The Ugly: Foam containers, plastic utensils, condiment packets, and the plastic bag. None of these can go into your recycling bin. Try to skip these items and materials in your next order and you can drastically cut down on the amount of trash you make. Those brown, red, and white paper takeout containers aren’t recyclable either. The special coating that makes the paper “waterproof “so your Chow Mein doesn’t leak all over the place renders the paper unrecyclable.

Check out our infographic for more details about how to handle your takeout containers. And visit www.recyclingsimplified.com for more tips.

Remembering these tips will help you navigate the grocery store during this unprecedented time.

The Importance of Washing Your Reusable Bag. Some research studies indicate about 50% of reusable bags contain large quantities of bacteria and many even contain E. Coli and fecal matter. This number is a great incentive to keeping that reusable bag super clean.

Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/is-it-safe-reusable-bags-grocery-stores-coronavirus_l_5e8635d6c5b6d302366cd780

Sources:
1.https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/grocers-seek-veto-of-plastic-bag-tax-saying-reusable-bags-pose-coronavirus-risk/2020/04/08/f18e9184-7909-11ea-a130-df573469f094_story.htm
2.https://www.azfamily.com/news/investigations/3_on_your_side/covid-19-and-reusable-grocery-bags/article_5321e3ce-75d1-11ea-a711-3b7cbfd0489a.html

Using these tips will help ensure you’re doing your recycling best while practicing social distancing at home. It’s a small and easy way to help protect our planet and keep it beautiful for generations to come. Want more recycling tips? Visit RecyclingSimplified.com.

Schedule a pick up. Mattresses are considered bulk waste and your garbage service provider may collect them for you – all you have to do is schedule a pickup.

Replacing a mattress may seem daunting, but you can sleep well on your new mattress knowing that you took care of your old one the right way!

1. https://earth911.com/recycling-guide/how-to-recycle-mattresses/

How are mattresses recycled?
Curious about the process of how a mattress is recycled?
Check out this detailed infographic.

Fourteen teams of four students worked on the project for an entire semester, ultimately delivering 25 original designs. The results were impressive. From self-driving trucks to advanced safety features allowing drivers to maneuver in tight spaces, the students delivered thought-provoking designs and business plans to present to Republic’s leaders.

“Enlisting the creative student minds at these schools was very enlightening. The teams definitely thought about the design and functionality in a completely different way,” explains Javara Perrilliat, Republic’s senior vice president of operations support.

These student projects brought the power of industrial design together with real-world business challenges. It gave the students a glimpse into how the design and business process works in a unique industry and created a strong relationship for Republic with two of the best schools in the country. And, while the concepts aren’t feasible to put into production just yet, it was an exciting opportunity to work with the students and see their innovative ideas. Our future is bright!

Want to see some of ASU’s design concepts?
Check out this local news video featuring the students and some of their innovative designs!

Now that you have the recycling basics, here are some other eco-friendly ways to celebrate National Love Your Pet Day!

1. Donate your pet’s old stuff. It’s likely your furry friend will be getting a little token of your affection for National Love Your Pet Day, so drop your pet’s gently used items like toys, dog bowls, leashes, blankets and beds at your local pet shelter.

2. Host a playdate. Invite your pet’s favorite friend over and bake some pet-friendly treats. The pets will have a good time, and so will you!

3. Go on an outdoor adventure. Pets love being outside! Plan your adventure at BringFido.com, and don’t forget the biodegradable doggie bags because not all poop bags are created equal. (While the bag still goes in the waste, it will have a chance to compost at the landfill, unlike a regular plastic bag.)

Use these ideas to enjoy National Love Your Pet Day. You can feel good about recycling your pet’s stuff and celebrating in an eco-friendly way. P.S. – don’t forget a commemorative selfie! For more information on recycling, visit RecyclingSimplified.com.

Republic’s Summer of Safety tips:

1. Know Your Collection Day.
You know your trash and recycling collection day. But do your children? Remind them before they leave the house that collection vehicles will be on the streets and to look both ways before setting off on bikes or chasing a ball.

2. Watch from Afar.
It can be fun for kids to watch their trash and recycling containers get picked up, but it’s best to do it from your front window or driveway. Furthermore, kids should never try to help load trucks or climb on them, even when they’re parked. Leave the heavy lifting to your driver.

3. Give Trucks Space.
Our collection trucks make frequent stops and often back up. When walking or driving near one of our trucks, don’t follow the truck too closely. Stay alert and listen for the backup alarm with the “beep-beep-beep” sound. Also, remember that it takes a collection vehicle twice as much distance to stop as a regular car.

4. Make Yourself Visible.
Not sure if the driver can see you? Wave first, and wait until they acknowledge you before crossing in front or behind them. If you can’t see your driver’s mirrors, they probably can’t see you.

Learn more about Republic Services’ commitment to safety.

Adding to the pressure, competitors could only rely on experience, instinct, and tremendous skill to get through the course. Assistance devices like backup cameras were disabled.

Republic Services operates one of the largest vocational fleets in the country, so its technicians are absolutely essential when it comes to keeping equipment running safely. Competing technicians faced an exaggerated challenge designed to test their diagnostic skills. They were assigned either a Roll-Off truck or Bulldozer with 10 problems – and only had 10 minutes to find them.

