Recycle Utah

Nonprofit Summit County, Utah Recycling Center

#greentips

A/C Efficiency Tips

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Summer is here, and with Utah’s trend of record-breaking temperatures, it’s bound to be a hot one. The warmer it gets, the more we rely on energy intensive, fossil fuel burning AC units to cool our homes and buildings. It is estimated that up to 6% of all energy use comes from air conditioners alone, releasing around 100 million tons of carbon dioxide into the air each year.

So, what are some ways to limit AC usage and improve overall efficiency to reduce environmental impact? The first thing you can do is think about replacing your older unit with something more energy efficient, which will not only help reduce individual emissions but also significantly lower the cost of your energy bill. Evaporative or swamp coolers, for example, are often more efficient than traditional air conditioners. If your unit isn’t in need of an upgrade, behavioral actions, like keeping the temperature higher on your AC, can also save energy.

If you’re looking for ways to reduce your overall need for air conditioning, improving your home’s insulation and sealing around windows can help keep cool air circulating indoors. Before turning on your AC, try using fans with ice in front of them, or using window “tuning” to improve airflow. Keeping shades and curtains closed or putting in solar screens can further reduce AC usage. The best part about finding ways to be energy efficient is that it’s a win for both the environment and your wallet!

By Olivia Beckstead

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

Water Conservation in Gardening

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Gardens provide benefits pertaining to soil and air quality, but they can aid the earth even further when deliberately planned. Through simple actions, a great deal of water can be conserved. This is increasingly important since over two-thirds of Utah’s land is currently classified as being in an “extreme drought.” 

There are many ways to orient your garden to conserve water. One technique is to fill your garden with native plants. Native plants are accustomed to the soil and weather conditions of your area, therefore requiring less manual watering. Buckwheat, Globemallows, and Serviceberries are a few plants local to Utah. Aside from the aesthetic factor, planting your garden in 2-3 inches of natural mulch will prevent evaporation and weed growth. This mulch can be found in various nurseries and landscaping stores around town. 

Once these initial actions have been taken, there are additional conservation measures that can be carried out. One simple action is reusing your household water in lieu of a hose. This excess water can be collected from water bottles, pasta water, or shower buckets. Rain gauges are also a great tool that display the average rainfall in your area. By installing a 5-inch rain gauge into an open area of your garden, you will gain a better understanding of how much manual watering is necessary as the weather fluctuates. 

As the snow begins to melt, start thinking about how you can better orient and maintain your garden to save water! 

By Lauren Allen

Cutting Out Plastic Utensils

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It is a familiar scene: you pick up your takeout food, and the restaurant kindly tosses in a handful of plastic utensils. Although accepted as standard restaurant etiquette, these plastic utensils result in environmental disaster. This plastic pollutes waterways, endangers wildlife, causes extinction in marine species, and degrades the environment.

Considering more than half of the plastic used is thrown into the garbage, these utensils often make their way into oceans, rivers, and more, contaminating the surrounding water. This water is not only used for drinking, recreational activities, and industrial activities, but it is also the habitat of countless marine species. Marine species depend on air circulation for survival; as plastic accumulates in waterways, it covers the surface, disrupting this cycle. Additionally, spoons and forks can be ingested by wildlife–as they are mistaken for food–leading to death.

Studies have shown that, in the U.S. alone, over 40 billion plastic utensils are wasted, ending up in our environment and filling landfills. Surely there is an alternative, right? There are two main solutions to this dilemma. The first is to make the shift from plastic to bamboo cutlery. Bamboo is a great alternative; it is fast-growing, safe, hygienic, and biodegradable. However, the drawback is cost. Some restaurants can’t afford the additional costs of bamboo utensils. So, the remaining option is for consumers to make the change. Next time you are offered plastic utensils, politely opt out.

Enjoy your takeout and make sure to tip but try to leave the utensils behind.

By Pearson Ehrich

Switch to Smart Power Strips

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As peoples’ offices have moved from corporate buildings to their living rooms, power strips have become a household staple. These appliances allow you to power your multiple devices simultaneously, but they can also be responsible for excessive energy use. Phantom loads explain the idea that energy is being used when a device is plugged in, even when powered off. These phantom loads account for 5-10% of the average household’s energy consumption.

People tend to leave their devices plugged in for longer when they use power strips, but is the added convenience worth wasting energy? Though power strips use less energy than direct outlets, there is still a better option. Rather than trying to remember to unplug your devices at every work break, let smart power strips do heavy lifting. These devices sense when an appliance’s power consumption decreases and shuts of the electricity streaming from that specific outlet. Surge detectors and motion detectors are now integrated into some smart power strips to simplify your use even further. These devices typically cost around $30, just a fraction of the potential gain you will see through reduced energy bills over time.

Smart power strips should be in any outlet that powers a device that is responsible for a high degree of phantom loads or multiple devices. Some devices responsible for high energy consumption include televisions, video game consoles, desktop computers, printers, and phone chargers. Avoid lofty energy bills while simultaneously helping the environment by opting for this affordable alternative to conventional power strips.

By Lauren Allen