Be Green This Holiday

By the end of the holidays there will be burnt bulbs from lights, empty plastic containers that once held holiday leftovers and almost bald holiday trees. What exactly should you do with all of those things? It would be really easy to throw it all to the curb and let the trash service handle it, or you could be green and recycle. 

Consider some of the great recycling options here in Hazelwood and don't let your tree, or any other recyclable items, end up in a landfill this year.

• A holiday tree is all organic matter, so it still has plenty of use left in it. Fifty-nine percent of real holiday trees are recycled. Thanks to Allied Waste Services, in partnership with the , it will be easy and environmentally friendly to dispose of your tree this year if you have Allied's yard waste service. Allied is picking up trees for free during the first two weeks in January.
• If you're not signed up for Allied's yard waste service, there is a $2 fee for your tree to be picked up; however, the City of Hazelwood is waiving the fee if you sign a waiver. Call Allied at 636-947-5959 to schedule an appointment. The tree must be placed at the curb by 7a.m., on the regular recycling pick-up day, and if it's is taller than 6-feet, you will need to cut it in half with the trunk of the tree facing the street.
• If your holiday lights no longer twinkle, you can contribute them to St. Louis Green's holiday recycling drive. They're accepting broken holiday lights at locations around St. Louis City and St. Louis County, and have prevent more than 5-tons of holiday lights from ending up in landfills. Look for the big red bin when you enter any participating location.
• It would also be to your advantage to utilize the City of Hazelwood's Recycling program for all of the gift wrapping paper, along with the aluminum foils, soda bottles and leftovers containers. 

Last year the city's recycling service, Allied Services, collected 120.83 tons of recyclables in December '09, which was an increase of 32.45 tons over the amount for December '08. At that time David Stewart, PE, CPM, Director of Public Works/City Engineer, City of Hazelwood was ecstatic about the numbers adding that the free recycling containers given to Hazelwood residents, were really benefiting the city overall.

"It's great to see the strong support we're getting from residents for our recycling program," he said in a press release, at that time. "This has made it easier for people to be more green-friendly and separate recycling items from their regular trash."

Below is the rundown of how recycling works in Hazelwood:

Paper Products

• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Catalogs / Paperback books
• Wrapping paper
• Phone books
• Junk mail
• Office paper, file folders and envelopes
• Corrugated cardboard
• Other boxes for cereal, dry foods, beverage cases, frozen foods, and gifts
• Waxed cardboard

(Don't include hardback books and sanitary items like tissues, toilet paper & paper towels.)

Aluminum & Steel Tin Cans

• Aluminum cans
• Clean foil
• Food or pie trays
• Metal food cans
• Empty aerosol cans
  

Glass

• Food and beverage containers

(Don't include ceramics, mirrors or window glass)

Plastics

• Check for the recycling symbol on the bottom of the container (#1, #2, #3, #4, #5 and #7 are accepted - everything except #6)
• Beverage containers
• Milk & juice jugs
• Laundry & soap bottles
• Dairy product tubs-butter, yogurt, margarine
• Health & beauty containers

(Don't include plastic bags of any kind)

Hazardous Recycling Materials (Do not put in recycling cart)

• Paints, stains, varnishes
• Pesticides, herbicides, poisons
• Gasoline and other fuels, solvents and strippers, aerosols
• Motor oil and filters
• Gas cylinders (BBQ pit size or smaller)
• Fluorescent tubes
• Rechargeable batteries
• Antifreeze, brake and transmission fluid
• Pool chemicals and other acids and bases
• Car batteries, wood preservatives
• Anything containing mercury (such as thermometers, thermostats and mercuric salts)
• Don't include medical items (needles driveway sealant, and items & syringes)
• Containers filled with hazardous materials