MA Residents: Are You Ready For A Crash Course In Recycling?

Attention Massachusetts residents: When it comes to recycling, it is important to know what and what not to throw in those blue bins. The average American consumer orders lunch or dinner once a week via take-out and delivery. It's an amazing fact as the majority of restaurants and other food service establishments are using those "dreaded" plastic containers to accommodate customer orders.

Unfortunately, the majority of these plastic containers does NOT makes to the recycling bin as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has revised their policy on how to dispose of trash properly. Fortunately, you can get more valuable information by logging on to this web site as you are updated with the latest Bay State recycling rules and laws.

Residents should make this a habit as clear plastic lids from your takeout need to be rinsed and dried and immediately should get tossed into the recycling bin. The bottom half, as long as it's black, should be trashed.

Restaurants should get into the practice of using paper or wax boxes plus other means of packaging where plastic is not part of the mix.

Perhaps the only resolution is for restaurants to start using paper/wax boxes or other means of packaging that don't involve plastic. Sounds complicated, doesn't it?

(Photo image of Jennie Romer courtesy of her twitter page)

If you need a comprehensive check list on the do's and dont's of this subject, pick up a copy of Jennie Romer's informational book entitled "Can I Recycle This" as you can call her the guru on this subject as she focuses on the reduction of single used plastics as her check list will make this transition a whole lot smoother.

Finally, here are some items that you can NOT recycle throughout The Bay State:

Coffee cups, pizza boxes, plastic utensils, construction paper, plastic bottle caps, drinking glasses, clothes hangers, pottery, shredded paper, books, mirrors and styrofoam.

BOTTOM LINE: Whatever happened to the days when you threw trash away in ONE place? This method makes it a task in taking out the garbage in more ways than one!

(Some information obtained in this article courtesy of our sister station in New Bedford, Massachusetts www.fun107.com)