***Update***The Master Recyclers Program announces that Plastic Roundups are cancelled until future notice. Markets in the plastics niche have been affected by recent economic fluctuations. Any changes will be posted here.***
There is a FREE recycling day in Lake Oswego and Portland for plastics. The event is being sponored by the Master Recyclers.
Here’s the complete list of locations where you will be able to recycle the plastics:
- Saturday, Oct 4, 2008 9 am – 2 pm
- Saturday Oct 11, 2008 9 am – 2 pm
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Your Plastics!
Bring those hard-to-recycle plastics. Master Recyclers will collect it, and Agri-Plas Inc., a recycler located in Brooks, Oregon, will recycle the plastic into new products. Master Recyclers has sponsored eight similar plastic roundup events and reused and recycled over 90 tons of plastic with the help of almost 8,800 community residents who participated.
Please sort and and rinse plastics into the following categories before you bring them to the recycling event:
- Plastic bags (dry cleaning, store sacks, bubble wrap, freezer and zip lock bags, Mylar, cereal liners,six pack rings, tortilla chip bags)
- Plant pots 4 inches or smaller and trays (please knock out dirt ahead of time)
- Please rinse and sort plastics with numbers by numbers (bags and pots go in first categories)
- Plastics without numbers: bottle caps, drink lids, DVD’s, CDs, CD cases, straws, vinyl, lawn/patio furniture, toys (think slides!), pet igloos, laundry baskets, kiddy pools & more.
- Plastic reuse items (good lawn chairs, tables, & more).
WILL NOT ACCEPT:
- Styrofoam blocks, peanuts, food trays, or egg cartons.
- Plastic printed “compostable” or # PLA 7.
- Bottles, tubs & flower pots that are accepted in curbside programs.
- PVC pipe.
- Food-contaminated or dirty plastic.
- Foam or rubber.
- Small toys that have metal in them.
- Plastic with metal or electronics inside (spray bottle nozzles and hand lotion pumps have springs in them, please remove the spring or toss the pump).
If it turns out they can’t take something you will need to haul it back. (The volunteers do not have garbage service at these events!!). For additional information, here is their website.
Agri-plas makes chips or pellets out of the materials and then sells them to other manufacturers who make a multitude of items. Plastic Pots are mostly made back into plastic pots. Plastic bags mostly become plastic lumber. Markets come and go for various other resins of plastics. If Agri-plas doesn’t have a specific market for materials they are combined as miscellaneous plastic.
The miscellaneous plastics often get chipped together and mixed with recycled wood powder to become railroad ties, replacing rotting wood ties that require toxic chemicals to maintain. Railroad companies have to replace 1000’s of wood ties every year. They have yet to have to replace the plastic ones. Agri-plas is known for their exceptionally well sorted and contaminant-free plastic, making it easier for manufacturers to use.
There are many year-round recycling depots that recycle all the plastics collected at these Roundup Days - and much more. You can visit the Metro website to find one nearest to you: www.oregonmetro.gov/findrecycler . Or you can call their phone number (503)234-3000.
The City of Tigard is also having a recycling event October 4. CLICK HERE to see.
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
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Betty Jung
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