Now that Christmas is over...

Christmas is over and my annual ritual of breaking down gift/cardboard boxes is complete. I was hoping to be setting out a box from a new 52" T.V., but Santa delivered it to the neighbors. Instead, I got to recycle a couple boxes from new lamps. Many items from Christmas gifts are recyclable, such as toy boxes, shoe boxes, and cardboard boxes too. Our recycling hauler tells me that gift wrap is not recyclable, but the rolls from gift wrap are. I know this recycling thing can still be confusing, but try to bear with me.

Christmas trees are going to start showing up at the curb and please remember that most garbage haulers require you to call them to set up Christmas tree recycling. Some charge a small recycling fee and most only pick up through the first week or two into January. There is also a free Christmas tree recycling drop-off site for Hennepin County residents at RRT Processing Solutions at 630 Malcolm Ave SE, Minneapolis. They only accept them for a limited time in January. For more information call 612-331-3993.

Too Many Phonebooks

Do you ever wonder why we receive seventeen phonebooks each year? Yes, I'm exaggerating a bit, but it sure seems like a waste to get more than one phonebook. Some people don't even use a phonebook, they just look up a number online or call for directory assistance (if you like free directory assistance try 1-800-GOOG-411, but the City and I are not officially endorsing it of course).

Back to phonebooks, if you want to stop getting them go to www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.com and you can opt out of getting white pages and/or yellow pages. I did this and I haven't received a phone book since!!! Okay, that was only last week but I will see how long it works.

Need more space?

After the long Thanksgiving weekend I know I could have used more space. More space on my plate, more space in my belly, and more space in my recycling cart. All the cans and bottles from food preparations and spirits couldn't fit in my first recycling cart, but my second recycling cart had plenty of room. Did you know you can get a second recycling too? E-mail me at dan.ruiz@brooklynpark.org and I can get you a second recycling cart or if you don't have room for a second cart you can get a larger cart. We have 3 sizes: 35, 64, or 96 gallon carts.

Star Tribune Article

Barb (commented on the last post) - I'm glad you found some useful recycling/disposal information. I hope the blog reaches people that we might have missed in the past and we will be sending out a 2009 Recycling Calendar that lists what paper and plastic items can be recycled. You could put this on the fridge with a magnet or piece of tape. Years ago we used to send magnets with the calendar, but not any more. Those darn budget cuts take the fun out of everything :)

In case anyone out there is interested, the Star Tribune had a nice article about the blog http://www.startribune.com/local/north/34493334.html?elr=KArksUUUU

America Recycles Day

In case you missed it, Saturday November 15th was America Recycles Day. What is America Recycles Day you may ask? Basically, every Nov. 15th is a day to remind us that recycling is important and we all could do a little more of it. One way of doing this is to take the pledge to recycle more. Studies show that we are more likely to do something if we go online and promise to do it. Okay, studies may not support this, but here is a link anyway: http://nrc-recycle.org/takethepledge.aspx

Recycle Your Grill at the Recycling Center in Brooklyn Park

This blog thing is still pretty new to me, so I'm not sure what the best way is to respond to comments. I'll try it here anyway. A question came in on where to recycle an old grill. An old grill can be recycled for free at the Hennepin County Recycling Center, 8100 Jefferson Hwy, Brooklyn Park. This will probably be my response for many recycling questions because we have the best recycling center in the state, right here in Brooklyn Park! For more recycling information go to www.hennepin.us and do a keyword search on "drop off facility". They have a complete list of stuff they take for recycling. Or you can always ask me!

Halloween weekend is here and so is the darkness when daylight savings time ends Sunday. Soon it will be dark when we go to work and when we come home from work too. Why don’t we just set the clocks back 5 hours? I don’t know about you, but I would rather work all day in the dark and come home with a few hours of daylight. While light is on my mind, one thing I have done is switch out all the lights in my house from regular light bulbs to Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL’s). Most people call these the swirly or curly lights. “They” say CFL’s use 75% less electricity than regular light bulbs and last 10 times longer. “They” also say CFL’s save $30 of electricity costs over their life. Doing the math, a CFL costs about $3, 30-3 is 27, so they should save $27 each. I’ll let you know if my electric bill goes down. I can’t end this entry here, my conscience says I have to tell you how to recycle your old CFL’s, because there are a few duds out there too. Recycle them for free at Menards, Home Depot, and the Hennepin County Recycling Center (www.hennepin.us keyword search “drop off”).

Who Am I?

Hi, I'm Dan the Recycling Man and I'm the recycling guy for the Cities of Brooklyn Park, Brooklyln Center, Crystal and New Hope. I'm starting a blog because a few people put me up to it. I am just learning how this blog thing works, but I hope to use it as a way to get information out about recycling. Part of my job also includes working in Public Works for the City of Brooklyn Park.

Thanks to all the Brooklyn Park residents who participated in the 2008 Spruce Up The Park Curbside Cleanup. We collected more than 40 garbage trucks full of stuff. We could have filled 10 more but scavengers turned your trash into their treasure.