Recycle Utah

Nonprofit Summit County, Utah Recycling Center

Sustainable Materials

‘Tis the Season for Farmer’s Markets

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We all know how good shopping locally is for us, our community and the planet. And NOW is the time to shop at a neighborhood farmers’ market. The best nutritious and flavorful produce grown sustainably on nearby family farms ripens throughout our growing season. For the next few months, farmers will bring it to town for us to purchase, along with other farm products they make using local ingredients. Here are some tips for  bringing home a colorful cornucopia:

*Bring cash and consider using a wagon, wheeled-cart or stroller for all  your purchases; stick in a small cooler.  

*Shop early for the greatest selection; shop the last hour for deals.

*Make sure to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables currently being harvested. These are infinitely more delicious than their grocery store  counterparts.

*Ask farmers questions about their produce, especially unfamiliar items,  and how it is grown. They are eager to have us join them in advocating for locally-grown and sustainably-produced food. They can give you preparation ideas—and maybe a sample!

*Farmers markets can be overwhelming. You might want to have a shopping plan and recipes to help you choose and use produce and other farm products while they are freshest. Think creatively and substitute ingredients with what is seasonally available. Sometimes buying a hodgepodge of items results in unused food that ends up going to waste.  

Enjoy a fun, educational, productive and delicious time at a farmers market. Bon Appetit!

By Bev Harrison

The Environmental Cost of Online Shopping

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In the age of the internet, efficiency is everything, especially when it comes to e-commerce. Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) like personal care and homecare products are increasingly ordered online rather than in-store and are delivered within days of purchase. Factors such as delivery, packaging, and a perceived demand by consumers to receive goods faster all contribute to emissions and waste related to online shopping. But is it worse than going to the store yourself?

Truthfully, the environmental impact is more complicated than you’d think. Consumer behavior, waste, logistics, the type and amount of packaging, and the distance from distribution hub to store or home all play a role. A recent study published by MIT’s Real Estate Innovation Lab compiled research on both shopping options to address some of these complexities. Under specific circumstances, ordering goods for delivery actually has less of an impact on the environment because shoppers are making fewer individual trips. But change some of the assumptions, such as inefficient freight consolidation or amount of packaging, and the results favor in-store shopping.

When there is a perceived demand for receiving goods as fast as possible, companies will cater to the consumer. So, what’s the best thing you can do to avoid the online shopping conundrum? Be a conscious consumer! The less stuff you buy, online or in-store, the less you’ll contribute to waste and pollution. Think about alternative buying options for FMCGs such as buying in bulk, buying local, and consolidating trips to the store.

By Olivia Beckstead

The Guide to Safer Sunscreens, Foods, and Products

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Chemicals and plastics surround us and sometimes are found in us. Recent studies reveal that microplastics are found in human urine, feces and even blood. Are we becoming plastified? Chemified? Environmental Working Group (ewg.org) is a national gem that researches the safety and efficacy of chemicals in sunscreen and cosmetics, cleaning products, food and more. Simply enter your preferred product to see how it ranks from A to F. Or check out EWG’s guides, such as their Sunscreen Guide or “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” lists which reveal the most and least pesticide ridden fruits and vegetables.

Avoiding pesticides in our food makes sense, but you may ask, ‘Why should I be concerned about skin or hair products – how can it get inside me?’ EWG estimates that the average person uses 9 products daily, which contain 126 unique ingredients – some which can seep into our skin or lungs or through our scalp. Sunscreen is a source of harmful chemicals for humans and ocean life – sunscreens that contain Oxybenzone and/or Octinoxate can damage coral reefs. Safer ‘reef friendly’ sunscreens, while often more expensive, contain plants and minerals. Visit EWG’s Sunscreen Guide for safer products.

Awareness is the key. Become educated on your daily products and foods and what’s in them. There are currently more than 85,000 chemicals in the U.S. and it’s up to us to know what’s going in and on our bodies, down our drains, in our homes and on our lawns. EWG.ORG.

