Sedgwick County Environmental
Resources
Trash Facts
About 44% of junk mail is never opened or read.
You can recycle your “junk mail” at Weyerhaeuser Recycling, 4300 W.
29th St. South Circle, at the drop-off bins in the parking
lot.
1/3 of all garbage discarded by Americans is
packaging. Think about it: Does that cantaloupe really need to
be put in a plastic bag? What about bananas? Sometimes we can request
NOT to have a bag.
In the U.S., yard trimmings and food scraps make
up about ¼ of our waste stream. Mulch mowing or making a compost
pile will cut down on the amount of grass and leaves you need to
discard.
Americans throw away about 10% of the food they
buy at the supermarket. Plan ahead when making purchases; freeze
leftovers; purchase smaller quantities.
An estimated 200 million gallons of used motor
oil is improperly disposed of each year in the U.S. by being dumped on
the ground, tossed in the trash (ending up in landfills), and poured
down storm sewers and drains. Take used motor oil (and other
household hazardous items) to the Sedgwick County Household Hazardous
Waste Facility at 801 Stillwell for free and proper disposal.
Over 500 million oil filters need to be disposed
of each year. Oil filters can also be taken to the Household
Hazardous Waste facility for proper disposal.
In one year, 359 million magazines and 24
billion newspapers are published in the U.S. Both newspapers and
magazines can be recycled at drop-off bins located in the parking lots
of most Dillon’s stores in Sedgwick County.
In the U.S., it is estimated that an additional
5 million tons of waste is generated during the holidays; 4 million tons
of this is wrapping paper and shopping bags. Try to save and
reuse gift bags instead of using so much wrapping paper.
The average American office worker goes through
about 500 disposable cups every year. Use a ceramic cup over and
over. It will last several years.
©, Copyright, 2007 Sedgwick County Environmental Resources
last update:
04/26/07
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