Who we are Environmental Services is a Division of the Greene County Sanitary Engineering Department. Environmental Services hosts a drop-off location for residents of Greene County for everyday household recyclables: glass bottles and jars plastic bottles and jugs metal cans corrugated cardboard paper and newspaper Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! On scheduled Special Waste drop-off days the following is accepted: household hazardous waste large household appliances with or without Freon scrap metal fluorescent tube lamps Greene County residents may drop-off yard waste or pick-up mulch. Information regarding any of the above services can be found on the website. These services are provided at no cost to Greene County residents. Additionally, any questions regarding proper disposal of your household waste can be answered by contacting the office via e-mail, telephone or the website. Contact Us Greene County Environmental Services 2145 Greene Way Blvd. Xenia, OH 45385 Phone: 937-562-5925 Email: envir-svcs@co.greene.oh.us Web: www.co.greene.oh.us Click on Departments, then Environmental Services GREENE COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES ES 937-562-5925 www.co.greene.oh.us Click on Departments, then Environmental Services
REDUCE! How to Reduce We all do it purchase more of an item just in case. So the first thing to do, decide how much you need, then... Household Hazardous Waste What is Household Hazardous Waste BUY ONLY WHAT YOU NEED! Acids & Cleaners Antifreeze Aerosol Spray Cans Herbicides & Fertilizers Watch for extra packaging. Things like vitamins and over the counter medications... Are there options that are not a bottle INSIDE a box? Focus on Reducing Your Waste Purchase only what you need, even food Purchase items that don t come with extra packaging Purchase well-made, durable, items that will last Take your own tote bags to the store Compost your left-over food Compost your grass and leaves Use the compost on your garden to enrich the soil Give away your unneeded or unwanted items Repurpose your items Recycle what you cannot give away or repurpose Ιnsecticides & Pesticides Fuel up to 5 gallons - Gasoline & Kerosene Paint, Stains, Varnishes, & Paint Thinner Tube - type Fluorescent bulbs, unbroken Putty & Adhesives For information on what to do with your Household Hazardous Waste: www.co.greene.oh.us click on Departments, Environmental Services, then Special Waste Drop-off What is not accepted as Household Hazardous Waste Motor Oil Electronics & Televisions Small Household Appliances Computers & Accessories Pharmaceuticals Ammunition & Explosives Compact Fluorescent & Incandescent Bulbs For disposal and recycling options on the above materials go to www.co.greene.oh.us click on Departments then Environmental Services. 1 10
Additional Recycling, Reuse, and Repurpose Opportunities Scrap Metal REUSE! REPURPOSE! Scrap Metal can be recycled at any of the following scrap yards: Dayton-Xenia Auto Parts & Recycling 937-562-2857 Rivers Metal Recycling 937-372-3533 First Street Recycling 937-223-7231 Franklin Iron & Metal 937-253-8184 Tires Tires should be recycled at the time you purchase new tires. OR Most tire dealers will take your used tires to be recycled for a small fee. Large Appliances Large appliances without Freon can be recycled at the scrap yards listed above. Appliances with Freon must first have the Freon removed. For Freon removal you may contact Sound Investments Liquidators, LLC, 937-374-2227, for pick-up and removal. OR Take your appliances with or without Freon to the Special Waste drop-offs at Greene County Environmental Services. See website for scheduled dates and hours. Great Ways to Reduce your Waste Reuse means to use something over and over again. Instead of using a plastic zip bag to store left-over foodstuffs, use a sealed plastic container. Those can be washed and reused. Repurpose is the new buzz word! Essentially it means take something old and use it for something different than was originally intended. Even clothing can be repurposed. One old sweater made two throw pillows. Donation Centers For items that can be reused or repurposed donate them to a local charity such as: Goodwill Salvation Army Vietnam Veterans of America St. Vincent DePaul 9 2
