Recycling For Good Project

Happy Global Recycling Day! Today, on March 18, we recognize the importance recycling plays in preserving our precious primary resources, so we are organizing a Recycling For Good project until April 17 in our neighborhood Newport Beach, California. I am excited to take the lead on this project as recycling was a topic I researched for my 6th grade school project.

Did you know that aluminum cans are infinitely recyclable? Nearly 75 percent of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today. Aluminum is a sustainable metal and can be recycled over and over again because it retains its properties indefinitely. An aluminum can is generally turned into a new can and back on store shelves within 60 days. Click here to watch our YouTube video on Mananalu canned water.

Did you also know that not all plastics are the same and not all of them can be recycled? Just because a product has the triangle arrows symbol, it doesn't mean it's recyclable — the number inside the triangle symbol is just an indicator of the type of plastic it is made of. In general, most cities recycle recycling symbol #1, which stands for PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) and it is the most common plastic for single-use bottled beverages, because it's inexpensive, lightweight, and easy to recycle. Check your city website which plastics they actually recycle at your curbside.

For our Recycle For Good project, we are asking for families in the Port Streets in Newport Beach, California to help collect your empty soda/beer/juice aluminum cans and plastic beverage bottles. When you have a couple bags full, please email skiptheplasticstraw@gmail.com for a non-contact pickup from your front door. Please make sure the cans or plastic bottles are empty with no liquid in them.

The cans and plastic bottles will be taken to a nearby recycling center to be recycled. All recycling proceeds from the this recycling project will be donated to The Environmental Nature Center (ENC) here in Newport Beach, California. The ENC is dedicated to providing quality education to all through hands-on experience with nature.

Today is the day for us to come together and put the planet first. We hope you will participate in our Recycling For Good project and we hope to share updates leading up to Earth Day, April 22!

UPDATES: READ BELOW TO SEE HOW WE DID!

Saturday, April 17, was the last day of the project, which kicked off on Global Recycling Day (March 18). We want to THANK everyone who contributed to our project; we collected 1,135 aluminum cans (41.6lb), 550 PET 1 plastic bottles (27.2lb), and 67 glass bottles (36.6lb)!

My sister and I headed to the recycling center and we are excited to share that we raised....(drumroll please)...$115 from our Recycling for Good Project! Eleven bins filled with empty cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles collected – again a BIG thank you to those who participated and contributed! It’s such a great feeling knowing that all of these will not end up in our landfills and will be instead recycled to better use. It’s an even greater feeling knowing the recycling proceeds will be donated to a good cause.

I met with Mrs. Whalen (Assistant Director of the ENC) and Mrs. Schwartz (Education Director of the ENC) to hand them a check for $115, raised from our Recycling for Good Project! We’re so happy we could give back to them! Check out how you can help out environmental youth programs in your area!