Health & Fitness
RECYCLE Your Way Through the New Year!
You can recycle foam packaging and light strings, two common items during the holidays.
“Foam” for the holidays: If you have purchased or received fragile items like electronics or dishware, or perishable food for the holidays, there’s a good chance you also received a lot of #6 expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam. In some boxes, you might have instead found yourself inundated with foam packing “peanuts.” Believe it or not, these items are highly recyclable, but they DO NOT belong in your blue recycling cart. You can still keep these items out of the landfill. Here’s how:
- Foam “peanuts” are accepted at UPS stores, including College Park (4423 Lehigh Road; 301-699-0919; www.theupsstore.com). You can also drop off other types of packaging materials, like air-filled pouches, for recycling and reuse.
- EPS foam (the rigid, bulkier #6 foam) is accepted at the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers (1298 Cronson Boulevard, Suite 201, Crofton, MD 21114; 410-451-8340; www.epspackaging.org).
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- If you can’t drop off these types of foam yourself, call the Recycling Coordinator at 240-487-3590 or email publicworks@collegeparkmd.gov to arrange for a collection.
These options are only for foam packaging; there are currently no programs in this area for foam plates, cups, bowls or egg cartons. Please make sure these items are disposed of as trash. No foam of any kind should be included in your blue recycling cart!
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Here’s another BRIGHT recycling idea: Holiday lights on strings make for festive decorations, but what do you do when they stop working or you just want to replace them with the newest style?
Now through the end of January, take your old or broken holiday lights to My Organic Market (9827 Rhode Island Avenue; 301-220-1100; www.myorganicmarket.com) for recycling. As a “thank you” when you drop off your lights at , you will receive a coupon for 25 percent off energy efficient decorative lights from holidayleds.com, so you can save even more energy with next year’s holiday decorations.
Have questions about recycling in the City? Call or email Public Works (240-487-3590; publicworks@collegeparkmd.gov).
