RE REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE RETHINK NEWS Monroe County Recycles Volume 6, Issue Spring 0 Let s Talk Trash! History of Garbage People who lived during Prehistoric times usually lived together in small groups and would travel across the land very often. Since they did not stay in one place very long, their garbage was thrown directly on the ground and consumed by native animals. In early civilizations, there was no garbage collection. The people left garbage on floor of their home. Sometimes it was even thrown in roadways or in rivers. Egyptians threw their garbage in the Nile River! Can you imagine what that looked like? About 00 B.C. the Greek people built the first dump-style area for garbage. The Greeks established a law that required garbage to be thrown away at least one mile away from city walls. Generating Power from Waste An overview of the process by which energy is created by burning trash in a waste-to-energy plant They also established a law that made it illegal to throw garbage on the streets. During the Middle Ages, civilizations became more populated. Most people threw garbage into the streets. Pigs walked freely down the street eating the garbage. Insects, rats and other animals would also eat the garbage left in the streets. In fact, rats spread a disease known as the Bubonic Plague that killed thousands and thousands of people. In the late 00s, Benjamin Franklin started the first garbage collection and street cleaning service. Also during this time, people began digging holes and burying their garbage in their own backyards. Ben s Garbage Collection & Street Cleaning! In England during the 800s garbage was burned. During the early 900s in the United States, garbage was placed in a dump, thrown in the oceans and rivers or burnt. By the middle of the 900s, garbage was placed in sanitary landfills, which were more environmentally friendly. In Monroe County, our garbage is collected curbside and then taken to a Waste-To-Energy plant.the garbage is incinerated to produce electricity. The ashes remaining from the burning process are placed in a class sanitary landfill. See diagram below for how that works. Now that you know trash let s talk recycling on page. Emissions are filtered as they go out of the smokestacks Trash is then picked up by a crane and placed into an incinerator Trash is dumped on a tipping floor The burning trash heates water, creating steam The steam turns a turbine, generating electricity Credit: Wall Street Journal The remaining ash takes about /0 of the space Monroe County Recycling (0) -0 Basham-Michael@MonroeCounty-FL.Gov http://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/recycle
MONROE COUNTY RECYCLES Tons 00 600 00 00 00 00 00 0 Monroe County Recycling.9.8.. 69.6 0 0 6.68 OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER In a three-month, side-by-side comparison between the th quarter of 0 and 0, Monroe County has seen a dramatic increase of 0.9 tons, or 8,880 lbs. of recycling! RECYCLING IS ON THE RISE COUNTY WIDE Month to month, Monroe County continues to see growth in our recycling efforts. This is due to the hard work of our residents, educational outreach and let s not forget the help of our new 6-gallon friends we received in late 0. The Monroe County Solid Waste and Recycling department gives a big THANKS to all of those who are making this possible. PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK, FOR A JOB WELL DONE! Congratulations MONROE COUNTY! Please do your part and remember these Recycling Rules: RECYCLABLES ONLY!! NO FOOD NO TRASH NO PLASTIC BAGS NO STYROFOAM Cans Plastic Containers Please EMPTY containers Glass Bottles & Jars Clear, Brown & Green Monroe County Recycling (0) -0 Basham-Michael@MonroeCounty-FL.Gov http://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/recycle Please flatten boxes Paper Products Monroe County ReNews Page Vol. 6, Issue Spring 0
