Recycle Utah

Nonprofit Summit County, Utah Recycling Center

#sustainability

Transportation and Climate Change

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How are you getting to where you need to go? In Park City, transportation is a commonly debated subject, and a great opportunity to be more sustainable. During the winter, thousands of skiers flock to the mountain resorts and, as locals know, this causes major inconveniences such as traffic and parking space. Ski transportation is not only a logistical problem, but also a catalyst in contributing to global warming.

Transportation is the largest contributor to carbon emissions compared to any other emitter in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Transportation says, “The average passenger car in the United States produces just under one pound of carbon dioxide per mile traveled.” Meanwhile, similar statistics show that per passenger mile, bus transit produces 33% less greenhouse gas emissions. It may be a slight inconvenience to drive to a Park-n-Ride, or to take Park City transit, but overall it can be a more convenient option, especially when the parking lots are all full within a mile radius of the ski resorts. Having a more open mindset about public transportation can make getting to the mountain a less stressful process and can decrease your carbon footprint. Carpooling is also an excellent option!

Additionally, mountain biking culture here in Park City offers wonderful opportunities to reduce your carbon footprint. Shoutout to all bikers (competitive or just recreational), who choose to bike to their destinations. Although it may not be as fast, biking is a great way to get exercise while getting to your destination. Depending on where you live in Park City, it can be an even quicker form of transportation while avoiding all the car traffic. 

So overall what can you do to travel more sustainably?

  • Carpool!
  • Use public transportation.
  • Bike or walk.
  • If you’re considering purchasing a new vehicle, try getting a low-emission one. Visit epa.gov/greenvehicles.

By Grayson Rae, Sophomore at Park City High School

Reduce Waste in Your Everyday Life

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Since opening in 2009, Savoury Kitchen has endeavored to implement eco-friendly practices in all aspects of our business. These efforts are not only beneficial for our community and planet but also contribute to cost savings, a healthier lifestyle and record snowfall last season. (You’re welcome.)

Here are some practical tips we compiled for reducing waste in your own lives:

  • Embrace the Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle: Reduce unnecessary purchases, reuse items whenever possible, and properly recycle materials. Example: Our office is furnished almost exclusively with items reclaimed at Recycle Utah’s warehouse. Thanks guys!
  • Go Paperless: Minimize paper usage by transitioning to digital docs and comms. Utilize cloud-based storage and collaborative platforms for file sharing and opt for electronic invoices and receipts whenever possible. This not only reduces paper waste but also promotes a more organized and efficient work environment. It’s easy. You should just do it.
  • Cultivate Sustainable Habits: Incorporate sustainable practices into your daily routine, like stocking real (not paper) coffee cups in the office, composting food waste, bundling errands and turning off the lights. And for Pete’s sake, please stop buying single use bottled water!
  • Support Your Local Green Businesses: Show some love and appreciation to these Green Businesses by promoting their initiatives on social media, sharing positive reviews and emphasizing the importance of their eco-friendly practices.

By implementing these tips, individuals play an active role in creating a more sustainable and waste-conscious living and working environment, thereby contributing to a healthier and greener Park City for future generations.

By Jon Green, Savoury Kitchen

Savor the Flavor, Not the Waste: Reducing Food Waste This Thanksgiving

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As Thanksgiving approaches, we look forward to delicious meals with loved ones. Yet, this season also witnesses a sharp 25% increase in household waste, with food waste being a major contributor. This waste surge is especially concerning because food decomposition releases potent greenhouse gases, including methane. The good news is that we all have the power to change this trend. Let’s make this Thanksgiving more sustainable and reduce our environmental impact by curbing food waste.

When preparing your Thanksgiving feast, thoughtfully plan your menu, avoiding excessive dishes that lead to leftovers. Before heading to the grocery store, do a thorough inventory check of your pantry and refrigerator to identify ingredients you already have, reducing the need for additional purchases. Opt for recipes that efficiently utilize similar ingredients, making the most of what’s available.

Embrace sustainable shopping practices to lessen your Thanksgiving environmental footprint. Purchase locally and organically when possible, supporting your local community while reducing the carbon footprint of your meal. Don’t forget to bring reusable produce bags! Opt for homemade dishes whenever you can; they tend to be more environmentally friendly, generating less packaging waste and fewer emissions from production and transportation. 

After the meal, focus on eco-friendly food storage solutions that keep leftovers fresh while reducing waste. Say no to disposable plastic containers and explore reusable, sustainable alternatives. Finally, make recycling and composting bins easily accessible for your guests to encourage proper waste disposal. By sorting recyclables and compostables from regular trash, you can significantly reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills, making a big impact this holiday season!

