Sponsored by the Environmental Education Team of Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley

Fill the Blue. It’s Easy to Do!

SUMMER 2013

The Recycling Review

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION TEAMBud Berge • Bonnie Bruce • Gil Coerper • Sue Gordon • Rochelle Groh • Jean Hardy • Greg Haskin • Steve Hauerwaas • Debra JubinskyTom Livengood • Linda Moulton-Patterson • Doris Powell • Jim Sankey • Joe Shaw • Ron Shenkman • Jeff Snow • Marilyn Walker

We all use tin cans and products with lids. If you are like most of us,

our pantries are filled with canned foods. Almost every conceivable

food product is packaged in metal cans, from tuna, chili beans and soup to

green beans, corn and peas. How many of us throw these away in the

proper receptacle? Is the tin can and its lid trash (Brown Cart) or are theyrecyclable (Blue Cart)?We should all know the answer by now, right? If you answered the

Blue Cart you are correct!! This is what helps to maximum recycling atRainbow Environmental Services MaterialRecovery Facility (MRF).Let’s work hard to make sure we put all cans

in the Blue Cart. But what about the lid that waspried off by hand or removed

with the can opener? In which

cart should we put the lid?

Think of the lid as an extension of the can and place

it in the Blue Cart because the lid is metal also.We can use this same logic when disposing of lids

from glass jars as well. Lids from glass jars are usually

made of metal and should be placed in the Blue Cart!

Recycling Tip:

Remember to Recycle Tin Cans and Lids

Bales of tin cans ready for shipment

Recycling can be fun, and remember…

“FILL THE BLUE. IT’S EASY TO DO!

DidYou

Know?

If you would like to receive Rainbow EnvironmentalServices, Inc. monthly e-newsletter, Providing

Greener Possibilities, with recycling ideas, send youre-mail address to GreenerPossibilities@RainbowES.com

• Plan to attend The Magic of Composting at ShipleyNature Center on either August 24 or September 21.To register, or for more

infor ma tion see

www.shipleynature.org, or

call them at (714) 842-4772.

• The following websites offer wonderfulRecycling Ideas and Resources:

� ebayRethink

� Earth 911 Recycling

� FreeCycle.org

� Wheels for Wishes

� CalRecycle.ca.gov

� California Materials Exchange

3) Buy canvas or cardboard binders insteadof plastic.

4) Use recycled paper.5) Use reusable water bottles instead ofplastic.

6) Use a lunch box, instead of paper bags.7) Donate the clothes you have outgrown, instead of throwingthem away.

8) Turn your computer off when you’re not using it.9) Carpool to school events.10) Use refillable pens and pencils. (Over six billion

pens are thrown away each year in the U.S.)11) Reuse your backpack. Decorate it

with cool patches.12) Organize a clothes swap with

your friends. 13) Pack a “green” lunch box (no

plastic baggies and no papernapkins). Use reusable containers, athermos and a washcloth as a napkin. You cansave 67 pounds of garbage a year by eliminatingwasted plastic and paper!!

14) Look for backpacks and laptoptotes made from recycled plasticbottles. Check out the offeringsfrom Act 2 Greensmart. They’reavailable at many fine online retailers.See how YOU can combine the school’s 3 R’s

with the planet’s 3 R’s!! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!!!

Kermit the Frog famously says, “It’s not easy being green,”but look how easy it is to help save the environment as you

begin to prepare for going back to school.1) Ride your bike or walk to school if you live near the schoolyou attend. And remember, wear a helmet at all times onyour bike.

2) Instead of buying new supplies, make sure you use all oflast year’s supplies.

Green Tips for Students Going Back to School Here’s How You Can Combine Your School’s 3Rs with Recycling’s 3Rs

Printed onRecycled Paper

REDUCE needless consumption and the generation of waste.REUSE any item that can be reused or give it to a person or charity thatcan reuse it.

RECYCLE whatever discards remain and only dispose what can’t berecycled.

It helps to get ready to recycle so that when you “take out the trash”75% goes into the Blue Cart and ONLY 25% goes into the BrownCart.

Here’s how to set up your household to make recycling easy:

Keep recycling containers or baskets in strategic locations in yourhouse along with ordinary waste baskets. It iseasier to toss recyclables in a separate containerthan it is to rummage through the trash later toseparate everything.

Keep 2 containers in the kitchen to makerecycling easier. Tall Laundry Hampers worknicely. All paper, glass, metal, and plastic can berecycled and you will be amazed at how fast the

recycle container will fill up!

Learn to Compost your Food Waste. ContactShipley Nature Center for their yearly calendar ofComposting Workshops. (There’s one coming upin September!) For additional information, contactthe Center at (714) 842-4772, or you can down -load a flyer from at: www.shipleynature.org/2013-Composting-Seminars-flyer.pdf.

Grass Cycle – What could be easier? Set yourmower to cut a little long, and leave the clippings on the lawn. No bags toempty and you reduce the water needed on your lawn.

UsefulTips to Encourage Thinkingabout Waste Prevention and

Recycling at Home

HUMANE BIRD CONTROLIn April, strange new bird sounds

began to resonate from Rainbow’scampus. No, a new flock of wildbirds didn’t take up residence here!We installed a Mega Blaster Pro, asonic bird repeller that replicates thesound of a predator and birds indistress. The combination of sounds is meant to scarepesky birds, such as seagulls, away!Over the years, Rainbow has used many tech niques to

humanely keep the hungry and territorial birds away,including; balloons, hanging CD’s and Harris Hawks. TheMega Blaster Pro is a safe and cost effective way to keepbirds away. So far, it seems to be working okay!

RAINBOW ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICESP.O. Box 1026 • Huntington Beach, California 92647-1026 • (714) 847-3581 • www.RainbowES.com