Recycle Plastic Bottles & Jugs, #1 and #2 plastics Glass Bottles & Jars #1 and # 2 plastic = beverage bottles, milk jugs, shampoo and bath soap bottles, laundry soap and softener bottles. Plastic is sorted, baled, and processed into new bottles, plastic lumber, or fleece clothing. Glass = beverage bottles and food jars. Glass is crushed into small pieces and made into fiberglass insulation or new bottles and jars. There is no limit on how many times glass can be recycled into new glass. Home Composting Compost Ingredients The main ingredients in compost include green and brown yard waste. Materials referred to as green are high in nitrogen. The brown ingredients contain mostly carbon. Compost is created by mixing the green and brown materials, along with water, air, sunlight, plus worms. Composting is a practical and convenient way to manage your yard and food waste. What is Compost Green Ingredients: Grass and lawn clippings Kitchen wastes Newly pulled weeds and other garden wastes Green leaves Brown Ingredients: Straw Woodchips and sawdust Dead weeds Brown leaves Metal Cans Metal Cans = food and beverage cans such as bi-metal, tin, steel, and aluminum cans. Metal cans are processed into other metal products including new cans and even cars! Note: DO NOT compost meat scraps, fatty food wastes, milk products, or bones these materials do not compost efficiently and attract pests. For more information: www.co.greene.oh.us click on Departments, Environmental Services, then Publications 3 8
Yard Waste What is Yard Waste Yard waste is best described as organic matter from your yard. Things like tree branches, leaves, grass, and weeds. Yard Waste at Environmental Services Tree branches are ground up to make mulch. The mulch is available to residents at no cost. Grass and leaves can be hauled to local farmers where it is used to naturally enrich the soil. Recycle Old Corrugated Cardboard Cardboard = corrugated or waffled between layers. Cardboard is sorted and baled. Then processed at a paper mill and made into new boxes. What is not Yard Waste Bricks, concrete, pavers, metal objects, yard ornaments, plastic bags, and other general trash items are NOT yard waste. Even small pieces of trash, like bags, left with yard waste ruins the materials for soil improvement and compost. Additionally, trash tears up the machinery used to make mulch. This is dangerous and can lead to serious injury and costly repairs. What other options are there for yard waste Newspaper Newspaper = Newsprint Newspaper is processed into new insulation. Newspaper can also be processed at paper mills and made into cereal boxes or egg cartons. Mulch your grass, don t rake it. When grass clippings are left in your yard they return vital nutrients to the soil for a healthier lawn. Mulch your leaves. Leaves also improve the soil. Use your leaves to bed down your flower and vegetable gardens for the winter. Start your own home compost. Compost is a great addition to the soil in flower and vegetable gardens and will result in healthier plants. Paper, Magazines, Paperboard, Junk Mail Paper = office paper, colored paper, junk mail, sale ads, postcards, magazines, phone books, and paperboard like cereal and cracker boxes. Paper is sorted and baled. Then processed at a paper mill into products like file folders. 7 4
The Recycling Process Your Recyclables Facts about Recycling Old Corrugated Cardboard Recycling one ton of cardboard saves 46 gallons of oil. It takes 25% less energy to recycle cardboard versus making new. Material Recovery Facility Collection Paper and Newspaper Every ton of paper recycled saves 7,000 gallons of water, 17 trees, 4,100 kilowatts of electricity, and 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space! Plastic Bottles & Jugs, #1 and #2 plastics Recycling one ton of plastic bottles saves the equivalent energy usage of a two person household for one year. Recycling just five plastic bottles provides enough fiber to create one square foot of carpet or enough to fill one ski jacket. Processing Glass Bottles & Jars Glass can be recycled over and over, it never wears out. One glass jar recycled, will save enough energy to light an 11 watt Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb for 20 hours. 5 New Product Manufacturer Metal and Aluminum Cans Making a new metal can from recycled cans only takes about 5% of the amount of energy used to make one with new materials.. Recycling a single aluminum can saves enough energy to power a TV for three hours! It requires 95% less energy and water to recycle a can than it does to create a can from raw materials. Did you know every three months Americans throw enough aluminum in the landfills to build our nation s entire commercial air fleet? Information obtained from AmericaRecycles.org 6