Q: What do you do with old CDs? What about pet supplies or art supplies? Or cans of paint?
A: Recycle them!
When residential single stream recycling was launched in the City of St. Louis in 2011, it led to a threefold increase in recycling in the first year alone. Since then, progress has plateaued – a significant opportunity remains to increase recycling. With facilities to recycling now widely available, increasing waste diversion rests on furthering education on why, how and what to recycle.
To tackle this challenge, St. Louis City Recycles and Brightside St. Louis partnered to launch an outreach and education program called Saint Louis City Recyclables. The result is an information-rich, easy-to-navigate website features resources like downloadable stickers, posters, brochures and presentation, alongside a straight forward guide for sorting waste. Through videos and articles that include interviews with stakeholders and explanations of the city-specific recycling process, it gives a glimpse into the logistical side of recycling. The idea is to equip individuals with the knowledge of the problem and solution, providing the motivation to expand recycling at home, work and school.
The hallmark of the website is its extensive regional database to locate recycling locations for certain items that are not accepted through the single stream system like lithium batteries or hazardous materials like anti-freeze. Through a simple search tool, you can locate a recycler for just about any item you need to be recycled. After the item is selected from one of the 12 categories, type in your zip code and the database will provide the nearest recycling location.
Whether you live in the City of St. Louis or elsewhere in the region, start browsing now – you will be surprised at what you can keep out of the landfill bin!