Reduce, Reuse And Recycle Waste This Holiday Season

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering tips to help families save money, reduce waste and keep recycling and trash workers safe during upcoming holidays.

“We know recycling can be confusing,” said Jennifer Semrau, DNR waste reduction and diversion coordinator. “But there are some basic tips people can use to make tackling holiday waste less overwhelming. Knowing the right thing to do with items like batteries and light strings can prevent damage to recycling facilities and keep workers safe.”

What Should Go In Your Recycling Bin

Many items can be recycled anywhere in Wisconsin. These items, which the state bans from landfills, include:

• Cardboard — flatten boxes before putting them in carts or bins so that recycling equipment can handle them properly
• Newspaper
• Magazines
• Office paper
• Plastic #1 and #2 containers
• Aluminum cans
• Steel (tin) cans
• Glass bottles and jars

Be sure containers are empty of liquids and excess gunk, and give them a quick rinse. They don’t need to be spotless, but they should be mostly clean. Don’t crush or flatten cans or bottles going into a curbside recycling cart or container — this makes it harder for equipment at recycling facilities to recognize and properly sort things like aluminum cans. Flat cans could be sorted with flat paper and cardboard.

Some recycling programs accept wrapping paper that can be torn and doesn’t have any glitter, foil, ribbons or other adornments, but others don’t accept any wrapping paper because of the risk of contamination from non-recyclable coatings and decorations. Most communities accept junk mail and other mixed paper, such as cereal boxes.

Check locally for a complete list of what your program accepts, and don’t rely on packaging labels, which are not specific to your program. Keep in mind that what you can recycle at a relative’s home may be different than what you can recycle at your own.

What Should Not Go In Your Recycling Bin

Some items can cause serious problems at recycling facilities that aren’t designed to handle them, including a risk of fire and worker injury. Many of these can be recycled at drop-off sites but should not go in curbside recycling bins or carts. These include:

• Holiday light strings, cords and other “tanglers.” At modern recycling facilities, these wrap around equipment, meaning a facility has to be shut down for workers to cut the material loose. Some retailers, electronics recyclers and communities offer seasonal recycling programs for light strings. If that’s not an option, put broken lights in the trash.
• Plastic bags, plastic film and wrap. These also get tangled in recycling equipment. In addition, bagged recyclables cause problems because workers can’t be sure what’s inside, meaning recyclables in bags will likely end up in the trash. If you collect cans, bottles and other recyclables in a bag to reduce mess, empty the bag into your bin or cart and then put the bag in the trash. You can take many types of clean, dry plastic bags and wrap to store drop-off locations. Learn more about reducing, reusing and recycling plastic bags and wrap on the DNR’s Recycling Plastic Bags webpage.
• Batteries and electronics. Recycling facilities that manage cans, bottles and cardboard and waste facilities that manage household garbage aren’t set up to handle batteries and electronics. Rechargeable batteries can cause fires in collection trucks and facilities if they are damaged by equipment, and many electronics contain hazardous materials. Find more on how to recycle batteries and electronics, including drop-off site locations, on the DNR’s Electronics Recycling webpage.
• Tissue paper. While not a hazard, the fibers in this type of paper are too short to be recycled and reused again.
• Photo cards and cards that play music, light up or have glitter or ribbons. These cards may contain batteries, which are a fire risk, or nonrecyclable material that contaminates other paper.

For more information about what can and can’t be recycled, visit the DNR’s What to Recycle in Wisconsin webpage.

Learn more about reducing household waste during the holidays on the DNR’s Recycling and Waste Reduction webpage.

Save Money With Food Waste Prevention Tips

Did you know that household food waste and scraps make up the largest part of all trash in Wisconsin landfills — approximately 854,000 tons annually, or 294 pounds per person in Wisconsin? When food goes in the trash, so do all the resources, time and money used to produce, store and distribute the food.

“We may not typically think of reducing food waste in our homes as recycling,” said Erik Flesch, DNR organics waste management specialist. “But being conscious of the food we buy, the way we store it and the way we dispose of it can reduce hunger, save money and improve Wisconsin’s environment.”

The organization ReFED estimates that on Thanksgiving alone, 320 million pounds of food is wasted in the United States. This represents more than $550 million of groceries thrown away in a single day. When this wasted food decomposes in landfills, it will release nearly 8,000 metric tons of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. This is similar to what’s emitted by powering 28,885 homes’ electricity for a year.

Here are some tips to prevent and reduce food waste at home.

• Shop with a plan based on headcount. Shopping while hungry and buying more food than what is needed leads to more food waste. You can reduce this problem by taking inventory of what you already have, planning meals and making detailed shopping lists. Save the Food’s free portion planner, The Guest-imator, can help you estimate how much you need to prepare for gatherings. Prepare to share leftovers by having containers on hand to send guests home with their favorites.
• Upcycle your pantry and understand date labels. Allow grocery store sale items or food you already have at home to help inspire your dishes by using a recipe generator such as Cook It. Simply enter your ingredients (one or many), and it will generate recipes to help you use them. Note that manufacturer date labels such as “Best if used by” are not regulated by federal law, with the exception of infant formula, and indicate peak quality but not food safety. The U.S. Department of Agriculture advises consumers to use their eyes and nose, and only to toss food if the smell, color, consistency or texture has changed. Some special holiday items like that jar of nutmeg or package of wild rice from last year are likely still too good to waste.
• Refrigerate quickly to extend its life. Don’t let leftovers linger in the danger zone of 40-160 degrees Fahrenheit where bacteria can grow rapidly, making food unsafe to eat. Store It on SaveTheFood.com gives tips and tricks on how to label containers, organize your fridge and keep food fresh and tasty as long as possible.
• Freeze before you toss. Consider putting your holiday leftovers and surplus ingredients in the freezer to save the time and money on future grocery store runs. To maximize freshness and quality of stored foods, check out the FoodKeeper app. Extra eggs can be removed from their shell and frozen. Extra gravy, tomato paste, broth and even wine can be frozen in ice cube trays for future sauces. Vegetable scraps, extra meat and bones can be frozen and simmered later for soup stock. Pack up that extra cheese and sausage platter airtight, freeze it and enjoy later this winter!
• Consider composting extra food scraps. Composting is a form of recycling because the organic materials are broken down into a useful garden product. The compost microbes live in the presence of air and produce less methane gas than if the food were in the landfill — plus you end up creating a great soil builder.

For more details and additional tips, visit the DNR’s Reducing Food Waste at Home webpage.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.