Environmental Health - Recycle

Recycle-Reduce-Reuse

"The great challenge of our time is to build and nurture sustainable communities-communities that are designed in such a way that their ways of life, business, economics, physical structures, and technologies do not interfere with nature's inherent ability to sustain life."

- Fritjof Capara

For local recycling information in Polk County:

Bolivar Recycling Center

• Donnie Lipe
• 417-327-7956

Treasures Curbside Recycling

• Kim Keith
• 417-777-2637
• 417-399-0813
• 417-298-8147

Enterprises Unlimited

• Gary King
• 417-326-6464

Polk County Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability

Recycling is one of the easiest ways you can help stop global warming. For example, one ton of recycled paper saves enough energy to power a three-bedroom house for an entire year. It all starts with recycling your household paper and magazines. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), recycling one ton of newspaper also saves 17 trees in paper production as well as 7,000 gallons of water.

Here are a few benefits of recycling:

• reduces your trash volume
• saves our natural resources
• extends the life of our landfill
• saves energy
• reduces pollution
• reduces litter
• creates jobs

Aluminum

Recycled aluminum saves 95% energy vs. virgin aluminum; recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for 3 hours. Recycled aluminum reduces pollution by 95%. Enough aluminum is thrown away yearly to rebuild one commercial air fleet 4 times every year.

Paper

Recycled paper saves 60% energy vs. virgin paper. Recycled paper generates 95% less air pollution: each ton saves 60 lbs. of air pollution. Recycling of each ton of paper saves 17 trees and 7000 gallons of water. Every year enough paper is thrown away to make a 12-ft wall from New York to California.

Plastic

Plastic milk containers are now only half the weight that they were in 1960. (EPA) If we recycled every plastic bottle we use, we would keep 2 billion tons of plastic out of the landfills. (Penn State) According to the EPA, recycling a pound of PET saves approximately 12,000 BTUs. We use enough plastic wrap to wrap all of Texas every year. Remember the lower the PET #, the easier it is to recycle!

Glass

Recycled glass saves 50% energy vs. virgin glass. Recycling one glass container saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for 4 hours. Recycled glass generates 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution. 1 ton of glass made from 50% recycled materials saves 250 lbs of mining waste. Glass can be reused an infinite number of times. Over 41 billion glass containers are made each year.

This year, take five minutes to reevaluate your recycling routine, and see if you can do more. www.AmericaRecyclesDay.org.

E-cycling

Old electronics are a fast-growing portion of America's waste. They can present an environmental hazard if they are disposed of improperly. With an average of four pounds of lead in many older TV picture tubes, along with other potentially hazardous materials, electronics call for special handling at the end of their lives. Donating or recycling your outdated electronics encourages the safe management of their potentially hazardous components and supports the recovery and reuse of valuable materials. It also helps reduce the pollution and energy use tied to the production of new electronics. Finally, it can put a computer, TV, or cell phone in the hand of someone who needs it. Don't forget: Reduce-Reuse-Recycle!

A digital to analog (DTA) converter box is a device that converts digital television broadcast signals to analog signals. You will need a DTA by February 17, 2009 if you own an analog TV, do not subscribe to cable or satellite services, and rely solely on over the air broadcasts for your TV viewing. Look for the ENERGY STAR label when purchasing your DTA, to save on energy, money and help protect the environment. If you plan on purchasing a new television, take into consideration that if every new TV, DVD player, and home theatre system purchase this year in the US were ENERGY STAR qualified electronics, we could prevent more than 3 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions! That is equivalent to 300,000 cars.

Polk County "Green Yards!"

People are more concerned about the environment today, than ever before. We have become more aware that our yards, what we put on our yards, and what we use to maintain our yards, make a big impact on the environment in ways we had not previously considered. You can help make a change to the environment by conserving our natural soils with organic compost, planting native plants and shrubs, and reducing water consumption by installing a rain barrel. Conservation landscaping works with nature to reduce pollution and enhance wildlife habitat. It encourages the use of less fertilizers and pesticides, proper lawn care and alternatives to turf. Wise management of soil, water and vegetation are keys to conservation landscaping.

Did you know?

• 30-60% of urban freshwater is used for watering lawns?
• 67,000,000 lbs of synthetic pesticides are used on U.S. lawns.
• 580,000,000 gallons of gasoline are used for lawnmowers.
• $700,000,000 is spent on pesticides for U.S. lawns
• There are 25-30 million acres of turf and lawn in the U.S.
• Fertilizer nutrienents are applied to lawns at about the same rate as to farm row crops.

Did you know that operating a typical gasoline-powered lawn mower for one hour produces the same amount of ground-level ozone forming pollution as driving an average car almost 200 miles? There are many simple ways you can help reduce ground-level ozone everyday. Here are a few tips for reducing air pollution while maintaining your lawn and garden.

• Consider using lower-emitting gas-powered lawn equipment, or electric.
• Use manual tools when possible. You help the environment, and get exercise!
• If you must use gas powered equipment, purchase equipment with a four-cycle engine instead of one with a two-cycle engine.
• Properly maintain your equipment. This includes changing the oil and filters routinely, and tune-ups.
• Reduce your mowing time. One way you can do this is by planting more trees, shrubs and flowers. It reduces the amount of space you have to mow!

Native Plants

Native plants are plant species that have grown in this area for generations. The have became adapted to our crazy growing climate and not so perfect soils. To say the least, they are a hardy lot. This survivability makes the use of native plants beneficial. For more information the Missouri Department of Conservation has an excellent program called "Grow Native!". It explains where to purchase the plants, gives examples of specific garden arrangements such as butterfly gardens, hummingbird gardens, etc.

Grow Native website

Compost

Compost in general terms, is best suited to be mixed with the soil as a soil amendment. It does not have a significant nutritional value, but it does give the soil the ability to transfer nutrients to the plants easier. It adds organic matter and helpful microorganisms to your soil. It helps restore the damage we have caused, without the use of harmful fertilizers. It improves the texture of the soil; making clay soils drain easier and sandy soils hold moisture. Healthy soil is critical to successful growing. To save on costs, you can build and maintain your own compost bin. For more information and plans on how to construct your own compost bin go to www.dnr.mo.gov/env/swmp.

Mulch

Mulches provide many benefits to plants. Benefits vary with the material used, the type of soil, the kind of plant and the cultural practices used. Mulches also may be used to make landscapes more attractive and usable and to reduce the amount of maintenance work. They provide surface insulation, soil amendment, and beatification. For more information on the different types of mulches available and which plants and trees benefit from mulch, visit www.muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/.

Lawn care practices make a difference. This is an area we can all contribute to making a change.

For more information:

Earth 911 website

Earth Share of Missouri website

Missouri Department of Natural Resources website

Missouri Recycling Association website

Ozarks Environment website

Ozark Greenways Incorporated website

Show-Me Yards and Neighborhoods website