Copper Country

Recycling Initiative

Press release

It’s outdoor cookout season and disposable items abound. You can cut down on plastic and Styrofoam disposables with some preparation. Invited to a BBQ? Bring your own place setting and utensils. Invited to a potluck? Bring a place setting and beverage container. Ordering carry out? Use your own utensils and napkins. Dining at a restaurant? Bring your own containers for leftovers or ask for aluminum foil rather than Styrofoam. Refuse straws. Don’t forget to thank restaurants for providing cardboard rather than Styrofoam for carryout.

Filling your recycling or trash bin before collection day? Think about waste reduction. How can you decrease the amount put in the bin? Backyard composting will transform your organic waste into valuable soil. Try to reduce packaging. Cut cardboard and crush plastics into smaller sizes. The first of the three “R”s is REDUCE. Try waste reduction before REUSE and RECYCLE.

Bring your own bags to the grocery store and the farmers’ market. This reduces plastic film waste. Buy locally. Remember that when you buy locally you cut down on the transportation cost, reduce packaging and support local businesses.

Used batteries are a fire hazard and don’t belong in the trash. Take them to Remy’s in Houghton. Electronics can be taken to Goodwill.

Our local recycling facilities are catching up on the transport of our recycling to the Marquette Recycling Sorting Facility. Waste Management takes our recycling there, where it is separated, bundled and sent to be reused. Members of the Copper Country Recycling Initiative are still surprised when folks ask us if it isn’t just dumped in the landfill. No, it isn’t.

Thank you for recycling. Don’t trash the Keweenaw.

For more information: www.coppercountryrecyclereuse.com