Author: keeppowderspringsbeautiful

Less Waste for the Holidays – eWaste

keeppowderspringsbeautiful

Holiday memories from my childhood include my father in the living room patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) laying out strands of lights to see what we had that was functional. Those large bulb, energy suckers did indeed warm an entire room and would even burn small fingers if you got too close. I think about that each year and I have now inherited that ritual with much small and more energy efficient strands for our tree.

I don’t remember what my father did with each year’s rejects, but I fear that yet sit in the bottom of a landfill somewhere south of Atlanta. But as the saying goes, “when we know better, we do better.” While there are a plethora of options for us, we do have a few places we can go to responsibly take care of our eWaste.

Check out this list of local resources below to see where you might be able to take eWaste you find around your home this holiday season:

  • ReWorx Recycling accepts electronics, metals and other recyclables ensuring eco-friendly disposal. Items accepted include but are not limited to computers, gaming consoles, home audio equipment, old exercise equipment and even lawn and garden tools!
  • Ecycle Atlanta can help you with disposal of materials that might contain sensitive information. See a list of all their items here.
  • Home Depot locations run an “Eco Options Light Trade In” during the Christmas season.
  • HolidayLeds.com is a mail-in program that recycles Christmas lights all year long.

Less Waste for the Holidays

Less Waste for the Holidays – Wrapping It Up

keeppowderspringsbeautiful

Each year I am more and more aware of the additional waste created during the holidays. Don’t believe me? Just take a spin around your neighborhood after Thanksgiving or Christmas and notice the overflowing trash carts!

Well, a few years ago we tried a new strategy to reduce some of our Christmas Day trash. Pretty simply, we replaced wrapping paper and paper gift bags for cloth “gift sacks.” These little gems are available for purchase online or locally at stores like Michaels or Target. For any seamstresses out there, I found a really great pattern that gives really simple instructions for making these once and then using them year after year.

While we still have boxes and packaging, the entire trash bag of paper from unwrapping gifts has been eliminated. But if this isn’t for you, here is a list of all the Christmas morning debris you can bring to Powder Springs Recycling Center:

Wrapping paper, tissue paper, used gift bags

Gift boxes and packaging

Cardboard boxes

Less Waste for the Holidays

Less Waste for the Holiday – Plastics

keeppowderspringsbeautiful

The main culpret around our house during the holidays and, really, ANY time of year are plastics! While we have little to no option about how our goods are packed when we purchase them from a store or on-line, we DO have some control over where that trash goes when we are done it with it.

We are fortunate here in Cobb County to participate in the Hefty EnergyBag or Hefty Renew program. This small addition to our own household garbage has reduced the bags of trash we put in our curbside waste by 50%. Here is how it works…..mostly (I’ll explain after the video.)

How it Works

  • Purchase your Hefty Renew bags at any of our local grocery stores or online here.
  • Fill them with all the plastics we cannot take at Powder Springs Recycling Center! That’s right – all that stuff you have to trash because it isn’t a 1 or 2 can go in these little orange miracle bags.
  • HERE IS WHERE WE DIFFER FROM THE VIDEO…..Because we don’t have curbside recycling in Powder Springs, these bags can be dropped off at WestRock Recycling at 1775 County Services Road in the big orange dumpster.

Interested in having Hefty ReNew drop off here in Powder Springs? Please let our Recycling Center Staff know! We’re always looking for ways to serve our community’s recycling needs.

Keep the Holidays Beautiful

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Continuing our Less Waste for the Holidays series, we thought we’d share this GREAT resource from Keep America Beautiful crammed full of ideas to help you reduce waste this season. This resource helps you more fully realize the environmental footprint of your holiday party.

Americans throw away 25-43% more trash between the Thanksgiving and New Year’s holiday period.

Keep America Beautiful

It is very easy to lose track of waste, especially when most of us are in the habit of “trash it and forget it.” It usually doesn’t catch up with us until that day of the week that we roll our cart to the curb and notice that the lid won’t shut. From decorations, to wrapping paper, to additional food waste – it can really add up.

This is why we are happy to share Keep America Beautiful’s Keep the Holidays Beautiful resource with you. this downloadable resource can be wonderful “food for thought” as you plan your holiday gatherings.

Stay tuned into our blog this November and December for more small ways you can reduce waste around your holiday traditions.

Less Waste for the Holidays

keeppowderspringsbeautiful

It is hard to believe we’re blogging about the holiday season, but it will be here in the blink of an eye. For us, it always means food, fun, and family, but also – MORE TRASH. I never cease to be amazed how quickly all of our holiday waste piles up:

  • additional food waste from cooking big meals
  • leftovers no one gets around to eating
  • cans, bags, and boxes used in all those holiday recipes
  • cardboard boxes from Amazon and other retailers
  • discarded electical lights we aren’t using this year
  • wrapping paper and gift bags

Please remember that Powder Springs Recycling Center can help you reduce the waste you send to the landfill this season.

Those cans from vegetables and stock? RECYCLABLE

Heavy plastic containers (milk jugs, dishwashing liquid containers, etc.) RECYCLABLE

Empty packaging boxes (crackers, macaroni, cream cheese, etc.) RECYCLING

We’re staffing additional help the weekends after both Thanksgiving and Christmas to assist your family with their drop offs. Pre-sorting before you come can help you make this trip quick and easy.