From trash to recyclable treasures
By Sherry Grindeland
Tom Watson, recycling and environmental-services manager for King County's Solid Waste Division, sifts through the Bechard household's garbage in Redmond to show what could have been recycled. Watson aired two households' trash Tuesday to kick off the county's "Recycle more — it's easy to do" campaign.
GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES
9/26/06 — 64476 — Tom Watson (cq), a garbologist with King County Solid Waste Division sifts through neighborhood garbage in Redmond to point out what was missed in recycling.9/26/06 — 64476 — Tom Watson (cq), a garbologist with King County Solid Waste Division sifts through neighborhood garbage in Redmond to point out what was missed in recycling.
Tom Watson pawed through garbage cans in Redmond on Tuesday morning, looking for aluminum cans, glass jars and stray envelopes.
It wasn't until the third garbage bin that the King County's "garbologist" found pay dirt — enough recyclables to make his point that local residents don't do enough trash sorting yet.
The once-full can was half-empty after Watson put the pop cans, plastic milk containers and mixed paper into recycling; moved a plastic hanger and bamboo basket into a pile for charity donation; and dumped dead flowers into the yard-waste pile.
The good news was the first two garbage cans contained few recyclable items. Those cans were from Sheril and Don Bechard, of Redmond, and Hitomi Taylor, of Bellevue. The two households had been selected for a recycling focus group conducted by King County earlier this year. They agreed to let Watson rummage through their trash cans at Tuesday's event.
"I'd give them an A-plus," Watson said.
The demonstration kicked off the county's "Recycle more — it's easy to do" campaign. The campaign will include contests for residents and businesses, a campaign to increase recycling opportunities in multifamily housing and banners on trucks hauling trash that read "50 percent of what's in this truck could have been recycled."
What do you know?
Test your knowledge about recyclables.
R stands for recycle, T for trash, Y for yard waste:
1. Plastic food take-out containers R T Y
2. Newspaper%
1 comment:
What do you know?
Test your knowledge about recyclables.
R stands for recycle, T for trash, Y for yard waste:
1. Plastic food take-out containers R T Y
2. Newspaper R T Y
3. Prescription bottles R T Y
4. Shampoo bottles R T Y
5. Light bulbs R T Y
6. Wine bottles R T Y
7. Shredded paper R T Y
8. Yogurt containers R T Y
9. Disposable diapers R T Y
10. Milk cartons R T Y
11. Hardback books R T Y
12. Mirrors R T Y
13. Cardboard R T Y
14. Coat hangers R T Y
15. Computer monitor R T Y
16. Pizza box R T Y
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