Tis the season to reduce landfill waste

Tis the season of boxes, gift wrapping, gift bags, tissue paper and new electronics! During this season of festivities, giving and spiritual reverence there is a sharp increase in the amount of materials sent to the landfill and Keep Kimball Beautiful (KKB) would encourage everyone to recycle.

Utilizing reusable bags while shopping could help save thousands of bags from ending up in the landfill, remember the paper bags and plastic sacks you receive from the stores are also reusable. We encourage citizens to utilize them to sort your recyclables before depositing them at the Kimball Recycle Center (KRC), where we recycle as many as possible.

Electronics account for 2% of America’s landfill material, however E-waste causes 70% of the toxicity levels at landfills. Recently Keep Kimball Beautiful received funds from KEGS for electronic recycling and we extend the invitation to all Kimball County residents to recycle their old TVs, cell phones, IPad, laptops, small appliances and other electronics throughout the holidays. The opportunity to recycle electronics can be expensive, but KKB and local businesses continue to partner to provide funds to responsibly dispose of this growing waste stream. KKB is committed to diverting as much material from the landfill we can manage to reclaim the materials for future manufacturing opportunities.

Remember the easiest way to decrease the amount of waste your household generates is to reduce the amount of consumption your household participates in. Understandably there are a lot of purchases being made online and with this delivery comes the packaging. KKB encourages the reuse of the beautiful bags holiday gifts often come in and even to fold tissue paper for a future use is thrifty! Paperboard, cardboard, tissue paper, magazines, newspaper and gift bags are all recyclable! You can even recycle your wrapping paper at the KRC.

There are a lot of magazines and advertisement junk mailings cycling through our mail boxes during this season as well, all of these materials can be recycled. Paper recycling can be confusing as there are numerous types but for ease we break it down into three types: Newspapers must be separate! Magazines and glossy papers must also be kept separate from OfficePack, and include gift wrapping. OfficePack consists of all the papers you might find at your desk to include junk mailings, envelopes, receipts, sticky notes and white/pastel papers.

This year consider opening the biggest gift box first or grab a large garbage bag and while everyone is unwrapping their presents, stuff all the packaging WITHOUT Styrofoam into it and set aside to take to the KRC. Glass bottles of green, clear and blue can be recycled at the KRC and of course all aluminum and metals as well. Plastics #1 and #2 are accepted at our facility, kindly check for the triangle at the bottom of the container to see what number is noted inside the raised recycle symbol.

Keep Kimball Beautiful is committed to keeping Kimball clean, green and beautiful. May the holidays be beautiful and kindly consider what green you can add to the festivities to reduce the waste generated at the landfill this season.