By Chelsea Hafer

Sewer Water Contaminants

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Recycle Utah offers seasonal tours for our visual learners with the most recent one in October at Snyderville Basin Water Reclamation District (SBWRD). How eye opening! All water flushed and drained from the shower, laundry, and sink in Summit County flows underground through sewers to one of their two county facilities. The wastewater is cleaned via microbes, ultraviolet lights and more before it’s returned to local streams.

Their most challenging contaminant? Produce stickers. Close seconds are ‘flushable’ wipes, dental floss, grease and cooking oils, hair, menstrual products, cotton balls, gum, and kitty litter. Oil disagrees with water, and the other products are non-biodegradable. Additionally, while paper towels and facial tissues may appear to decompose in water, they do not like toilet paper. Food can clog drains (compost instead?) and swell in large quantities (cereals or grains) and medications do not decompose– take any leftover medication to a police department or pharmacy. What goes down our drains should ONLY come from toilet residue, bathing residue and small particles of food from rinsing. SBWRD hauls at least one dump truck of trash and sludge from their plant each day, not considering the numerous materials getting stuck in their filtration machines.

Let’s be better water stewards. Let’s help the dedicated SBWRD employees who clean our water. After all, as Luna Leopold put it, “Water is the most critical resource issue of our lifetime and our children’s lifetime. The health our water is the principal measure of how we live on the land.” Please subscribe to Recycle Utah’s newsletter (fill in the box in the bottom left of this page) so you can stay abreast of our local tours!

By Mary Closser

Hang on to Your Fleece!

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Tis the season for wearing and covering up with (polyester) fleece— pullovers, jackets, vests, coats, hats, blankets. It’s warm, soft and plush, lightweight, durable, water resistant, and fast drying. When it’s cold, we love our fleece! Unfortunately, fleece is a bad guy when it comes to microplastic water pollution. Every time it’s tumbled and tossed in the washing machine, its soft plastic microfibers sluff off into particles no bigger than 3/16 of an inch—too small to be trapped by machine filters and downstream, through the water reclamation process. It’s resting spot? Rivers, lakes and oceans where the microplastic particles are easily ingested by aquatic organisms. All fabrics shed microfibers in the washing machine, but plastic polyesters shed non-biodegradable ones, and when it comes to the numbers, fleece is the champion. It sheds about 100 times more than the same amount of other polyester fabric. And it’s because polyester is the dominant fiber now, that all this microplastic water pollution is the huge and dangerous problem it is.

Are consumers, especially we Americans, washing our fleece when it isn’t dirty? Do we over-wash because it’s easy and we think “it” must be dirty? Here are some earth-friendly fleece care tips. Fleece is made to be durable; hang on to the fleece you have! Take care of each item. Before washing, consider: Does it smell? Fabric that doesn’t hug your skin, doesn’t collect odor like fabrics that do. Hang fleece items loosely so air circulates through and around the fibers. Brush off surface dirt and smudges. If there’s a stain, try spot cleaning it. The less you launder your fleece, the longer its fibers will stay intact. Donate, consign and buy secondhand fleece items. Also, remember by caring for and keeping fleece in use, we are keeping plastic waste out of the landfill.

By Bev Harrison

What To Do with Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns

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With Halloween coming around the corner, you’re probably getting excited about decorating, making plans with friends, and stocking up on candy… I know I am!  However, as we go into another holiday of mass consumerism, it’s crucial to consider how we can make our actions more sustainable. 

One of the most favored Halloween activities is pumpkin carving. Pumpkin carving is fun and overall, not harmful to the environment. However, when pumpkins are simply disposed of in the garbage, they wind up in a landfill, where, like other organic waste, release harmful methane gas into the atmosphere; methane captures 25 times more heat than carbon dioxide, contributing heavily to global warming.

Composting offers a solution! Composting pumpkins allows for beneficial reuse of organic material being recycled back to the earth, without releasing harmful gases. In Park City, we have great resources for compost disposal, including dropping off your pumpkins at Recycle Utah after Halloween to be composted at Spoil to Soil.

Out of the millions of pumpkins purchased in the U.S. every October, how many will end up in landfills? Composting your pumpkins helps significantly with this problem, and here in Park City, it’s easy and accessible. Additionally, pumpkins are in fact edible! Try saving more of your pumpkin by harvesting the seeds, making pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie, and so much more.

By Grayson Rae, Sophomore at Park City High School