You Can Now Recycle ‘All Plastic Bottles’

DALTON, GA - Recycling just got easier in Whitfield County! Residents can now recycle all plastic bottles and jugs thru one of the recycling venues available in Whitfield County like the City of Dalton Curbside Recycling Program, and all Convenience Center locations.

“We have moved away from telling residents to recycle plastic bottles and jugs with the #1 or #2 recycling symbol.  The recycling symbol numbers are plastic resin identification codes that are used on a wide range of plastic products like cups, trays, tubs, and plastic bags.  Looking for the small numbers is time consuming, and confusing.”  explained Liz Swafford, Recycling and Education Coordinator at the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority.   “In order to simplify the identification of recyclables, residents are encouraged to recycle all plastic bottles and jugs.  If a plastic container has a neck smaller than the base it’s a bottle that should go in the recycling bin.  This means that laundry detergent bottles, soda bottles, milk jugs, cleaning solution bottles and more can be recycled.”

There are a large variety of recyclable plastic bottles and jugs found in every room of the home.  For example, plastic jugs and bottles for soda, milk, water, juice, syrup, ketchup, cooking oil, peanut butter, and other condiments.  Cleaning solutions like liquid dish detergent, liquid laundry detergent, bleach, liquid fabric softener, window cleaner, bathroom, and kitchen cleaners.  Personal items like shampoo, conditioner, body wash, mouthwash, and lotion.  And finally, individual beverage containers for soft drinks, water, tea, and sports drinks.

Another indicator that a bottle or jug is recyclable is the thread on the neck that allow for a cap to be screwed on.   A margarine tub or yogurt cup do not qualify for recycling since they have a wide mouth opening larger than the base.  Plastic bags, plastic food trays, drinking cups, plastic utensils, motor oil and pesticide bottles and jugs are also not collected for recycling in Whitfield County.  It’s recommended to rinse out plastic bottles to remove food residue and crush to save space.  It’s ok to leave the labels and caps on the containers.

Recycling takes a product at the end of its useful life and uses part or that entire product to make new ones.  As a result, recycling just one container can save energy, water, and other natural resources.  According to NAPCOR, the National Association for PET Container Resources, it takes nineteen 20 oz. plastic bottles to yield enough fiber to make one extra large T-shirt, or one square foot of carpet.

Click here to watch the “All Plastic Bottles” video and download the information sheet.  Or for more details call the Dalton-Whitfield Recycling Center at 706-278-5001.

Extremely Very Good Recyclers Awarded a Tree

Pictured are the BWC July campers next to their new tree.  Together they collected over 308 plastic bottles for recycling during their four-day camp.

DALTON, GA – Camp participants at the Bradley Wellness Center in Dalton won their very own real tree for collecting more than 100 plastic bottles for recycling during their four-day camp this July.   The Dalton Tree Board donated a Japanese Maple Red Dragon, which they planted near the tennis courts at the Bradley Wellness Center.  It now joins the tree that previous campers won during the month of June for their recycling efforts.

Liz Swafford, Recycling and Education Program Coordinator for the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, launched the summer recycling contest on the first day of camp with a showing of the children’s television show episode “Look After Your Planet”.  The show is based on the book “We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers” and features characters created by Lauren Child named Charlie and Lola.  Campers learned about the importance of recycling and just like in the video received a Tree Counter poster they could use to keep track of how many plastic bottles they recycled.  By the end of the camp participants had collected over 308 plastic bottles for recycling, filled up the tree counter, and earned their own tree.

Students Recycle Over Half a Million Pounds

Pictured is Recycling Ben congratulating Dawnville Elementary School students for their recycling efforts that earned them a heavy duty recycling cart last year.

Students at Cedar Ridge Elementary School learned about recycling during a visit from Recycling Ben and Liz Swafford from the Target Recycling at School program.  They discussed why recycling is important, what happens to the items collected for recycling, and what students could recycle at school and at home.

Students at Dug Gap Elementary School learned about trees and paper recycling during a visit from Recycling Ben and Liz Swafford from the Target Recycling at School program.

