ECO-DEPOT COLLECTION TO BE HELD IN COVENTRY

MORE FREE TV RECYCLING

MORE FREE TV RECYCLING

Recycle e-waste and hazardous waste on 3/7

JOHNSTON, R.I. (February 13, 2009) – On Saturday, March 7, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation will hold a free collection for televisions, household electronics and hazardous waste. The recycling event will be held from 8:00 a.m. to noon at the Central Landfill in Johnston. The collection is restricted to Rhode Island residents.

Computers, televisions and other e-waste have been banned from landfill disposal as of February 1. Those products and household hazardous waste cannot be commingled with ordinary household trash and must be disposed properly.

“Many people upgraded their television sets because of the publicity resulting from suspension of analog TV signals,” said Mike OConnell, executive director of Rhode Island Resource Recovery. “It doesn’t matter how old the television is or if it’s in working condition or not. We will recycle all TVs free of cost.”

RIRRC also accepts all types of computer products, regardless of their condition. CPUs, monitors, printers, keyboards, laptops, hard drives, scanners, modems, and mouse devices are all eligible for disposal at the collection. Appointments are not necessary to recycle e-waste.

RIRRC's Eco-Depot is Rhode Island's only option for safe household hazardous waste disposal. Eligible products include oil-based paints, propane gas tanks, florescent light bulbs, and insecticides. Exposure to minute amounts of hazardous materials can be a risk to human health. Pets and wildlife are also susceptible to accidental poisonings when hazardous waste is discarded improperly.

How do you know if a product is hazardous? Look at the labels. If they have warnings on their labels such as flammable, combustible, explosive, or corrosive, it’s hazardous.

Appointments are necessary for the Eco-Depot but easy to make. Call 942-1430 x241 or sign up online at www.rirrc.org and clicking on the Eco-Depot logo on the right-hand side of the page.

Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation is the quasi-state environmental agency dedicated to providing the public with environmentally sound programs and facilities to manage waste. The agency helps fund and promote the state’s recycling program, and owns and operates the Materials Recycling Facility and Central Landfill in Johnston.

RESOURCE RECOVERY FREE TV & COMPUTER RECYCLING ON 2/7

RESOURCE RECOVERY FREE TV & COMPUTER RECYCLING ON 2/7

Make Eco-Depot Appointment

JOHNSTON, R.I. (January 16, 2009) – On Saturday, February 7, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation will hold a TV, computer, and e-waste recycling collection from 8:00 a.m. to noon at the Central Landfill in Johnston. Resource Recovery will also collect household hazardous waste through its Eco-Depot service. Appointments are required for Eco-Depot but not for e-waste. Neither can be put in the trash, so this service is necessary for all Rhode Islanders who need to discard these types of wastes. Both collections are free.

Resource Recovery accepts all types of broken and antiquated computer products including CPUs, monitors, printers, keyboards, laptops, hard drives, scanners, modems, and mouse devices. Effective February 1, Resource Recovery has suspended charging residents $5 for recycling televisions.

Nearly all households have some hazardous waste stored in sheds, garages, and basements. Products such as fluorescent light bulbs, oil-based paints, insecticides, and propane gas tanks cannot be mixed with household trash and must be disposed via Eco-Depot. The products typically have warning labels marked “flammable,” “combustible,” “explosive,” or “corrosive.” They are banned from landfill disposal, can pose a risk to human and animal health, and may pollute the environment if discarded improperly.

Call 942-1430 x241 for an Eco-Depot appointment or sign up online at www.rirrc.org and click on the Eco-Depot logo on the right-hand side of the page.

Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation is the quasi-state environmental agency dedicated to providing the public with environmentally sound programs and facilities to manage waste. The agency helps fund and promote the state’s recycling program, and owns and operates the Materials Recycling Facility and Central Landfill in Johnston.

RECYCLING UNWANTED ANALOG TVs A MUST

RECYCLING UNWANTED ANALOG TVs A MUST

Recycle retired televisions for free at RIRRC

JOHNSTON, R.I. (January 12, 2009) – Analog televisions are the modern equivalent of the 8-track player but at least the analogs can have a second life. And Resource Recovery is making it easy on the wallet by waiving the $5 recycling fee starting February 1.

Unwanted analog televisions can be recycled at Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, and the service is limited to Rhode Island residents only.

Many Rhode Islanders are expected to replace their analog TVs because of the federal requirement for local TV stations to discontinue broadcasting analog TV signals. February 17 marks the last day of analog transmission.

“If you choose to buy a new TV rather than buy a digital converter box for your analog, please recycle the old TV at RIRRC,” said Mike O’Connell, executive director of RIRRC. “Actually, it is the only disposal option. As of January 31^st, land-filling televisions is banned in Rhode Island.”

The televisions’ cathode ray tubes contain lead and other hazardous substances that threaten human health. They cannot be put in curbside trash.

RIRRC holds special Saturday collections throughout the year at the Central Landfill and at other locations throughout the state for electronic waste. The Saturday collections for the next six months are: February 7, April 25, May 9, June 13 and June 20 in Johnston; March 28 in Smithfield; April 18 in Middletown; and May 16 in Narragansett. Computers and cell phones may also be recycled at no cost at these collections. Appointments are not necessary.

Visit www.rirrc.org for more information about recycling electronics and the entire 2009 calendar.

Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation is the quasi-state environmental agency dedicated to providing the public with environmentally sound programs and facilities to manage waste. The agency helps fund and promote the state’s recycling program, and owns and operates the Materials Recycling Facility and Central Landfill in Johnston.

