Rethink Recycling Richfield

It is never too late to rethink recycling and its implications for your lifestyle and I’m going to assume that after reading this fantastic post you’ll start today. 

It is crucial that you start today. 

Please start today. 

Last week MPR had a great article on electronics recycling. Apparently many of the large chain retail stores in the area recycle everything from old computers to cell phones to plastic bags. For instance, the Best Buy website boasts: No matter where you bought it, we’ll recycle it. Target is here for good (seriously). Whole Foods, while not having a location in Richfield, recycles #5 plastics which is fantastic because all those yogurt and cottage cheese containers aren’t going anywhere once they get to the landfill (worth a trip to the Calhoun location once a month for sure). Check out the MPR article for a more extensive list.

This is really important to know for the a couple reasons:

1. Devices like cell phones, computers, televisions, and other techie gadgets all have parts made from toxic chemicals like chromium, cadmium, zinc, brominated flame retardants, lead and mercury. When they aren’t properly disposed of these chemicals leech into ground water and soil. That’s gross. Therefore, take them to Best Buy and recycle them properly.
2. The average person living in the United States throws away enough plastic bags that the petroleum used to make them could drive a car about 60 miles on the fuel.  Talk about wasting fuel.  Paper bags aren’t any better if you’re throwing them away: making a paper bag creates 51% more greenhouse gasses than making a plastic bag and 50 time the water pollution. These are some of the handful of stats I’m willing to rip off someone else’s website. Are you still with me?  Check out One Bag At A Time for more info and stop forgetting to bring your own bags when you shop! Target on 66th Street and Cedar Avenue has a bin specifically for recycling all the plastic bags in your life. 
3. And generally: we need to stop choking our planet with plastic. I’ll come back to this in a couple weeks, but for now just trust me. Stop buying plastic and stop throwing it away. Almost all of it is recyclable. Figure out where/how here.

Why else is going the extra inch to recycle the stuff you can’t put at the end of your driveway important?  What tips have I forgotten in this brief foray on my soap box?