How Recycling Centers Help To Reduce Waste

by | Apr 1, 2013 | Articles

Recent Articles

Categories

Archives

The importance of Recycling Centers in Hartford CT in today’s world, with a still growing population of over seven billion, can’t be overstated. Problems with overcrowded landfills and contaminated water systems are becoming an ever increasing dilemma with groundwater seepage concerns. Recycling has become vitally important in the attempt to regain control of unwanted and discarded items. Guidelines were created in 1991 by the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. Hartford CT is among those cities working to not only meet but exceed those recycling requirements.

In 2008, the recycling rate for the state of Connecticut was about 25 percent which sounds good initially until you realize that figure corresponds to 2.7 million tons of annual garbage or about 1.5K lbs. of trash per person on an annual basis.

The Recycling Act of Connecticut is mandatory for everyone and there are no exclusions for any reason. What this means is that all schools, agencies, households and business must recycle the required products in the manner specified by state law and regulated by the city.

What items are required to be recycled?
Glass containers used for food or drinks
Metal containers used for food or drinks
Cardboard that is corrugated
Leaves/grass
Metal
Batteries (lead acid) and cadmium
Motor oil

Most cities in Connecticut accept only white paper from business but; in Hartford, the recycling centers in Hartford CT accept catalogues, magazines and newsprint. The city of Harford has located a newspaper mill which reuses the recycled material in the manufacture of their product. A significant reduction in energy is one benefit of recycling materials. For example, the resources required to produce and refine metal to meet production requirements is far greater than using recycled products.

Cost is a reality with recycling. There is a process involved with associated prices in realizing benefits from the reuse of products. All recyclables must be collected in some form from the consumer, and then shipped to locations which reuse the material in the manufacture of their products. The amount these companies are willing to pay for the used materials will fluctuate depending on the current market value of their product just as with any other resources required. The reuse of recycled material is the best option with regard to environmental issues reducing pollutions and reducing emissions which are known to affect climate.

The city of Hartford, CT gives blue recycle carts to 1-6 family properties free of charge. On trash day, residents simply move them to the curb to be collected. These carts are color coded for easy identification. The gray tubs are for regular garbage and blue for those items which are considered clean recyclables and are collected on a weekly basis. Items not acceptable for the blue tubs include regular trash, sheet rock and other building materials, tree limbs and grass or leaves. All items that cannot be placed in the blue cans have other means of disposal. These are spelled out on the Harford recycling website. The use of the blue recycling cart saves tax dollars. Burning trash cost the city about $69 a ton while the cost to Hartford for the recycled products is $0.

If you would like to become involved in the local recycling effort, you can contact the recycling center Hartford or visit the website domain web page for information.

Related Articles