Did you know that we produce almost 400 million tons of plastic each year across the globe?
Join I Love A Clean San Diego on Thursday, April 25th at 11 a.m. for our free Simple Swaps: Sustainable Alternatives to Single-Use Plastic webinar!
During the webinar, you’ll learn:
What happens to plastic after we throw it in the trash
How to properly recycle or dispose of plastic waste
About the City of San Diego’s local ordinance banning single-use plastics
Zero waste product swaps for single-use items inside and outside the home
Registration is required. Participants that cannot attend live are encouraged to register to receive the recording and additional resources. Thank you to the City of San Diego for sponsoring this event!
Did you know that we produce almost 400 million tons of plastic each year across the globe?
Join I Love A Clean San Diego on Thursday, February 22 at 5 p.m. for our free Say No To Single-Use Plastic webinar on eliminating plastic waste through zero waste swaps!
During the one-hour webinar, you’ll learn:
How to properly recycle or dispose of the plastic waste you do create
What happens to plastic after we use it and throw it away
Zero waste product swaps for single-use items
Why it’s so important for our health and the health of the environment to reduce plastic usage
Registration is required. A recording of the webinar and resources will be shared to all registrants after the event. Thank you to the City of Encinitas for sponsoring this event!
Did you know that humans produce almost 400 million tons of plastic each year, across the globe?
Join our free Say No To Single-Use Plastic webinar on Thursday, February 16th from 5 – 6 p.m. to learn how to eliminate single-use plastic waste through zero waste swaps!
During the webinar, we’ll cover:
Zero waste product swaps for single-use items
How to properly recycle or dispose of the plastic waste you do create
What happens to plastic after we use it and throw it in the trash
Why it’s so important for our health and the health of the environment to reduce plastic usage
Register to receive a link to the live webinar. Participants that cannot attend are encouraged to register to receive a recording of the webinar and additional resources. Thank you to the County of San Diego for sponsoring this event!
The Story of Plastic: Screening and Moderated Discussion
The United Nations Association San Diego Chapter and I Love a Clean San Diego are hosting a virtual screening and moderated discussion of The Story of Plastic on July 3rd, a documentary about the real causes of the plastic pollution crisis and the heroes who are rising up to stop big plastic.
Stories and film have a unique ability to bridge divides and bring us together as part of something bigger than ourselves – to connect us and create empathy during perilous times. The Story of Plastic takes a sweeping look at the man-made crisis of plastic pollution and the worldwide effect it has on the health of our planet and the people who inhabit it.
To that end, we hope The Story of Stuff’s new film The Story of Plastic serves as a tool to foster connection, spark dialogue, and create action to reduce single use plastic in San Diego.
Today’s blog comes for our Hotline Assistant, Ani, who is always on the look out for ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. Many of us know the basics of recycling: paper, rigid plastic containers, aluminum, however, there is one part of the home that is often neglected, the bathroom. Read on to learn how you can keep perfectly good recyclables out of the landfill, and instead give that shampoo bottle or toilet paper roll a new life!
Let me start by asking, do you recycle your empty shampoo bottles? What about the toilet paper roll? Surprisingly enough, not many people do. A survey conducted by the Ad Council, a non-profit organization, revealed that only 34% of Americans recycle bathroom items. More surprising, 22% of Americans would not toss bathroom items in the recycling bins if the bin is located outside the bathroom.
What kind of changes can we make to form a habit of recycling in our bathroom? Here are some suggestions:
1. Place a recycling bin in the bathroom to serve as a constant reminder to recycle
2. Inform others in the household of the items that can and cannot be recycled (see graphic).
3. Assign a recycling expert in your household. I found it useful to assign my youngest niece the role of “Recycling Expert”. She is responsible for making sure everyone in the household recycles properly.
4. Make a bathroom recycling sign. Unilever, a consumer goods company, cleverly developed “Rinse. Recycle. Reimagine” in partnership with Keep America Beautiful and the Ad Council.
How do we recycle these items? Give your recyclable bathroom items a new life by lightly rinsing out the left over contents from empty bottles and removing the lid or plastic pumps (not yet recyclable). Remember to recycle empty cardboard packaging like toothpaste boxes and tissue boxes. And also make sure that aerosol cans, like air fresheners and shaving cream, are completely empty before recycling (yes, you can place empty aerosol cans in the blue bin, yay!)
“Rinse. Recycle. Reimagine.” It’s that easy!
So what happens after it is tossed into the blue bin? Bottles composed of PET plastic are recycled and used in carpet fiber, fiberfill for winter jackets and sleeping bags, car upholstery, and boat sails. Other recyclable materials composed of HDPE plastic are turned into flexible construction pipes, and patio furniture. To read more about what other recyclable items become, visit IWantToBeRecycled.org
Another solution to our abundant accumulation of bathroom recyclables is shop for items with minimal packaging or shop in bulk. Products like LUSH Cosmetics strive to minimally package goods in store and opting out on packaging is always an option. You can also earn incentives for recycling your empty make-up containers in-store. Take MAC Cosmetics for example. If you take six empty MAC Cosmetic product containers back to the store, they will give you a free lipstick through their Back to M.A.C. program.
If you want to purchase items in bulk, check out Blue Dot Refill in Ocean Beach. They offer customers the opportunity to bring their own empty bottles and jars to fill up on shampoos, body care products, and cleaning agents. They also accept empty bottles in-store for other customers to fill up and use, so start saving those bottles so you can use them again!