What Grows On in Rhode Island

whatgrowsonri.com

The 12 Wastes of Christmas

The 12 Wastes of Christmas

RIRRC Shares Tips for a Greener Christmas

You shop. You mail. You cook. You wrap. You give. And in the process of giving, you generate waste. The time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day sees the highest volume of trash in local landfills. Last year, the Central Landfill in Johnston experienced a 29 percent increase in waste during this time period. So instead of giving the Central Landfill your annual “gifts” of wrapping paper, Styrofoam peanuts and poinsettias, here’s some advice on reducing your trash.

12 plastic shopping bags. Keep your baggage to a minimum. Make sure to have reusable bags in your car for those spur of the moment shopping trips. But, if you find yourself starting to accumulate plastic bags, recycle them in ReStore bins. These bins are located in supermarkets and other retail stores throughout R.I. For sites, go to rirrc.org/restore.

11 bows and ribbons. Have you heard that thrifty is the new black? Collect ribbons or bows from gifts and reuse them next year. For your own gifts, tie environment friendly alternatives such as pine cones, candy canes, bells, or old ornaments to your gifts. This will give them a more personalized look.

10 pounds of food waste. All food preparation yields waste. Apple cores, potato peelings, egg shells, coffee grinds and the like are organic and should be composted instead of mixed with trash. Can’t make it out to the backyard right away? Fill a zippered plastic bag with food waste and freeze it. Your nutrient-rich compost will be a lasting gift to your flower beds.

9 champagne bottles. Whatever your poison, chances are its container is recyclable. Champagne and wine bottles, as well as beer cans and bottles, eggnog cartons, milk & cream cartons, soda bottles, and cider jugs can all be recycled in blue bins.

8 miles of wrapping paper. More than 8,800 tons of gift wrap are used each year by consumers during the holiday season. Sadly, the life cycle is only a few days. When opening gifts, collect the torn gift wrap in brown-paper, leaf-and-yard waste bags (no bows or ribbons, please). Leave the bag at the curb beside your green bin and all that paper will be recycled. For your own gift-giving, use gift bags. The holiday patterns never go out of style and are easily reusable.

7 gift and cardboard boxes. Online shopping is convenient, but it often results in an abundance of corrugated cardboard boxes. Give them extra life by reusing them as gift boxes. If you have no secondary use for them, flatten them out and recycle. If they are longer than six feet, cut them down and tie them up with string; otherwise they won’t fit in the recycling truck.

6 bundles of greeting cards. Isn’t it nice to get something in the mail other than a bill? Continue the good feelings of your friends and family by recycling the envelopes and cards in your green bins. Or, for those crafty people out there, cut off the front of the card and re-use it as a gift tag.

5 lumps of coal. If Santa gave you coal, it might be a hint from him to reform your naughty anti-environment practices. Use that coal to add a smile to your snowman, and promise to adopt one new earth-friendly practice in 2009. For suggestions, go to thedailygreen.com.

4 dried-up decorations. Once your holiday greenery (wreaths, boughs, poinsettias, and boxwoods) dries up and turns brown, remove the wiring, bows, foil wrap and decorations and add them to your compost bin.

3 holiday catalogs. More than two million tons of direct mail winds up in the trash each year. You can recycle all of those catalogs, flyers, coupons and special mailers by putting them in your green bin. Even better, cut down on unwanted mail by delisting yourself at dmaconsumers.org. If concerns about identity theft keep you awake at night, rip off the address page and shred it before recycling the rest of the catalog.

2 mountains of bubble wrap. Save packing materials for future mailings. Or, you can donate the Styrofoam peanuts and bubble wrap to a local pack-and-ship businesses. Call 800-828-2214 for the nearest location.

1 brown Christmas tree. Cut Christmas trees are accepted free of charge at RIRRC. Most RI municipalities designate a certain week for tree pick-ups after the holidays. Contact your local department of public works for more information. Resource Recovery chips the trees so they can live again as mulch and compost.

This holiday season, be sure to add one more person to your gift list: Mother Nature.

R.I. BUSINESSES GET FREE OFFER FOR 11/14

R.I. BUSINESSES GET FREE OFFER FOR 11/14

Recycle computer and electronic waste courtesy of RIRRC, Arpin Van Lines

JOHNSTON, R.I. (November 6, 2008) – In commemoration of Rhode Island Recycles Week, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation will host a special electronic waste recycling collection for local businesses.

The free computer recycling collection will be held on November 14 from 8:00 a.m. to noon at Arpin Van Lines, 99 James P. Murphy Highway, West Warwick. Companies that need to recycle more than 50 items may contact Arpin at 884-0321 to arrange for a free pick-up.

Items that are eligible for recycling are CPUs, servers, network equipment, routers, telephones, radios, scanners, keyboards, monitors, laptops, mouse devices, laser printers, fax machines, cables and wire, cell phone, window air conditioner units and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).

Arpin and Cartridge World RI/Office Recycling Solutions are working with RIRRC to ensure that the business waste will be recycled appropriately.

“On any given day, Rhode Island businesses must pay special recycling vendors to discard their electronic waste. On November 14, they’ll get to recycle all that unwanted and broken equipment for free,” said Mike OConnell, executive director of RIRRC. “It’s a bargain, and we encourage business owners to take advantage of this opportunity to divert the sometimes-hazardous material from the Central Landfill to the much better alternative – recycling.

RIRRC is the state environmental agency dedicated to providing the pubic with environmentally sound programs and facilities to manage solid waste. The agency funds and manages the state’s recycling program, and owns and operated the Central Landfill and Materials Recycling Facility in Johnston. For more information, visit rirrc.org.