Mayor’s Minute: January 2020
We accept the challenge!
City Council members Virginia Smith and Alice Womack have entered into a challenge with council members from Vestavia, Homewood and Hoover to see who can improve their recycling ‘stats’ the most between Nov. 1, 2019, and April 30, 2020.
I’ve learned a lot about recycling since the kickoff. Did you know that for most cities rejected recyclables get charged back to the city? Thirty-seven percent of Mountain Brook’s recyclable material is rejected! The residents of Mountain Brook are winners, so let’s pull together and win this contest!
Here are the do’s and don’ts of proper recycling.
- Do recycle: Paper: Junk mail; magazines; office paper; newspaper; cardboard. Plastic: First, look for the recycle logo (circling arrows) with a 1 in the middle. Soft drink bottles; water bottles; mouthwash bottles; plastic jars. Plastic: Recycle logo with a 2 in the middle. Laundry detergent; milk jugs; shampoo bottles; cleaning supply bottles. The key: If you don’t find the recycle logo with a 1 or 2, toss it in the regular garbage. Metal: Aluminum cans; steel cans; tin cans … just give them a quick rinse. Never bag your recyclables … if you do, the whole bag gets rejected!
- Don’t recycle: Books/phone books; wax coated paper or any paper contaminated with food; Styrofoam; glass; plastic bags including grocery bags or other plastic material not listed above. Some more obvious ‘no-no’ items include hoses; clothing; yard waste; HVAC filters; foam products; garbage; rubber balls or plastics rated 3-7.
Yep, for years I have diligently placed grocery bags in the recycling … a lot of them! Those either need to be reused or go in the recycle bin at the grocery store.
Smith, the City Council president, offered this advice: “When in doubt, throw it out (with the regular garbage).”
The contest losers will donate to the winners’ designated charity of choice. Together we can learn about proper recycling, improve our environment and win this challenge! For weekly tips, join Birmingham Recycling and Recovery on Facebook.
While we’re on the topic of improving our environment … quiet please! Mountain Brook is one of the first cities in the South to take a leadership role in ‘going green.’ You can thank Mountain Brook resident Clay Ragsdale for introducing this idea. We are testing all-electric leaf blowers, string trimmers and chainsaws starting with Overton Park, with plans to expand to our three main villages.
Let us know what you think of our ‘whisper-quiet’ and zero-emissions efforts … if you notice them!