Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day
October 29, 2008
I never thought that I had hazardous wastes in my home, but I do. What are they? Small household batteries, fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent bulbs, old cell phones and out of date medications (both over-the-counter and prescription).
Although I drank the cool-aid of the green movement years ago, until recently I never realized the proper disposal of the above mentioned items. All of the above become pollutants in the soil in a landfill and drugs, often flushed down a toilet or dumped in a trash can, wind up in our water supply. Ooops, was that Vioxx in my coffee this morning?
Here's where to take your small household batteries, CFLs and fluorescent tubes, cell phones, unused or out of date medications and mercury thermometers this Saturday, November 1, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Metro Nashville Recycling drop off locations:
Hillsboro High School
Bellevue at the MTA Park and Ride
Dupont Hadley Middle School
Joelton Middle School
Elysian Fields Kroger
I'll be at the Bellevue location. And so will Metro Police to monitor the medications. If you bring in a mercury thermometer, you'll receive a digital thermometer.
What to Do With Old Cell Phones
August 27, 2008
If you have a drawer full of old cell phones, here’s a link to the Keep America Beautiful Wipe Out Wireless Waste program. I’ve always donated my old cell phones to organizations that can reuse them or recycle them. Let’s keep them out of the landfills and the waterways.
A Company with a Green Spokesgoat
June 20, 2008
While I had first heard of Gruff during the 90s, I had not seen him around the Quad plants whenever I visited. Last spring I learned that Gruff is still around after all these years and is always ready to bleat about recycling.
Barbara: When I’m at Sussex on press checks for MyBusiness magazine, I notice containers for plastic, aluminum, glass and paper. What do you recycle in the corporate offices at Quad?
Gruff: Magazines, catalogs, newspapers, direct mail, cardboard, manila folders, Post-it notes, mail cardboard packaging, copier and all other paper and envelopes. Stuff I like to eat.
Barbara: What else do you recycle in the corporate offices?
Gruff: Toner cartridges from Dell and HP, Styrofoam packing peanuts, CDs, disks and tapes; all kinds of batteries. Stuff that I can’t eat.
Barbara: What about recycling in the printing and manufacturing areas?
Gruff: Quad recycles 98.5% of all solid waste generated in our plants, including paper, plastic strapping, wood, metal and computers. We divert more than 300,000 tons of material away from landfills annually, except for the paper I eat before it’s recycled. Since I’m getting up in goat years, I now mostly eat just the healthy entrees in the cafeteria.
Barbara: Quad runs a 24/7 operation like most printing plants. This must use lots of energy.
Gruff: We’ve reduced energy consumption 36% per printed page since the mid-1990s, saving enough energy to power approximately 21,000 single-family homes. Unfortunately, no one has figured out how many goat barns we could power on Quad’s efficiencies.
Barbara: As the green corporate spokesgoat for a major company, what advice can you give our readers?
Gruff: Long ago, I established these GOLDEN RULES OF RECYCLING for Quad employees:
1. Do not place trash with recyclables.
2. Do not place recyclables in the trash.
3. Do not mix together different types of recyclables unless noted otherwise.
Barbara: Thanks, Gruff, I hope to see you in Sussex soon. I like the button with your logo, Be a Gruff, Recycle Stuff.
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