Environmental technician educator

We can start this column out with warm and fuzzy feelings because Minnesota, as a whole, is ranked 7th out of all of the states for recycling. We are doing pretty darn well! In the Midwest, Minnesota and Iowa are leading the way while the champions of recycling are located in the smaller states on the East Coast, and Oregon have been long known for its efforts on waste reduction.

Waste reduction, which includes reduce, reuse, and recycle, can be weaved into the fabric of our daily lives. I often use this story of a can opener. If you go to the store and purchase a $2.50 can opener, chances are you will be purchasing quite a few of this same can opener throughout your life because these types of can openers just don’t seem to work well after a year or two of use. However, purchasing a heavier-made can opener (there are a few sold that are American-made in our local stores) that costs $10 may be the last can opener that you ever purchase. Even better, more and more steel/tin cans that have the tab openers on them don’t require a can opener at all! 

The better choice is the $10 can opener both economically and environmentally speaking. There is less waste by spending just a little bit more to have less to have to dispose of later and spend less later too.

There are many, many different ways to reduce waste in our homes and in our businesses and many of them are all about making a small change that has a larger impact on waste reduction. A good example is to skip paper plates, plastic utensils, and similar items and use only reusable items whenever we can. Choose to use a water bottle over bottled water or how about more bar soap use versus liquid soap use (which mostly comes in a plastic bottle).

Small changes are necessary to start reducing waste in our homes or businesses. There are times that because of how the recycling markets work, we cannot recycle most plastic items. Do not let the plastic resin code on plastic items or plastic bags fool you-these do not tell you that something is recyclable but only what kind of plastic the item is made from. If it is not paper, cardboard, or an empty clean food container, then it is not recyclable.

A few good examples of items that we see in recycling that are not recyclable are plastic plant pots, totes, coolers, window or glass frames, clothes, Styrofoam, miscellaneous plastic items that did not have food in them, kids pools, or any containers that used to have oil or chemicals in them. These items are all trash only.

Unfortunately, due to recycling market changes, Lyon County can no longer recycle Christmas paper or other wrapping paper including tissue paper. This type of paper is made with a lot of glitter or has left over tape on it which makes it non-recyclable. It is also made from short strand fibers and these types of paper no longer have markets. Since it cannot be sold, it is not wanted in the recycling stream.

Composting is an option for this type of paper. A little glittery paper is OK but if it has a lot, then it has to be thrown away because glitter is, for the most part, made from plastic and some aluminum. Glitter can be made from metal and glass too. We can also choose to reuse it or to use Kraft paper instead which is still recyclable.

Please watch for our newsletter coming to your mailbox soon! If you have questions about recycling or disposal, please call the Lyon County Landfill at (507) 865-4615 or the Environmental office at (507) 532-8210.