LiveGreen was fortunate to be able to reschedule the recycling event in August, and, as anticipated, many of you did some extra spring cleaning while staying home more during COVID-19.
More than 400 people dropped off:
- 861 pounds of VHS tapes, DVDs, CDs and floppy disks;
- 15,681 pounds of electronics;
- 12,876 pounds of paper for shredding;
- 300 pounds of alkaline batteries; and
- 28,943 total pounds diverted from the landfill. That estimated impact?
- 74 trees saved;
- 393 gallons of oil not used;
- 882,742 hours of electricity saved; and
- 11,949 gallons of water
You also donated:
- 600 pounds of food/toiletries and $2,555 to the Maverick Food Pantry;
- 161 eyeglasses to the Truhlsen Eye Institute clinic; and
- 12.5 pounds of pop tabs to Ronald McDonald House (which helps to pay their electric bill).
A big “Thank you” to the volunteers who were able to help at this two-day event: Deb Bass, Ryan Lawson, Anita Soto, Rosie Zweiback, Peggy Heires, Tricia Saxton, Peggy Schneider, Julie Sommer, Brian Dykstra, Kyle Dykstra, Andy Balus, Brian Spencer, Dakota Stock and Kristina Hughes.
While we love being able to help you properly recycle these hard to recycle items and protect your identity by shredding paper, we’ve been noticing a trend — every year our totals increase. For the past two years, the weights of the electronics we collected were almost double what they were the two years prior (about 8,000 pounds in both 2017 and 2018 and about 15,000 pounds in 2019 and 2020). All other categories have increased in weight as well. We’re also receiving more items — not only have we filled more containers, but older electronics, especially TVs, were heavier than the new models. As we receive newer items, we know they weigh less, meaning the quantity of items received has increased.
A lot of this is due to planned obsolescence. To reduce your environmental impact and save money, do research before buying products to see how long the product will last, and consider spending a little more for something that will last longer. Other ways to reduce include requesting electronic/online versions of statements, removing yourself from mailing lists and upgrading to rechargeable batteries. Reducing waste is the most important step, recycling is the last resort.