Monroe County Now Recycles Plastics Labeled 3-7!
Monroe County has recently announced that as of June 1st, 2011, they will now be accepting plastic items to recycle with the labels three through seven! Prior to this expansion, residents could only recycle plastics that were labeled one or two.
The expansion of the labels accepted will now give residents more recycling options. "Now you will be able to recycle drinking cups, yogurt containers, take-out containers, and prescription pill bottles, just to name a few," said Maggie Brooks, Monroe County Executive in her 2011 State of the County Address.
The residents of Monroe County were the ones who really made the county government listen. Brooks stated they received thousands of emails, phone calls and letters suggesting the expansion of the recycling program.
Prior to Monroe County's acceptance of numbers three through seven, dedicated recyclers would have to ship out their three through seven items to other locations and markets, such as Whole Foods Markets. Most of the Whole Foods in New York state are in or around New York City, which isn't necessarily right next door to us in Rochester. The not so dedicated recyclers would unfortuantely toss these plastics to be another part of the landfills.
So thanks to avid Monroe County recyclers and Maggie Brooks, you don't even need to flip over your container to see what number your plastic item is! Throw it right into your recycling bin.
Some new items you can now recycle in Monroe County (see the complete list here):
Your curbside recycling service will now accept yogurt containers, CD and DVD cases, broken recycling bins, laundry bins, lids, plant containers, cups, and more! Along with the 1-7 plastics, Monroe County Recycling Center also now accepts items such as pots and pans, aluminum foil, and many other metal products.