J enny H alpin

1. Jenny Halpin Recycling Information Specialist (209) 723-3153, ext. 315 Jennifer.Halpin@MCAGov.org www.MercedRecycles.com

2. Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law • The recycling process • Reasons to recycle • Recognizing recyclables • Making new items • Reduce & reuse Topics:

3. Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law • The recycling process • Reasons to recycle • Recognizing recyclables • Making new items • Reduce & reuse Topics: • The waste stream

4. Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law • The recycling process • Reasons to recycle • Recognizing recyclables • Making new items • Reduce & reuse Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law

5. Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law • The recycling process • Reasons to recycle • Recognizing recyclables • Making new items • Reduce & reuse Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law • The recycling process

6. Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law • The recycling process • Reasons to recycle • Recognizing recyclables • Making new items • Reduce & reuse Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law • The recycling process • Reasons to recycle

7. Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law • The recycling process • Reasons to recycle • Recognizing recyclables • Making new items • Reduce & reuse Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law • The recycling process • Reasons to recycle • Recognizing recyclables

8. Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law • The recycling process • Reasons to recycle • Recognizing recyclables • Making new items • Reduce & reuse Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law • The recycling process • Reasons to recycle • Recognizing recyclables • Making new items

9. Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law • The recycling process • Reasons to recycle • Recognizing recyclables • Making new items • Reduce & reuse Topics: • The waste stream • The diversion law • The recycling process • Reasons to recycle • Recognizing recyclables • How to prevent waste • Reduce & reuse

10. What is a waste stream?

11. The Waste Stream: A waste stream is whatever is going into the garbage to be wasted into a landfill.

12. Landfills not only take up space, but give off bad gases and can also let poisons escape.

13. 1. Purchase a product The Waste Stream Process: 2. Use the product 3. Throw away the product 4. Collect/transfer materials 5.And dump in the landfill

14. The law that changed it

15. The Diversion Law In 1989: The California Integrated Waste Management Act (AB 939) called for a 50% diversion rate from landfills by the year 2000. All towns and cities had to divert half of what they threw away in their landfills. Image from: http://www.sprucegrove.org/Assets/Reduce+your+waste+line.jpg

16. Image from: www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk The Diversion Law Because of the law that required them to divert 50% of their waste, cities started: Recycling programs (such as drop off programs, CRV and other buy-back programs, and curbside recycling), Composting programs (for grass clippings, leaves, and other organic material), Finding ways to reduce or reuse what they had, and/or Sending materials to be burned for energy. Recycling programs (such as drop off programs, CRV and other buy-back programs, and curbside recycling), Composting programs(for grass clippings, leaves, and other organic material), Finding ways to reduce or reuse what they had, and/or Sending materials to beburned for energy.

17. The Recycling Process

18. 1. Buys a product Recycling Process: The consumer(you): 2. Uses a product 3. Turns in recyclablesto drop off centers, buy-back centers, or in your curbside recycling container $

19. 4. Collected & processed Recycling Process: Afterwards, it’s: 5. Manufactured into new products 6. Purchased by you

20. Waste Stream Process: Recycling Process: Product You You Collected/Processed Collected/transferred Manufacturer Landfill

21. The Waste Stream Process: Don’t throw it away When you throw certain items away, they contain toxins that leak out of landfills and into the surrounding environment or into underground water systems Lead, mercury, & cadmium - from batteries and electronics Mercury - from fluorescent tubes and energy-saving lights bulbs (CFL’s) Toxins also come from motor oil & other car fluids, electronics, paints, pesticides, pool chemicals, and other hazardous waste. You can take these items to scheduled hazardous waste collections in your area or to the environmental health’s free drop off area in front of the landfill (off Hwy 59).

22. Other things to keep out of the landfill: Don’t throw it away, Part 2 Recyclable items: How long does it take for them to start breaking down? 80- 100 years 700 years 1,000,000 years

23. Reasons to recycle

24. Reasons to Recycle: • It’s the law (saves landfill space) • Saves energy & resources • Releases less greenhouse gases & water contaminants

25. Reasons to Recycle: • It’s the law (saves landfill space) Landfills take up space. Once things are placed into a landfill, they will usually stay there. Scientists, called “garbologists,” can dig things out of landfills that have been there for decades. • Saves energy & resources • Releases less greenhouse gases & water contaminants *Most often found are: 1)Newspapers and magazines 2) plastics 3) glass, metal, food waste 4) construction & demolition materials (which can all be recycled or composted) *according to Garbologist William Rathje

26. Reasons to Recycle: • It’s the law (saves landfill space) • Saves energy & resources It’s more efficient to make things out of recycled resources rather than making things out of new resources. For example, it takes 95% less energy to make an aluminum can out of other aluminum cans instead of making it out of bauxite ore (a mineral brought in from Australia) • Releases less greenhouse gases & water contaminants

27. Reasons to Recycle: • It’s the law (saves landfill space) • Saves energy & resources • Releases less greenhouse gases & water contaminants Since it takes less energy and resources to make things out of recycled materials, then less pollution, greenhouse gases, and chemicals are produced. Recycling keeps toxins from batteries, fluorescent lights, and electronics from contam-inating underground water.

28. What is recyclable?

29. Recyclables in Merced County: • Ask yourself what it’s made of • If it’s made out of any of these four materials, then there’s a good chance it’s recyclable All #1- #7 Plastics (NO Styrofoam) Unsaturated Paper Emptied & rinsed Glass containers Metal

30. Making New Items from Recycled Ones Can you guess what material it comes from? Plastic Paper Creative Idea - video Metal Glass

31. What’s better than recycling?

32. Reduce & Reuse (…then Recycle) • Before you recycle: • Reduce the amount of materials and items that you take in • Reuse, sell, or donate what you can Packaging around a product. Same box, with 5 of the same product. Made from aluminum can openers

33. Be AwareDo your Part whenever you canSee the Results

34. Can I recycle my ____? What are the things that I can’t throw away and why? Why can’t I throw away batteries? Why can’t I throw batteries away? Any questions? Is ____ recyclable? How come we don’t just send all the trash into space? How come we don’t just send all the trash into space? Is ____ recyclable? What are the things I can’t throw away and why? Can I recycle____?

35. Thank you 

36. Jenny Halpin Recycling Information Specialist (209) 723-3153, ext. 315 Jennifer.Halpin@MCAGov.org www.MercedRecycles.com