Lastly, another great way to limit the need to shop for bathroom items is by making them yourself right at home! Check out these great recipes on our Pinterest page and be on the lookout for a future blog all about simple DIY beauty products tested and approved by ILACSD staff!
To get answers to other recycling questions, visit our database www.WasteFreeSD.org!
Our Hotline Assistant Barbara Lopez breaks down plastic bag recycling.
Did you know that San Diego uses 500 million plastic bags every year? And what’s even more shocking…less than 3% of plastic bags are recycled in California. While there are lots of discussions regarding plastic bag bans and ordinances, until we can cut down on our plastic bag usage, let’s talk more about recycling them!
Some background about bans:
There has been much debate recently, both locally and at the state level, regarding plastic bag bans. At the state level, State Senator Alex Padilla is looking to reintroduce legislation that would keep grocery stores and pharmacies from providing customers with single-use plastic bags by July 1, 2015. If this legislation passes, it would make California the first state in the country to ban plastic bags. Locally, San Diego City Council is also looking to vote on a citywide single use plastic bag ordinance later this year. Supporters of such bills argue too many plastic bags end up as litter or take up space in landfills since few of them are recycled. Of the 14 billion plastic bags that Californians use per year, very few of those are actually recycled. Instead, they end up in landfills or as litter on the side of roads and on beaches! But that isn’t to say that there is no market out there for plastic bags.
The skinny on recycling plastic bags:
Many of you may already know that plastic bags do not belong in our curbside recycling. However, we are often asked why we can’t simply put plastic bags in our bins at home. The answer: recycling facilities are set up to separate rigid plastics from other recyclables- paper, aluminum cans, and glass. Current recycling machinery is just not set up to sort plastic bags and film; they would just get tangled in the equipment.
Although plastic bags cannot be placed in curbside recycling bins, they can be recycled. Many grocery stores collect plastic bags, usually placing bins near the front entrance of the store. In fact, many of these stores also take other types of plastic film, such as produce bags and plastic packaging film. Returned plastic bags are then sent to a recycling processor and are turned into different plastic products such as composite lumber, pallets, crates, and pipes.
If you need help finding a location to take your plastic bags, check out our handy recycling database, www.WasteFreeSD.org!
It’s that time of year again, what will be your resolution for this New Year? Might we make a suggestion? Resolve to recycle more! Your friends at I Love A Clean San Diego are here to help you keep your resolution with a refresher on what can be recycled in your blue recycling bin here in San Diego.
Can recycle: milk cartons, juice boxes, and broth boxes
Cartons are now recyclable through every waste hauler in San Diego County. That means you can put milk cartons, juice boxes, broth boxes, and any other aseptic type of container in your blue bin.
Any type of hard plastic container, regardless of the number on the bottom, can be put in your recycling bin. Here’s a good rule of thumb: if it’s a plastic that you cannot easily crush with your hand and it fits in your bin, throw it in for recycling. Containers should be empty of most food scraps, but don’t need to be perfectly clean.
Any type of hard plastic container, regardless of the number on the bottom, can be put in your recycling bin
Another item that might you might not be dropping into your blue bin is empty aerosol cans. Empty hair spray, empty aerosol cleaning supplies and empty spray paint containers can all be recycled. (If you have aerosol containers that aren’t completely empty, those should be treated as household hazardous waste. Log on to our recycling database, www.WasteFreeSD.org to find a location for disposal).
Recycle the clean cardboard lids on pizza boxes
Pizza boxes are one of the greatest mysteries in recycling and we have the answer for you! To recycle pizza boxes, all you need to do is rip off any part of the box that is greasy or covered with food and throw it in the trash. The rest of the clean cardboard can go in the recycling. (If we were to recycle the pizza box in the image to the left, we would rip off the bottom section and throw it in the trash. Then put the top part in the recycling).
Not be to forgotten are the old standbys for recycling. Paper, metal cans, clean aluminum foil, glass jars, soda bottles, and aluminum cans are some of the common items you have around the house that can go in the recycling. If you have paper, especially shredded paper, to recycle, throw it in a paper grocery bag and roll the top down on the bag to ensure it’s not contaminated by other items in the recycling bin. (If it’s contaminated, it won’t be recycled and it will have to be thrown away as regular trash).
Check out www.WasteFreeSD.org to learn where to recycle ewaste!
Did you get a snazzy new TV for the holidays? Don’t forget that your old TV should be recycled: electronic waste is known to contain heavy metals such as mercury and lead, which if placed in the landfill can harm people and the environment. Keep an eye out in your neighborhood for signs advertising e-waste collection events. You can also log on to www.WasteFreeSD.org to search for an event or recycling center for electronics near you.
Let me start by asking, do you recycle your empty shampoo bottles? What about the toilet paper roll? Surprisingly enough, not many people do. A survey conducted by the Ad Council, a non-profit organization, revealed that only 34% of Americans recycle bathroom items. More surprising, 22% of Americans would not toss bathroom items in the recycling bins if the bin is located outside the bathroom.
ccumulation of bathroom recyclables is shop for items with minimal packaging or shop in bulk. Products like 
hey offer customers the opportunity to bring their own empty bottles and jars to fill up on shampoos, body care products, and cleaning agents. They also accept empty bottles in-store for other customers to fill up and use, so start saving those bottles so you can use them again!
