Recycle Utah

Nonprofit Summit County, Utah Recycling Center

#water conservation

Laundry Tips

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Unless you have the laundry fairy on speed dial, chances are you or someone in your household does up to 300 loads of laundry each year. Washing laundry requires about 6,000 gallons of water each year, and the dryer is the 2nd biggest user of energy in most houses behind the fridge. The United States’ annual residential laundry carbon emissions is equivalent to powering 21 million homes. So, what can we do to reduce the environmental impact of laundry, and maybe save some money while we are at it?

  1. Reduce the number of loads of laundry that is done by wearing clothes more than once and running full loads.
  2. Wash on cold. Heating the water in a washing machine takes up to 90% of a washing machine cycle’s energy. While washing on hot is still needed for germ filled loads, cold cycles are generally better for making clothes last longer and removing stains.
  3. If a washer or dryer needs to be replaced, be sure to choose an efficient energy star option. It could save you $370 in operating costs over your washer’s lifetime, and only uses 25 gallons per load, compared to 40 gallons for older machines.
  4. When it comes to drying, air dry if possible. Not only will you reap the savings from not using your energy hogging dryer, but you will also extend the life of your clothes.
  5. When using the dryer, make sure to properly clean the lint filter, and consider using dryer balls to reduce laundry drying time and energy use. Dryer balls also have the added benefit of softening laundry, making them an ideal replacement for single use and chemical laden dryer sheets.

By Montana Burack, Park City High School

How Does Your Garden Grow?

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Choosing plants that will thrive in your garden does not have to be difficult. Just look around in our meadows, forests, and sagebrush lands. What flowers and shrubs do you see? To name a few, there are lupins, flax, penstemon, clematis, phlox, Oregon grape, globemallow, flax, wood’s rose, chokecherry, golden currant, sunflowers and rabbit brush. Reach out to USU Extension Service Horticulturists, Swaner Preserve naturalists, and plant nursery garden specialists and they can provide you information about these and other “natives”. These are not the hybridized specimens you choose for their brilliant colors and large blooms. Planted in places that match their natural habitat, natives will thrive without fertilizer and pesticides, and with little additional water. Your native garden is an extension of the landscape surrounding it.

Utahns waste a lot of water. Ours is the second driest state and we are one of the highest per-capital populations of water consumers. Planting a native garden saves water. Use drip irrigation and water regularly to establish plants’ deep roots. Then drip water infrequently when their leaves are droopy or crisp. With less maintenance time required, there is more time to hike and bike!

Utah has over 1000 species of habitat-specific bee pollinators. They have incredibly specialized relationships with the plant species they pollinate and require for reproduction. We should plant these natives to maintain bee and plant populations.

Birds eat the seeds of native plants which provide them much needed habitat. A woman in Chicago planted a native garden on one-tenth of an acre of land that attracted 116 species of birds to her “little yard!”

 Enjoy a sustainable ecosystem of native plants in your garden!

By Bev Harrison

Carbon Footprint of Alcohol

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Our food, clothing, electronics, and even alcohol… there’s a carbon footprint for everything. Drinks of pleasure can weigh heavily on the environment. Whether it’s the associated transportation or water, packaging, or agriculture demands, there’s a carbon footprint for every processing stage.

1. Beer: Refrigeration and transportation account for most of the overall emissions. Buy local! Cans vs. bottles is better and cans are recycled more. Draft is best, and organic is preferred, assuring that no synthetic fertilizer was used. Research your beer – some companies do more than others in regard to energy, recycling, water and transportation efficiency, composting spent grains, capturing methane and more. Best yet, brew your own.

2. Wine: The majority of wine’s footprint comes from shipping. The key is to buy near – Utahns should buy from UT or CA, New Yorkers from Italy.  Room temperature is better (Red) in addition to organic/no sulfite options. Select natural cork, a renewable material, verses metal or plastic. And if water is a concern, go for bubbly wines made with early-harvested grapes. The box has a lower print than the bottle due to the weight from shipping and the bag, once rinsed, can be recycled at Recycle Utah.

3. Spirits: The greatest concern with most spirits is the distillation process utilizing energy and water, resulting in pulp and wastewater. Buy progressive brands, transparent about their production process. For example, do they turn by-product waste into compost, animal feed or irrigation water? Do they grow without pesticides & herbicides?