The road to ROAD-EO was long. These finalists qualified from a field of 16,000 drivers, operators, and techs across the country. To get to the National Championship, the finalists won local and area-level competitions, so they already were among the Top 10 in the country in their field!

Altogether, the finalists, who hail from 31 states, have tallied nearly 1,000 years of service with Republic Services, and five finalists have been with the company for 30+ years.

Congratulations to the winners!

• Front-Load: Dan Hill, Midwest Area, Bettendorf, Iowa
• Rear-Load: Jesus Lizares, West Area, Gardena, Calif.
• Side-Load: Eric Farnstrom, Southeast Area, Lakeland, Fla.
• Roll-Off: Jorge Marenco, West Area, Pacheco, Calif.
• Collection Technician: Chris Shromoff, Midwest Area, Eden Prairie, Minn.
• Bulldozer: Juan Paniagua, Mid-Atlantic Area, Greenville, S.C.
• Wheel Loader: Brandon Carithers, Southeast Area, Winder, Ga.
• Post Collection Technician: Roy Sauve, Northwest Area, Denver, Colo.

In addition to being crowned the best of the best, the first-, second- and third-place winner in each category was awarded a cash prize and additional paid time off. Congratulations to all who competed!

Read more stories on Beyond the Blue.

Republic Services operates more than 3,500 natural gas vehicles, many of which are now running on RNG derived from landfills. In some cases, the RNG produced at Republic’s landfills is powering our own collection trucks!

Republic recently opened a landfill gas-to-RNG project at the Southeast Oklahoma Landfill, outside Oklahoma City. Another project, at Roosevelt Regional Landfill in Klickitat County, Washington, began producing RNG in November.

Even after landfills close and are capped, we’re finding ways to use them to create renewable energy. These closed landfill sites, known as brownfields, are being transformed with solar projects, generating enough power for thousands of homes.

One of our latest large-scale solar projects is in New Jersey, at the former South Brunswick Landfill. The landfill closed in 1979. After 30 years, the site now is home to more than 40,000 solar panels, which will provide enough clean energy to power over 1,300 homes annually.

In 2017, Republic Services invested $29 million in solar projects. As of today, we have built, invested in or operate close to 240,000 solar panels at 19 generating facilities nationwide, with the combined capacity of 80 megawatts of renewable power.

To learn more about our Blue Planet® sustainability platform or to download the latest Sustainability Report, visit RepublicServices.com/Sustainability.

There’s another upside to recycling old electronics: the recovery of usable – and valuable – materials. Consumer devices contain gold, silver, copper, glass, and plastics, all of which can be reused. And recycling uses less energy than mining or manufacturing new materials. For example, 1 million properly recycled cell phones can recover 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold!

Lithium-ion batteries
Finally, what to do with lithium-ion batteries? Today, lithium-ion batteries power millions of devices, including smartphones, laptops, power tools, and toys. Their compact design makes them ideal for portable devices but leaves little protection for the delicate wiring inside, which can explode if dropped or smashed. Sound far-fetched? In 2017, 65% of waste facility fires in California were caused by lithium-ion batteries. These batteries must be recycled as e-waste – not in household trash or recycling containers.

Want to learn more? Pull out that new tablet or laptop, and check out Republic Services’ electronics recycling programs. Together, we can help preserve our Blue Planet®.

2. Organize As You Go

Before you engage in the Spring Cleaning process, have four different colored boxes to use as aids when sorting and organizing the items in your room. We prefer different shades of blue, of course, but you can use any colors you wish (or just label them according to the sorting category, see below). Any items that don’t belong in the room you’re working on should go into one of the four boxes.

Sorting Categories:

1. Move: Anything that should be stored or kept in another area of the home (e.g., toys in the playroom or kids’ bedrooms; items that can be reused through craft projects).
2. Giving: Gently used items to donate to a local charity or sell.
3. Recycling: Items that can be recycled
4. Trash: These are broken items that cannot be recycled, sold or donated.

3. Recycling Items

What can be recycled? Paper, cardboard and aluminum can be recycled. What about plastics? Most plastics, such as water bottles, can be recycled. However, those flimsy plastic grocery bags are not recyclable. In fact, they often contaminate other recyclables. Try reusing your grocery bags and when ready to discard them, put plastic bags in the trash or they can be returned to your local grocery store.

The most common contaminants that we see in the everyday recycling stream are diapers, yard waste, old clothes or shoes and food. None of these items are recyclable and should never be put into your recycling container.

Other items, such as glass, depend on your location so make sure to confirm with your local recycling provider. All recyclables need to be empty, clean and dry before putting them in the recycling container. This reduces contamination and ensures that your recyclables are ultimately repurposed as intended.

For a list of recyclable and non-recyclable items, visit our online recycling guide. This also includes information on items that require special handling, such as light bulbs, paint and electronics.

4. Repeat

The same four-box approach can be used to declutter each room. Make sure to appropriately recycle and discard any items and empty all the boxes before moving to the next room where you can reuse the four boxes and repeat the spring cleaning activity.