Recycling questions - steel and cardboard

[PonderInc]

I probably should search previous threads for this answer, but I'm being lazy tonight.

I've signed up for curbside recycling, which takes the standard plastic, aluminum, paper and glass.  But it drives me crazy that nobody takes steel cans or cardboard.  Especially since the trash isn't being incenerated any more, I think about all this going into a landfill and I cringe.

Oh yeah, and what should I do with a bunch of 8' flourescent bulbs?  Can I trash them, or are they some sort of hazard?

[RecycleMichael]

Dear Lazy:

It is great that you have signed up for curbside recycling. It is a convenient way to make a real difference in the amount of trash that we generate.

The curbside collection of recyclables takes many of the most common recyclable items and will probably expand to collect steel cans in the future. The M.e.t. drop-off centers
http://www.metrecycle.com/depots.htm
take steel cans at the non-Tulsa centers, but did not take them because Tulsa burned its trash and the burn plant used a magnet to recycle the cans from the ashes. We are researching our collection options and plan to announce something soon.

Cardboard is a little more difficult to collect at the curb and at drop-off centers. It is very seasonal, with about one fourth of the cardboard generated by the average household coming the week following Christmas. There are also many grades of cardboard, from cereal box to shoe box to the most sought after cardboard, the corrugated box (it can be identified by the wavy layer in the middle).  

Corrugated cardboard is collected at two of our centers, Broken Arrow and Sand Springs, but the other centers are not fenced and unable to collect cardboard at this time. It is the highest priority future item for us to collect and I hope to be able to offer cardboard recycling in Tulsa soon.

There are also over 800 businesses that have a cardboard collection dumpster in Tulsa. Almost every grocery, convenience, fast food and furniture store in town separates their cardboard from the trash.  I am a regular customer at some of these stores and have asked if I can put my small amount of cardboard in with theirs. My cardboard boxes are clean and flattened and they know me so they normally say yes.

[pmcalk]

So I thought it would be better to post this question here, not go back to the old thread.  Besides, I didn't know whether to put this under recycling or composting questions.  Recently, I have noticed that certain plastic (especially at Wild Oats) state that it is compostable.  Pretty cool.  But I am curious how true that is--if I throw it into my compost pile at home, will it break down (sometime before I sell the house)?  Is it good composting material, or does that just mean that it will eventually break down in a landfill?  And is it better to recycle them or compost them?  I don't know if any are #1 or 2 (so far, I have only seen #7), but if they are recyclable, which is the better approach?

[RecycleMichael]

How fast it decomposes is based on the air and moisture content of your compost pile. I am very familiar with the corn-based product that Wild Oats uses and it is very good. I also have seen reports of even better products and many more uses of this corn-based plastic. If you are an active composter, it will turn into soil in a season or two.

Using corn in everything from fuel to sweetener to plastic salad trays has many detractors. I don't think it is very smart nor sustainable to follow this crop for every solution.

The other factor is the idea that biodegradable is better. In some ways yes, especially if you have a compost pile, but biodegradable isn't the best option in a landfill.

Today's landfills are big, plastic-lined bathtubs where we want things to stay where we put them. Unfortunately, landfills can leak and when you have lots of rainwater (the last month is a perfect example), the landfill can potentially contaminate the water table.

The Tulsa area has three examples of landfills that are getting waste now that the trash-to-energy plant has lost their contract with the city.

All the residential trash and some of the commercial trash goes to the Quarry landfill a very large and well-run landfill in east Tulsa. The largest commercial hauler in town, American Waste, owns a landfill west of town. Their landfill is state-of the art and perfectly designed and has won awards for their facility.

The third landfill is just north of Mohawk park north of the city limits. It is a very poor facility and has been given cease and desist orders from the state Department of Environmental Quality. They have filed some lawsuits that allow them to remain open temporarily.

Now that Tulsa allows commercial waste to go to the open market, many of the smaller haulers have started going to the North Tulsa since July 1st.

I am very concerned. This landfill is getting worse and worse and most businesses have no idea that the hauler is taking their waste to a facility that will likely turn into a superfund site or a similar expensive cleanup later.

[pmcalk]

Wow, apparently all this biodegradable stuff is getting out of hand:

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/new_eco_friendly_packaging

I am going to Wild Oats tomorrow and demand that they package my granola in a nonbiodegradable polymer that would kill wildlife and poison groundwater.  It's the right thing to do for our earth.

[RecycleMichael]

That is funny!

[pmcalk]

Thought you would like it.  Only the few can truly appreciate good trash humor.