Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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GOT USED ELECTRONICS? Sanders County will host the annual E-Waste Event Saturday, June 4, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Thompson Falls Transfer Site. The event is free. Please watch for more information in the local newspapers as the event nears. GOT USED FURNITURE? Every week the receipts from our five refuse district sites pile in, showing folks taking LOTS of used furniture for disposal. It sure would be great if someone could open a used Furniture store so we could keep a good portion of these items out of the Missoula landfill! Don’t forget t...
FORD BRONCO SPORT FIRST TO FEATURE PARTS MADE OF 100% RECYCLED OCEAN PLASTIC “Ford has become the first automaker to use 100% recycled ocean plastics to produce automotive parts. Wiring harness clips in Ford Bronco Sport models are made of ocean-harvested plastic—commonly referred to as “ghost gear.” The strength and durability of the nylon material equals that of previously used petroleum-based parts but with a 10% cost savings and requiring less energy to produce. The small parts represent a large first step in the company’s plans to produc...
It’s encouraging to hear that the Forest Service has been working on keeping a portion of their fire camp waste out of the local landfills. Brady Brewster from NBC Montana reported that the Forest Service contacted Mike Bishop, chief operating officer of Recyclops, a company that serves remote areas and provides “incident-based recycling to Montana.” Bishop said that it’s important to recycle, even in areas that might be difficult, to reduce our carbon footprint for future generations. WHY SHOULD WE REDUCE OUR GIANT, TRASHY FOOTPRINT? Reasons t...
GOT USED ELECTRONICS? It is officially time for spring cleaning! You can go to websites like homemadesimple.com and get lots of creative ideas on what to do for your annual cleaning, and they give fun ideas on how to do it all in five days. (Maybe if a friend came to help!) One area of our lives that always needs help is GETTING RID OF OLD ELECTRONICS that we aren’t using and that are taking up space and adding to our clutter. Not to mention creating great spots for dust bunnies and spiders. We can help! The Annual Sanders County E-Waste E...
AVOID THE PLASTICS & LEND A HAND! Of the top 10 most common items found on coastlines in 120 countries, seven are food-related. These are food wrappers, straws and stirrers, plastic cutlery, beverage bottles, bottle caps, plastic lids, and single-use cups and plates. The other three categories were plastic grocery bags and 'other' plastic bags (both of which could be linked to food), and cigarette butts. A press release from the ICC (International Coastal Cleanup) says it's the first time plastic forks, knives, and spoons have appeared on the...
AMERICA RECYCLES DAY NOVEMBER 15, 2020 According to National Geographic, Americans send 64 tons of waste to landfills during their lifetime. That’s 246 million tons of waste each year. America Recycles Day aims to encourage Americans to purchase recycled products and recycle more. Think just one person can’t make a difference? Lauren Singer developed a zero-waste lifestyle where she’s able to reduce, reuse and recycle everything she consumes. She’s got this down to a science — and is now able to fit all of the trash she’s produced within the la...
Recycling is the third and key component of the THREE Rs: REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE. REDUCING is really the best way to reduce your overall waste footprint. If you never buy, use or have, then you will not have the waste to manage when done. Americans today average about 4.3 pounds of waste per day and we can all do something to reduce this amount. Buying durable products that will last longer, planning your purchases and cutting back, all support reduction. REUSING can be referenced several ways, but it is all about finding uses for items...
— AND YOUR OWN HEALTH Leave Your Car at Home (Every time you drive solo in an SUV, you’re adding more than 1.5 pounds of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases to the environment with each mile. Change your driving habits and you make an immediate impact on the environment. Take short trips on foot or by bike instead, and you’ll also make an immediate impact on your health.) Think Reusable When You Drink (Buy an environmentally friendly reusable stainless-steel canteen-like bottle for carrying your water around.) Slip Into Something a Littl...
RECYCLING MATTERS, EVEN DURING A PANDEMIC “Flattening the curve” has been the driving force behind nearly every policy decision the past few weeks. And rightfully so. In order to protect the health and safety of American citizens, we need to stop the spread of coronavirus as quickly as possible. In working to achieve this critical goal, we’ve seen a temporary reduction in pollution, energy consumption and waste production. Recently, The New York Times reported “huge declines in pollution over major metropolitan areas, including Los Angeles...
INTERESTING LEGISLATION ON PLASTICS CONSIDERED IN OREGON: Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden have introduced two recycling bills to the U.S. Senate, one of which is modeled after the successful Oregon “bottle bill.” Oregon’s U.S. senators are hoping to replicate the state’s recycling success on the national level, having introduced a pair of bills that take aim at the prevalence of plastics in American waste. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden put forward a national version of Oregon’s Bottle Bill Feb. 12, which would set up a collection and reimb...
There is a waste crisis on our planet today, with plastic everywhere we look. And it is our responsibility, as individuals, to do something about it. There will be at least a few things on this list that you can change today to make a difference to your personal waste footprint. 1. STOP BUYING STUFF One of the biggest things you can do to reduce your waste, is to simply stop buying so much stuff. When you’re buying new things, you’re creating demand for that thing, as well as creating demand for its journey of production and the waste that com...