By Mary Closser

The Power of Composting

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Every year, United States landfills receive over 150 million tons of garbage. Each bag of tossed garbage contributes to the pollution of surrounding waterways, air, and soil, inflicting health hazards upon humans and animals. It’s puzzling that over 50% of standard garbage set out on the curb can be composted. This simple action – composting – not only replenishes soil, sustains future food production, sequesters carbon, and replaces chemical fertilizers, but it also reduces heaps of methane being emitted from landfills.

So how can one start composting in Park City? There are three options: 1. Start a compost pile at home. Recycle Utah can assist you with doing it yourself through their monthly workshops (next one is 7/9, 10am) and they even sell discounted composting bins. 2. Join Spoil to Soil – a composting pickup service that costs $19/month, supplies all the materials, and picks up weekly. Or 3. Try Vermicomposting or worm composting. This is another great composting option, especially for smaller spaces, like apartments. Worm composting uses worms to recycle food scraps and other organic material into a valuable soil amendment called Vermicompost. It’s a fun way to compost but the worms need at least 40F degrees to survive. 

While most people assume waste, such as food scraps, will biodegrade in landfills, the lack of oxygen prevents this and instead creates methane. The more of us who get on board with environmental steps, the more these actions will start to add up. Composting is a significant step.

By Pearson Ehrich

Proper Disposal of Pharmaceutical Waste

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Unused prescription drugs can lead to possible substance abuse at home. It’s important to get rid of medication you no longer need but where and how do you properly dispose it? Improper disposal of pharmaceutical waste can create an environmental disaster – contaminating groundwater, drinking water, aquatic environments, and more.

The two ways the typical person disposes of their pharmaceuticals are to either flush them down the drain or landfill them. Both options, however, are detrimental to the environment. Medicine flushed down the drain makes its way to sewage facilities not equipped to degrade medicinal substances. These pharmaceuticals can pass through sewage and water treatment plants, leading to contaminated water that will go back into our watershed.

When one throws out their pharmaceutical waste, it will ultimately end up at a landfill and seep into groundwater. From here, these medicines can contaminate lakes and streams, hurting surrounding fish and other aquatic wildlife. These environmental terrors demonstrate the importance of properly disposing of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Old, out-of-date, or unused prescription medicines and vitamins can be dropped off at the following Summit County locations: Redstone Center Health Pharmacy, Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Kamas Police Department, or Park City Police Department. For Wasatch County, you can drop off medications at the Heber City Police Department or Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office. To prevent possible abuse of prescription drugs, it’s important to dispose of medication that you no longer need. But be sure to dispose of them responsibly!

By Pearson Ehrich

Go For Glass Containers

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Ugh. Sometimes the food you keep in the plastic bag you bought it in or store in plastic containers begins to taste and smell “weird.” That is the taste and smell of plastic made entirely from artificial materials and chemicals. The smell and taste of plastic worsens over time as the permeable and porous plastic degrades. The culprits—light, oxygen and heat. For this and other reasons, storing food in glass is a much better choice.

Unlike plastic, glass is impermeable. The glass molecules in a container do not interact with those of the food stored in it. For this reason, strong odorous foods like tomato sauce, pickles, and garlic are sold in glass containers. Glass is made from superheated sand and whenever possible, the crushed glass we recycle. It can be re-heated and melted endlessly. Using recycled glass keeps containers out of the environment and manufacturing costs down. Because glass requires more heat to manufacture than plastic does, it is more energy-consuming. It is also costly to transport. For these reasons, it is very important we recycle and reuse our glass containers.

Plastic containers have a much larger environmental and health impact than those made of glass. Plastic is one of the leading causes of pollution. It is the number one cause of death for marine animals. All plastic breaks down into toxic micro plastic particles that do not decompose, whereas glass breaks down into naturally-occurring particles.

Enjoy your food stored in glass containers!

By Bev Harrison