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We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
- Native American Proverb |
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This is the main page, where you can find out about the vast number of recyclable materials that we pick up. The pictures on the right represent the various material. As you can see we pick up glass, plastics, cardboard, paper, aluminum, old books, and even scrap metal!
In addition to home pickup, we also offer environmental services to businesses. Business rates vary depending on the needs and the type of service for the business. We also offer Environmentally Friendly Construction Site Cleanup. For more information please contact us.
There are some things, however, that may fall into these categories but we are unable to take. For example, currently we do not E-cycle (taking old and or broken computer/electronic equipment). We are working to set up this facility and may be offering it within the next year. To find out more about items that we cannot take, click on the pictures to the right for each of the different categories.
Items and pickups do have a certain criteria that must be met. More information about that can be found on the Do's and Don'ts page.
After setting up a schedule, you will need two containers: one container for paper and cardboard and another container for... well "containers". Containers are plastic, glass, aluminum, any thing else that is recyclable and a vessel. You may either use/create/purchase your own containers, or if you prefer, you may obtain the containers from us. More detailed information about containers can be found here.
We accept all various forms, colors, and shapes of glass. As containers, they must be clean of any food particles and other such matter. Labels, if any, do not need to be removed. We DO NOT accept ceramics or pyrex. For examples of what is and what is not acceptable, please click here.
Glass can be made in many different ways, but the main ingredient is sand. Ancient Egyptians would mix sand, lime, and soda and heat it until it became a liquid. That same process has not changed. Today's glass is made of silica sand, soda ash, and limestone: the same ingredients over 2000 years ago.
The amazing thing about glass is that it can be recycled indefinitely to make new glass objects. The glass bottle you recycle today can be made into cup next month, then a baby bottle, and so on and so on. While glass does not contaminate in a landfill, there is no reason for it to be there.
The following plastics are accepted: #1, #2, #3,and #4. They adhere to the same rules as glass: they must be cleared of any food or liquids. Labels are of course optional. Examples of acceptable and unacceptable pickup material can be found here.
Some of the plastic-types we accept are:
Plastic #1: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE). Common uses - 2 liter soda bottles, cooking oil bottles, peanut butter jars.
Plastic #2: High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). Common uses - Detergent bottles, milk jugs.
Plastic #3: Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). Common uses - plastic pipes, outdoor furniture, shrink wrap, water bottles, salad dressing bottles.
Plastic #4: Low-density Polyethylene (LDPE). Common uses - Dry cleaning bags, produce bags, trash can liners, food storage containers.
Please contact us, for items not found on the list.
Plastics were first made using gutta-percha (a tree sap), shellac (secretions from a tiny scale insect), even horns of animals. This was before synthetic plastics. In 1869, an inventor by the name of John Wesley Hyatt found cellulose nitrate (aka guncotton) could be substituted for ivory. With the addition of camphor, they found a substance that was used to make anything from combs, pool balls, even dentures.
The plastics that we know today are made from petroleum by-products, which would explain why even plastic items are so expensive these days. Most of the common plastics today are made from ethylene and propylene, or ethane and propane. So as costs for oil increase, so will the price of making new plastics.
Cardboard, whether whole or in pieces, is accepted provided it is not heavily soiled or waxed. Cardboard boxes should be broken down into as flat a form as possible. For examples please click here
There are two types of cardboard: Corrugated, which is the heavy duty kind for making boxes; and flat, which is used for making items such as cereal boxes. We do not accept waxed cardboard. Waxed cardboard are materials such as juice boxes or milk cartons.
Cardboard itself is a heavy-duty paper, and made in the same process as paper. Corrugated cardboard is made from two pieces of this thicker paper with a wavy piece of cardboard. The paper itself for making cardboard is also known as kraft paper. This kraft paper was invented in 1884 by a Swedish chemist named Carl F. Dahl.
Fast-growing pine trees are the primary source of cardboard. After the limbs are stripped, the trunks are shredded and then pulped by a process known as the sulfate process to break them down. This pulp is then made into heavy-duty paper which become cardboard.
Paper is treated with the same rules as cardboard. We cannot take paper that is heavily soiled or coated with wax or plastic. Shiny paper plates or Chinese take-out boxes are an example of this.
Paper, like cardboard, is made from trees. The trees are voided of limbs and the trunks are chewed into small pieces, which are then sent through a treatment process. Paper, unlike the glass, can only be recycled 4-6 times as a standard rule. Each time paper is recycled virgin pulp must be added, since it breaks down each time it undergoes the recycling process. There are 3 types recycled material: mill broke, pre-consumer waste, and post-consumer waste.
The EPA only regulates recycled paper use for the federal government, and any other entity receiving federal funding which includes state government, and certain other companies. While recycling of paper may not be more heavily controlled, paper recycling has been long in practice in the USA - ground wood paper recycling dates back to around 1897.
Phonebooks can start to collect over the years; so why throw them away when they can be recycled? The Art Department at Murray State also accepts phonebooks. They are used in the Print making classes to help wipe ink from plates.
Metal Cans, or tin-coated steel, are accepted. The label and the lid MUST be removed, but can be recycled as well . The can must also be clean of food and debris.
Other metals (aka scrap metal) are also accepted. Please call ahead for large item pickups.
Cans can either be crushed or uncrushed, but must be washed out beforehand. This keeps the bees from attacking Chuck.