GROCERY BAGS: PLASTIC VS. PAPER Plastic bags are made out of polyethylene or polythene. Polythene is produced from crude oil and natural gas, two non-renewable resources found underground. Because plastic bags are so durable, this makes them a concern for the environment. They will not break down easily and as a result are very harmful to wildlife. Each year millions of discarded plastic shopping bags end up as plastic waste litter in the environment when improperly disposed of. The same properties that have made plastic bags so commercially...
Spontaneous Construction returns Saturday, Sept. 14, to Missoula’s Home Resource. Designed to inspire a culture of re-use with a free, engaging community activity, Spontaneous Construction, of “SponCon,” has become an annual Missoula tradition for 15 years. Contest participants have seven hours to use their choice of Home ReSource materials to build the most beautiful, functional, and creative pieces they can dream up. We provide a variety of enjoyable, inventive reuse activities, music, and access to local food vendors for contestants and s...
RECYCLING MARKET TRENDS IN THE U.S. Sanders County receives a very informative recycling report from Brian Heuer of Sage Recycling in Colorado. We thought we would share information from his last report dated July 8: Cardboard prices held in July in all markets except the southwest, where OCC (old corrugated cardboard) prices fell by another $5 a ton. The national average for OCC is now $25 a ton, the lowest it has been in 25 years according to PPI Pulp and Paper Week. Despite the bad news in the southwest, there seems to be hope that we are...
LET’S BEAUTIFY! April 25, 26 and 27 have been set aside this year for Thompson Falls Beautification Days, where elderly and disabled residents living in town will be given a hand with yardwork and volunteers will clean up all over the area. This year’s projects include: Students from Thompson Falls schools will be picking up litter. Residential school students will help with cleaning up areas around the courthouse, Old Jail Museum, Oddfellows, Transfer Site, Lions Manor, etc. Blackfoot Telephone will be trimming trees and providing treats for...
WHAT TO DO WITH HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE? Household hazardous waste is any substance that has the potential to injure people, pets or the environment through skin contact or ingestion. It is in your kitchen, basement, garage, shop or greenhouse, and here are some examples: Paints, thinner, solvents, automotive fluids, products with mercury (thermometers, thermostats & fluorescent lights), adhesives, stains, cleaners, furniture stripper, ammonia, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, poisons, fertilizers, tree sprays, fuel carburetor cleaner,...
Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures! Remember a few months ago when the Sanders County Solid Waste Board (with the help of Environmental Health) sent letters to all the food vendors in the county, encouraging them to find better alternatives to Styrofoam for go-boxes, coffee cups, etc.? We have seen some progress! Kudos to those businesses that have made the switch. New York City has recently decided enough was enough: “On January 1, 2019, New York City stores and food-service businesses can no longer offer, sell or possess s...
DOING WHAT WE CAN Dusti Johnson, MDEQ Materials Management Specialist, believes that communities have a very difficult time managing several different recycling items in their program, and has been quoted as saying, “Just concentrate on one item, and do it well!” Diligent recyclers are passionate about being able to recycle everything possible, and will go to great lengths to keep as much refuse out of the landfill as they can. These dedicated folks are to be commended, and encouraged. Although the markets and transportation costs are kee...
LET’S TALK ABOUT CUTTING BACK ON OUR YARD WASTE. Grass clippings alone can account for a whopping 16 percent of residential solid waste and can be beneficial to your lawn! Instead of going to all that trouble of raking & bagging, your clippings can remain on your lawn, working their way back into the soil to enrich it and save on watering. Just don’t let your grass grow too long before mowing. The clippings should be no more than inch long in order to fall onto the soil. Use a sharp mower blade (a mulching mower if you have one). The sha...
The saga on recycling continues. As of Feb. 15, Sanders County had to stop taking plastics for recycling, due to the high costs of shipping and the extremely poor market value. We recommended that residents continue recycling plastics, and directed efforts towards Republic Services and Pacific Recycling in Missoula. Unfortunately, as of May 7, Pacific Recycling will no longer be able to receive plastics. Republic Services will still take #1 PET or PETE, best known as the clear plastic used for soft drinks, water, juice, mouthwash, sports...
THE NEW MODE OF SHOPPING BAGS…NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER’S BURLAP! Trends often come and go, but I see this one as continuing to evolve into a real gem. WHY NOT USE PLASTIC BAGS? There is no reason to use throw-away plastic bags at the grocery store. They’re made from petroleum oil, (it takes 12 million barrels of oil to produce the estimated 100 billion plastic bags Americans use each year), and they harm our environment. It is estimated that 1 million birds and thousands of turtles and other sea animals die each year after ingesting disca...
The holiday season usually brings lots of happiness - and waste. On average Americans throw away 25 percent more garbage from Thanksgiving to New Year's than any other time, resulting in 1 million EXTRA tons of waste during those few months. Here are 12 tips from RecycleCoach.com for a "greener" holiday season: 1. Wrap gifts with recyclable or reusable items such as newspapers, reusable cloths or tins, or brown paper bags. 2. Save ribbons, gift bags and bows: You can reuse them in future...
