Did you know that more than a dozen items are currently banned
from North Carolina landfills?
Here are a few that you might not know about:
1. Used oil
2. Yard trash
3. White goods (appliances, like an old dishwasher)
4. Antifreeze
5. Aluminum cans
6. Whole scrap tires
7. Lead-acid batteries
8. ABC beverage containers
9. Motor vehicle oil filters
10. Recyclable plastic bottles (except motor oil or pesticide bottles)
11. Wooden pallets
12. Oyster shells
13. Computer equipment
14. Televisions
Start by reducing your consumption of these items. Opt for rechargeable batteries when possible. Donate gently used appliances and electronics still in working condition before you upgrade to newer models. Reuse what you can and recycle items rather than tossing them.
So, what can you do to help keep these items out of the landfill?
NC DENR has some great resources for recycling cardboard
boxes, electronics,
fluorescent
lights, thermostats
that contain mercury, oil filters
and wooden pallets.
According to DENR, the first items were banned from North Carolina landfills
beginning in 1989. Aluminum cans have been banned from landfills since 1994. They
also offer resources
for event and venue recycling. P2pays.org has a search directory if you are
looking for a North Carolina market for recycling an item. You might also want
to consider listing materials available/wanted on NC WasteTrader, North
Carolina's marketplace for discarded or surplus materials or products.
Unfortunately, still only half of all aluminum cans
generated in North Carolina are recycled. · Recycling an aluminum can saves 95 percent of
the energy required to make the same amount of aluminum from virgin materials. The
pollutants created in producing one ton of aluminum include 3,290 pounds of red
mud, 2,900 pounds of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas), 81 pounds of air
pollutants and 789 pounds of solid wastes.
At least 95 percent of North Carolina residents have access
to some type of plastic bottle recycling through local government programs.
Unfortunately, North Carolinians currently recycle only 18 percent of PET
plastic bottles. Every 3.9 seconds, North Carolinians
throw away enough plastic bottles to reach the height of Cape Hatteras
Lighthouse. (Sources: re3.org & http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/deao/recycling/plastic-bottles)
Landfill bans are necessary for several reasons. In many
cases, the banned materials are hazardous to our health and environment.
Improper disposal of some substances could contaminate soil, surface water or
drinking water. In other cases, throwing away the product is like throwing away
money.
Now that you are informed about North Carolina’s landfill bans, go tell your friends!
Learn more about the bans at http://www.p2pays.org/bannedmaterials/.
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