Third graders from Brookwood Elementary took a tour of the Recycling Center and Landfill managed by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority.  As part of their visit they learned about trees, an important natural resource, and paper recycling.

DALTON, GA – Students from Whitfield County Public Schools, Dalton Public Schools, and two local private schools collected 627,632 pounds of materials for recycling during the 2010 – 2011 school year with Target Recycling at School. The 314 tons collected is the weight equivalent of 179 compact cars and reflects an increase of 25% over the last school year. If only aluminum cans were collected, students would have recycled the weight equivalent of 21,814,300 cans.

Recyclables collected at the thirty-four participating schools include mixed paper products, and where available, plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Recycling is the process of taking a product at the end of its useful life and using all or part of it to create new products. As a result, recycling helps conserve our natural resources. For example, recycling 2,000 pounds of paper can save 60,000 gallons of water.

Target Recycling at School is a free program for schools in Whitfield County, Georgia providing environmental education and collection of recyclables. Each year a School Recycling Contest is held and the top recycling schools are recognized. Every quarter the school with the highest recycling rate receives a custom award that will help improve their recycling program or beautify the campus. At the end of the school year the top three schools for the entire year are announced. Awards are given out at the beginning of the following school year.

For the 2010 – 2011 school year the winners are:

First Place: Pleasant Grove Elementary School

Second Place: New Hope Middle School

Third Place: Fort Hill Complex

Honorable mention goes to the Learning Tree School, and Dug Gap Elementary School, which were part of the top five schools for the year.

Target Recycling at School is a program managed by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. For more information call Recycling and Education Coordinator, Liz Swafford at 706-278-5001 or the Target Recycling at School page on their website.

Camp Goers Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers

Pictured are the BWC June campers next to their new tree. Together they collected over 250 plastic bottles for recycling during their four-day camp.

Campers see their group’s tree for the first time. The Dalton Tree Board donated a Japanese Maple Red Dragon and planted it along the walking track near the tennis courts at the Bradley Wellness Center.

Pictured is the Tree Counter poster that the campers used to keep track of their recycling. Each leaf represents one plastic bottle. They exceeded their goal of collecting 100 plastic bottles during the four-day camp in June.

 DALTON, GA – Camp participants at the Bradley Wellness Center in Dalton won their very own real tree for collecting more than 100 plastic bottles for recycling during their four-day camp this June. The Dalton Tree Board donated a Japanese Maple Red Dragon, which they planted near the tennis courts at the Bradley Wellness Center.

Liz Swafford, Recycling and Education Program Coordinator for the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, launched the summer recycling contest on the first day of camp with a reading of the book “We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers” which features characters created by Lauren Child named Charlie and Lola. The group learned about the importance of recycling and just like in the book received a Tree Counter poster they could use to keep track of how many plastic bottles they recycled. By the end of the camp participants had collected over 250 plastic bottles for recycling, filled up the tree counter, and earned their own tree.

Backyard Composter Sale this Saturday, May 7

DALTON, GA – Celebrate International Compost Awareness Week on Saturday, May 7 during Downtown Dalton Saturday Market from 9 am to 1 pm with Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful.  You will receive educational materials about backyard composting and have the opportunity to purchase a “Garden Gourmet” Backyard Composter for only $45 (regular retail price $75.99).  A portion of each sale benefits Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful programs like ‘Bring One For The Chipper’, Adopt a Mile, and ‘The Great American Cleanup’.

Gardeners refer to composting as “turning your garbage into gold” because it saves landfill space, conserves natural resources, and improves soil quality.  Items that can be added to your compost pile include coffee grounds, tea bags, fruit and vegetable scraps, leaves, hair and grass clippings.  The “Garden Gourmet” backyard composter is an attractive bin that fits neatly into almost any backyard space thanks to its efficient design.  This easy to assemble bin is made from 51% recycled plastic and includes convenient features like a sliding bottom door to remove compost.  This is an ideal choice for beginners since it includes a basic composting and user guide.

For more information about Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful visit www.keepdaltonwhitfieldbeautiful.org or call 706-226-6211.  For more information about International Compost Awareness Week, visit the US Composting Council at www.compostingcouncil.org.