By Mary Closser

Water In, Water Out: Reclaiming Wastewater

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According to Mike Luers, general manager of the Snyderville Basin Water Reclamation
District (SBWRD) they treat 4,000,00 gallons of wastewater per day; 5,000,000 gallons
per day during peak season. In 2022 the two local wastewater reclamation plant
treated 1.44 billion gallons of used water!


Our water is sourced from wells, springs, creeks, mine tunnels and the Echo Reservoir.
It’s provided to us by various water companies. We never own it. SBWDB “reclaims” it—
treats it, then discharges it into local streams. It flows into reservoirs and eventually, into
the Great Salt Lake. It’s an efficient ecological system.


According to Mike, there are several “habits that can help our local environment.”

  • Never flush down the toilet: “flushable” wipes, dental floss, tampons, condoms, toothpaste caps or other personal care products. This stuff doesn’t break down and either gets wrapped around the plant’s powerful pumps, or needs to be screened out of huge pipes before the treatment process begins. Throw these items in the trash!
  • Don’t pour grease and cooking oil down the drain. In pipes, grease hardens and oils form a putty-like substance. These may block pipes in your home and even cause raw sewage to back up. They can clog up the wastewater plant’s pipes. Put used grease and oil in a container and throw it in the trash!
  • Even though urine contains most of the pharmaceuticals in wastewater, flushing them down the toilet adds more. Our district’s reclamation plants use advanced treatment methods but pharmaceuticals cannot be removed. Discharged into streams, they are absorbed by fish and can affect their development. Take unused medications to a drop-off box at the Sheriff or Police Office, the Redstone Clinic, or one of Recycle Utah’s Hazardous Waste Days.
  • Mike would love to give you or your group a tour of our reclamation facility. Call him at (435) 649 – 7993, or email him at mluers@sbwrd.org.

By Bev Harrison

All About Bees

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After a long period of hibernating throughout the winter, bees are slowly starting to emerge

as spring is now upon us. Spring is a crucial time for bees as colonies begin forming and

new colonies appear again. As we face the climate change crisis, we now see a decline in

pollinator species such as butterflies, flies, beetles, and, most importantly, our honey bees.

Research has shown that harmful pesticides such as carbaryl have been a factor in the

decline of bees. However, the most significant impact of the decline is climate change

caused by global warming.

Estimates have shown that around 75% of the crops we grow for food depend on pollinators

to a certain extent. They play a prominent role in producing our food supply, so their

protection needs to be a priority.

Listed below are ways you can help our bees this season:

  • Using natural or organic pest control solutions is a great way to stop using pesticides. Neem oil is an excellent option, or you can make a DIY insecticidal soap.
  • Don’t get rid of your dandelions, at least until they bloom. Dandelions are a food source for bees that provide pollen and nectar.
  • Planting native flowers that thrive in your region attracts bees to your garden. Creating a bee garden will attract not only bees but other pollinators as well.
  • Purchasing organic honey items from your local beekeepers. Local beekeepers ensure bees are well cared for and support bee population growth.

We can work together to help save the bees!

By Miriam Flores

Drought-Tolerant Trees and Water Conservation

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Conserving water is a crucial step towards a more sustainable environment. When one uses water in their home, energy is used to filter, clean, and pump the water. Therefore, reducing your water usage can further reduce your carbon footprint. By using less water, you are helping reduce pollution as well as conserving fuel resources. It is one of the small steps we can take towards protecting our environment. 

Considering that we live in Utah, droughts are a serious issue. Already in a water-deprived position, the last thing we want to do is lessen water reserves that certain species and ecosystems rely on. While in a drought, however, it is important to remember to prioritize watering trees. Trees provide a host of community benefits, including shade, oxygen, soil erosion prevention, and food sources for species. Shrubs are another important plant to prioritize when watering, as they help minimize road noise and filter out pollution from the air. If newly planted trees and plants are not properly watered, they could die before taking root.  Trees and shrubs are an essential part of our environment and must be protected during a drought. 

To help increase our tree canopy with water conservation in mind, Park City is organizing several tree planting events to build our urban canopy! Look out for new trees, with self-watering ‘ooze tubes’ around town this Fall. If you’re interested in joining a tree planting, visit the City’s Planting Park City page to sign up for future events! 

By Pearson Ehrich