Recycling

Our landfill is filling up!

Okay, that's what it's supposed to do. However, when it does, there will be no nearby place to dump all of our garbage (take a look at what you put out at the curb twice a week, multiply it by 100,000, and you have a conservative estimate of what goes into the landfill from city households—retail stores, industry and other commercial establishments aren't counted in that estimate). At that point, when our garbage has to be hauled 50-100 miles to a new landfill, garbage collection costs will skyrocket. The garbage trucks will have to travel much further every day, so we'll need more of them, and more crews, and more maintenance, and more diesel, and . . . well, you get the picture. So . . . we don't want that to happen any sooner than absolutely necessary.

That's the monetary reason for not filling our landfill any faster than necessary. Another reason is that so much of what goes in there doesn't need to. Grass clippings have been banned from the landfill, but leaves take up a large percentage of the volume, especially throughout the fall and winter months. However, they can be composted. The same goes for vegetable food scraps and many other organic items. And of course, most paper, glass, metal, and Types 1 and 2 plastic bottles can be recycled. Just drop them in the green bin and they'll be picked up once a week. What little that's left can go to the landfill.

The city says that about 400,000 TONS (800 MILLION POUNDS) of garbage ends up In our sanitary landfill every year. Arlington now has about 355,000 population, so that means that each man, woman and child accounts for over one ton (2,000 pounds) of garbage each year. Did you throw away a ton of stuff into the trash last year? If you put out 20 pounds of trash on average, twice a week, you sure did. Don't forget to add all those bags of leaves, if you're not composting them. Seems like we all could cut back from throwing away a ton a year...8,000 pound for a family of four, unless of course, you consider taking the trash out as being your fitness program.

This page is just starting, but our members will be supplying information shortly.

Local Recycling Links

Arlington Garbage & Recycling

Time to Recycle

NCTCOG Less Trash

Other Recycling Links (I'm putting these in as I find them, so send me more)

Hewlett Packard