsor water tested better in all areas. Get off the bottle, and turn on the tap! This document is available in alternate formats upon request. EWSWA / CofW / DRCC - Page 6