Here are some non obvious recycling tips from our local garbage carrier, Allied Waste.  Check with your local company to verify how they handle recycling.

1) Rinsed coated milk and juice cartons. Plastic caps and plastic pour spouts must be removed before recycling.

2) No Pizza boxes

3) No black plastic (any type)

4) No nursery plant containers – See Recycle Plastic Nursery pots

5) No Toys

6) No Plastic Clam shells. Tetra Pak can be recycled.

7) Cardboard boxes like detergent ones cannot be recycled unless they are thoroughly cleaned.

Allied Waste recycles single use batteries if you place them in a plastic bag on top of recyclables.  Best Buy has recycling bins for rechargeable batteries. Earth911 can help you find local battery recycling.

Harder to Recycle Items

Most supermarkets have bins that recycle plastic bags. Recycle Wine Corks.

Recycle CFL – compact fluorescent light bulbs at Home Depot.

TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials. Capri Sun – Honest Kids juice pouches can be recycled at Terracycle as Candy Wrappers, Starbucks Coffee bags, Zip Loc Bags, Cookie Wrappers, Colgate toothpaste, and more.

Recycling styrofoam is a challenge. Recycle Tyvek Envelopes. Recycle Shrink Wrap. Recycle Gift Wrap and Holiday Cards. Recycle Gift Cards.

Recycle Bike Tires.

Recycle Clothes. Recycle Eyeglasses

Recycle Carpet.

Cell phones and Electronics can be readily recycled or donated. Recycle Appliances.

Earth911 has recycling options for other products. Get paid to recycle.

Be sure to donate unwanted items.

Recycling Plastic Nursery Pots takes some effort.  Most residential curbside programs do not take nursery plant containers. Contact your local nursery and see if they take them back. Many only take back certain sizes.

Recycleworks has a list of places that take them in the San Francisco Peninsula.

Earth-Baby.com is a new service that composts disposable baby diapers and wipes.  Finally a green solution to a long time problem. They say their high temperature composting process uses only a tiny fraction of the energy required to launder diapers.

The down sides. Their monthly service fee is $29.99 and includes delivery, pickup, and professional processing.  You need to use their diapers as they need to control their waste stream. (And profits) Diapers are $11.79 per pack (22-44 diapers depending upon the size) and wipes are $3.59 per pack of 70. Their service is available in the San Francisco Bay Area. Check your local area for similar diaper composting services.

Way Basics makes a eco friendly furniture and storage products.  We were sent their cube and it to be an easy to assemble building block product made from sustainable zBoard – recycled paper and itself fully recyclable. You pull off the tape and carefully tape boards together. It is pretty sturdy and costs $20.

The new well hyped iPhone 4 is now shipping.  Many owners of old iPhones will be upgrading, unleashing a wave of older models.  What do you do with the old iPhone?  Luckily there is several hundred dollars in value in the phone, otherwise it may be tossed out.

Nokia has noted that only 3% of people recycle mobile phones.

You could sell it on eBay or Craigslist. Recycling companies like gazelle will pay you to ‘recycle it’.

FYI Do not expect to buy a used iPhone from eBay and somehow get a cheap plan.  ATT will force you to sign up for a standard 2 year plan, so you would be better off buying a new iPhone.

Also consider recycling your old phone with a charity like CollectiveGood.