BE THE SOLUTION TO POLLUTION:
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, RESPOND
REDUCE the amount of trash discarded.
• Reduce the amount of unnecessary
packaging.
• Adopt practices that reduce waste toxicity.
WHERE YOUR
WASTE GOES:
A WASTE MANAGEMENT GUIDE
REUSE containers and products.
• Consider reusable products.
• Maintain and repair durable products.
• Reuse bags, containers, and other items.
• Borrow, rent, or share items used
infrequently.
• Sell or donate reusable goods.
RECYCLE and use recycled materials.
• Choose recyclable products and
containers and recycle them.
• Select products made from recycled
materials.
• Compost yard trimmings and fruit and
vegetable scraps.
RESPOND to wastefulness by reconsidering
waste-producing activities and by expressing
preferences for less waste.
• Educate others on source reduction and
recycling practices. Make your preferences
known to manufacturers, merchants, and
community leaders.
• Be creative - find new ways to reduce
waste quantity and toxicity.
For more information about what to do with
your waste, contact your tribe's environmental
office, or see the following website:
www.epa.gov/osw/
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What to do with:
• Recyclables
• Yard waste and food scraps
• Tires
• Appliances
• Furniture
• Cars
• Ink jet cartridges
• Car batteries
• Motor oil
• Household hazardous waste and
• Electronic waste
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WHATTO DO WITH RECYCLABLE* AND
COM PO STABLES
WHATTO DO WITH
BULKY WASTE
WHATTO DO WITH
HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE
Paper
To help save paper and trees:
1) Use both sides of each piece of paper.
2) Buy paper with the highest post-consumer recycled
content available and processed chlorine-free.
3) Decrease your junk mail by writing to the Direct
Marketing Association: www.dmachoice.org/MPS
4) Recycle your used paper. To find out where, call
your tribe's environmental department or check with
your local waste hauler or transfer station. Recycled
paper can be made into gift-wrap, paper, newspaper
and paper towels.
5) Make your own paper from old newspaper or office
paper. See: www.makestuff.com/recycling/paper.html
Clothes
Don't send clothes to a landfill. Instead:
1) Donate your used clothes to a local thrift shop.
2) Sell your clothes online or at a consignment store.
3) Try your hand at sewing.
4) Host a swap party. Ask each partygoer bring items
to swap.
Glass, Plastic and Aluminum
Recycled glass can be made into new bottles,
glassphalt (a type of asphalt made of crushed glass),
and ceramics.
Recycled plastic can be made into new toys, trash
bags, automobile bumpers, and flowerpots.
Recycled aluminum can be made into new cans, pie
tins and furniture.
To find out where you can recycle your glass, plastic,
and aluminum, call your tribe's environmental
department or check with your local waste hauler or
transfer station.
Food Waste and Green Waste
Turn your food scraps and yard
clippings into new soil by starting
backyard composting bin. For
more information, see US EPA's
composting website:
www.epa.gov/compost/backyard.htm
Tires
Recycled tires can be made into asphalt and playground
material. Improperly disposed of, waste tires can create a
breading ground for mosquitoes and create a fire hazard.
Help recycle scrap tires and prevent them from ending up
in the wrong places:
1) Buy durable tires.
2) Take proper care of tires by checking air inflation,
rotating the tires, balancing the wheels, and maintaining
proper wheel alignment.
3) Purchase used tires and/or buy retreads.
4) Support the recycled product market by looking for
products made with scrap tires/recycled rubber.
5) Return surplus tires to either a tire retailer or a local
recycling facility that accepts tires. Some tribes or
municipalities will also conduct "tire amnesty days"
where citizens can bring a limited number of tires to a
drop-off site free of charge. For more information,
contact your tribe's environmental department or check
with your local waste hauler or transfer station.
Appliances and Furniture
Donate or sell your operable appliances and furniture in
good condition. Check with your tribe's environmental
department or your local waste hauler or transfer station
for what to do with inoperable appliances and unusable
furniture.
Cars and Mobile Homes
Don't let your yard become an auto wrecking site:
1) Sell your working car or mobile home through a private
buyer or a used car dealer. When shopping around,
get offers in writing.
2) Donate your vehicle to charity. Try calling your favorite
charity to see if they have a car donation program.
3) For non-working vehicles, try selling the parts online or
to a local scrap metal dealer.
Electronic Waste (E-Waste) Oil!
(Including computers, TVs, VCRs, stereos, and copiers)
I) See if a local repair shop or electronics training program
could use it for parts or practice.
2) Check Earth 911 for ways to donate used electronics:
http://earth911.org/electronics/reuse-electronics-through-
donation/
3) Check with your tribe's environmental department or
your local waste hauler or transfer station to see if they
offer electronics recycling.
Ink Jet Cartridges
Up to three quarts of oil are needed to produce a single
printer cartridge. Leaking ink from used cartridges can
pollute the environment, and the plastic they're made of
will take many generations to decompose.
1. Set up your own inkjet cartridge and cell phone
collection program, www.freerecycling.com or
www.planetgreenrecycle.com will pay you for
cartridges that you collect.
2. Check with your ink cartridge manufacturer to see if
you can have your cartridges refilled or recycled.
Car Batteries
Car batteries contain lead and can be hazardous if
disposed of improperly. Take back your used car
batteries for recycling to the nearest car battery retailer.
Motor Oil *5i
Used motor oil can be re-refined into new oil. If you
recycle two gallons of used oil it can generate enough
electricity to run a house for 24 hours.
Tip 1: Oil is toxic and can pollute drinking water.
Never spill oil on the soil or pour down the drain.
Tip 2: Antifreeze contaminates motor oil. Do not
mix the two. Never place oil in a container that has
contained other chemicals.
1) If you change your own oil, take it to a collection
center for recycling or call your tribe's environmental
department.
If you take your car to a service station to have the
2)
oil changed for you, you can be fairly certain they
recycle the oil. If you are not sure, ask.
Other Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)
(Including paints, pesticides, automotive products,
cleaning products, batteries, mercury thermometers,
and fluorescent light bulbs).
Chemicals in household hazardous waste can be released
into the environment and contaminate our air, water,
and the food we eat. By throwing hazardous waste in
the garbage, you can cause additional hazards to your
garbage handler. To find out where you can safely
dispose of your HHW, call your tribe's environmental
department or check with your local waste hauler or
transfer station. For more information on HHW, see
EPA's website at: www.epa.gov/garbage/hhw.htm
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