If you haven't already heard, today is America Recycles Day. Since 1997, November 15 has been designated as the day to promote recycling in the United States. Clearly, recycling is not just a one day event; today serves as a day to promote, encourage and educate our communities on the importance of recycling, in hopes that recycling will become something that's 365 days a year.
Looking for a place to drop off your recycling? Earth911.com runs a fantastic site where you can search for recycling center's near you! Check out their site for how you can Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!
Until recently, Ocean City ran a fantastic recycling program. Sadly it has been discontinued, but this doesn't mean there isn't a way for us to Recycle. Here's a few ways you can help out, not only for today but throughout the year.
Gather all your plastic, paper, glass and metal and drop it off at our county's Recycling Drop off in Ocean Pines. They take a wide assortment of items, to find out more information visit earth911.com's site for them. The Berlin Walmart also has a huge drop off, which take most items.
Our local Humane Society collects aluminum cans, which they recycle and receive a profit that goes back to the shelter to take care of the animals. Pretty much all aluminum can be recycled here, this includes beer cans! I bet you didn't know the hungry kitties could benefit from your empty Natural Light Cans. Just be sure to place your items in the proper bin when dropping off, it's importance to keep our trash out of our ecosystem and away from the local wildlife.
Start using reusable shopping bags when on your errards, instead of accepting plastic or paper bags from the store. Unfortunately, many drop off sites have stopped taking plastic bags. Best to start avoiding them asap!
Old clothes or items? Instead of tossing to the dump, consider reusing them for a different purpose or donating to a local charity. Old clothes can be re-purposed as rags or pillow stuffing. You can even get crafty and 'reinvent' a new garment or try your hand at a new blanket. One of our local thrift stores, Used to Be Mine is always looking for donations. They will take clothing, furniture, and other goods. All donations at the store are used to help a local charity, Diakonia and are tax deductible. Not only does this find a new home for your old treasures, but it'll go towards helping those in need.
Many electronics need to be recycled in specially designated centers, due to their contents. Our local Staples will take old items for you, including printer cartridges. Often, for properly recycling these items they will reward you with store credit. In Ocean Pines, Worcester County Household Hazardous Waste and Electronics Center will take these items and any dangerous chemicals. Living so near to the Ocean and our Coastal Bays, it's very important to properly dispose of chemical waste, these items have an extremely harmful effect on our environment.
Get out there and Recycle! Not just for today, but everyday!
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