TOP TEN Recycled Items. Aluminum Cans. Plastic Bottles & Jugs. Steel Cans. Plastic Food Containers. Glass Bottles 6. Jars (Glass & Plastic). Cardboard 8. Food Boxes 9. Junk Mail 0. Newspaper (source: epa.gov) Starve your Trash Can Feed your Recycling Bin Monroe County Solid Waste/Recycling (0) -0 or 9- www.monroecounty-fl.gov/recycle. Recycle or go digital: Every Sunday, the US wastes nearly 90% of recyclable newspapers. This equates to about 00,000 trees! (source: montgomeryschools.org). In 99 the automobile recycling industry recycled enough steel from old cars to produce almost million new cars. (source: recycle-steel.org). The first aluminum can was made in 968 and aluminum was worth more than gold when it was discovered. (source: Aluminum Can Manufacturers Institute). Enough plastic bottles are thrown away in the United States every year to circle the earth four times. (source: benefitsofrecycling.com). Bring reusable shopping bags with you: It takes a -year-old tree to produce 00 paper grocery bags. (source: epa.gov) FUN FACTS Educational & Fun Facts Of Recycling 6. The first PET (plastic #) bottle was recycled in 9 and it only takes five PET bottles to provide enough fiber to make an extra large t-shirt. (source: plasticsresource.com). The US is the # trash-producing country in the world at,609 lbs. per person each year. That means % of the worlds population produces 0% of world s waste. (source: recycling-revolution.com) 8. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a 00 watt light bulb for 0 hours, a computer for three hours and a TV for hours. (source: benefitsofrecycling.com) 9. Americans throw away about 8 billion bottles and jars every year. (source: epa.gov) 0. Since 9 approximately million tons of aluminum have been recycled. That s enough aluminum cans to place side by side and stretch from the earth to the moon 90 times. (source: Aluminum Can Manufacturers Institute) TIPS Refill your plastic drink container with water or another favorite beverage. Use both sides of your paper before recycling it. When you make a purchase, don t take a bag unless you need one or bring a reusable shopping bag with you. Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones. Sell or donate things instead of throwing them away. Purchase items in concentrate (such as juice and detergent) when possible. Use cloth napkins instead of paper. Look for items with little or no packaging. Avoid buying food items in single serve packaging. Use a reusable lunch box or bag instead of a paper bag to carry your lunch. After you read the publications you buy, donate them to the library or give them to friends. Go to a library to read your favorite magazine, book or newspaper rather than purchasing them. Use reusable plastic containers for food instead of plastic bags. Monroe County Recycling (0) -0 Basham-Michael@MonroeCounty-FL.Gov http://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/recycle Look for us in April. We ll be at your local stores with recycling and household hazardous waste information. Plus free goodies too! Monroe County ReNews Page Vol. 6, Issue Spring 0
COMMUNITY EVENTS HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION COMMUNITY CLEAN UPS To request our staff s participation in an event please call 0--0 Monroe COunty Recycling On the go! While on the floor of a Monroe County Transfer Station, Household Hazardous Waste employee Jenniffer Shellito noticed smoke coming from a trash pile feet from her. The trash was cleared away to find a discarded smashed cell phone that was spitting, smoking and rotating around on the SPINNING, SPITTING, SMOKING CELL PHONE floor. Apparently the cell phone battery had a residual charge left in it. The phone either shorted out or the battery terminals came in contact with something flammable. Without being noticed by county staff this could have caused a major fire and put county staff in harm s way. RECYCLING BATTERIES PROPERLY HELPS KEEP US SAFE WHILE WE DO OUR JOBS. For proper and convenient recycling locations please call Jenniffer at 0--0 A Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation program www.callrecycle.org -800-8-Battery Find major retail drop-off locations near your zip. Monroe County Recycling (0) -0 Basham-Michael@MonroeCounty-FL.Gov http://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/recycle Monroe County ReNews Page Vol. 6, Issue Spring 0
Upcoming Household Hazardous Waste Collection Dates Residential E-Waste And Household Hazardous Waste: No Charge Gasoline $.8 Per Gallon Antifreeze $.8 Per Gallon MercurY- Containing Bulbs $.0 Each Business E-Waste $.068 Per Pound Business Hazardous Waste $.60 Per Pound 8 9 Key 0 Blimp Road Mile Marker. Gulf Side 0am-pm Marathon Aviation Blvd. County Garage 9am-pm Mile Marker 68 Gulf Side 0am-pm (NEW!) Park - Behind Walgreens 0am-pm MARCH 0 9 6 0 0 Household Hazardous Waste Collection Sites And Times 0-0- 8 0-9 0-6 6 0-0 0-8 9- Marathon 9 6 APRIL 0 6 0 8 0-8 0-9 0-6 0-9 0 0-0 0-8 0 MAY 0 8 9 6 6 0-0- 0 0-0- 8 0-8 9 0-6 9 0 8 JUNE 0 8 9 9 6 0 0-0 0-0- 8 0-0- 6 9 0-0 6 9- Marathon SEE YOU THERE! Michael Basham Recycling Coordinator 0..0 basham-michael@monroecounty-fl.gov shellito-jenniffer@monroecounty-fl.gov Monroe County ReNews Page Vol. 6, Issue Spring 0