The 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Click here to learn specific information about Alhambra's Trash and Recycling Procedures. Click here for Household Hazardous Waste Collection Roundups. Click here for Motor Oil/Filter Recycling Locations. Click here for Composting Information.

• Reduce, Reuse and Buy Recycled Products.
  When you purchase recycled goods, you’ll be sparing virgin materials, conserving energy, and reducing landfill waste. Recycled paper products include toilet paper, copy paper, paper towels, and tissues. Look for garbage bags and bin liners labeled “recycled plastic,” and buy recycled toner cartridges for your fax machines and printers. Yard and kitchen waste (leaves/grass/vegetable scraps) are 30% of trash. Reduce this amount by composting.
• Recycling: It's Good for the Can...and the Bottle.
  Recycling a single aluminum can saves enough energy to power a television for three hours. Recycling aluminum reduces water consumption and air pollutants by 95%. Making glass from recycled material cuts water pollution by 50%.
• When Deciding between Paper and Plastic at the Grocery Store, Choose Neither.
  Plastic takes 1,000 years to decompose and paper bags use 14 million trees a year. Instead, use easy eco-friendly cloth grocery bags.
• Properly Dispose of Old Paint, Chemicals, and Oil.
  Don’t put batteries, antifreeze, paint, motor oil, or chemicals in the trash. Take them to a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Roundup.
• Buy Natural Paints Manufactured using Plant Oils instead of Petrochemicals.
  They pose far fewer health risks, are breathable, and in some cases 100 percent biodegradable. Paint made from petrochemicals can create 10 times its own weight in toxic waste and release volatile organic compounds (VOCs - solvents that rapidly evaporate, allowing paint to dry quickly.) They cause photochemical reactions in the atmosphere, leading to ground-level smog that can cause eye and skin irritation, lung and breathing problems, headaches, nausea, and nervous-system and kidney damage.
• Buy Eggs in Recycled Cardboard Cartons.
  Cardboard egg cartons are typically made from recycled paper, which biodegrades relatively quickly and are recyclable. Styrofoam or plastic cartons take longer to biodegrade and the process to manufacture them produces harmful by-products.
• Compost Disgardable Organic Waste.
  Compost your vegetable peelings, cut flowers, shredded newspaper, and grass cuttings. The City of Alhambra sells composters. (Click here for more information.) 
• Recycle Old Newspapers to the Garden.
  Old newspapers (including those gathered from your friends) can be used to mulch and weed control in your garden. Wet the newspaper and place thickly on the garden. Cover with bark or stones.