Where to recycle those un-recyclables

Guilford County residents can recycle much through the city and county recycling programs. But I often hear from people, “What about this? What do I do with yogurts cups, eyewear, packing materials, etc.?”

So in an effort to lend a hand, here is a quick initial hit list for those other items you're just not sure what to do with:

Yogurt cups and other #5 plastic: Most local recycling programs don’t seem to take #5 plastic, so what’s a struggling recycler to do? Through Preserve’s Gimme5 program, a partnership with Stoneybrook and Organic Valley, you can drop off those containers at any Whole Foods location or mail directly to Preserve. Preserve then recycles and turns into products like razors, toothbrushes and tableware.

Bottle caps: Aveda haircare has just launched their Recycle Caps program which encourages individuals and schools to take bottle caps, shampoo caps, ketchup caps or any type of threaded cap to an Aveda location and they will repurpose into new caps and containers.

Makeup containers: Through Origins, you can bring old makeup tubes, jars and bottles (any brand) to an Origins counter and they will recycle or use for energy recovery.

Eyeglasses: With over 250 million people suffering from poor vision worldwide, you can donate your old eyewear to OneSight. Search for a drop-off location such as Sunglasses Hut, or Sears Optical in your town and they’ll make sure it gets to someone in need.

Plastic Wraps: These include bread wraps, cereal liners, ziplocks, toiler paper and diaper wrapping, dry cleaning bags and produce bags. From a recent article at Simple Steps, major retailers like Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods and Wal-Mart as well as many local grocery stores have collection bins for these types of plastic bags and wraps.

Boxes: Just moved and have a mountain of boxes or are you looking for boxes? At Boxcycle, you can buy and sell used boxes in your local area. Just list your items and they take care of the rest.

Packing Peanuts: Uggh! How horrible is this when you open up the box. To help us out, the Plastic Loose Fill Council offers over 1500 drop-off sites so that these things can be reused again. Also, any Kinko’s Fed Ex, UPS Stores or other pack and ship locations are good places to recycle. Here’s also some other creative ideas on how to reuse these little buggers.

Though this may involve an additional trip, plan your drop off’s when you will be in the area and you’ll feel great about doing this, I promise. Luckily right here in Greensboro, we have an Aveda, Origins, Barnes & Noble and Sears Optical and Sunglasses Hut all in close proximity around Friendly Shopping Center.

And if you find yourself in a serious recycling emergency, check out Earth 911 and plug in your zip to find more local recycling options for all kinds of items.

By Jeanne Blaisdell
Special to goGreenTriad.com Writer