Location: cityofbardstown.org > Recycling

Introduction

    In 2008 the City of Bardstown and the government of Nelson County worked together to apply for a grant to start a recycling program for all city and county residents.  In May of 2008 they were given notification that they had received the grant from the State of Kentucky.  This grant made it possible to purchase the forklift, two balers and five recycling bin trailers that would be necessary for the star of the program in out community.  The trailers will be parked strategically around the city and throughout the county where you can drop off your recyclable materials that you have collected. 

Why Recycle

•Recycling can save your tax dollars! Every pound of material that is recycled is a pound that the City won't have to pay to dispose of in a landfill. Reducing waste and increasing recycling volumes can help programs to run more efficiently and effectively. 
•Recycling saves energy! Placing 1 aluminum can in the recycling bin saves enough energy to power a television for 3 hours. Recycling 1 glass container saves enough energy to light a 100 watt bulb for 4 hours.
•Recycling reduces pollution! Making products from recycled materials results in a greater reduction of air and water pollutants than would be generated by extracting and processing these materials from virgin materials. Recycling 4,800 16oz. soda bottles saves a cubic yard of landfill space.
•Recycling conserves natural resources! If every American family recycled their newspapers, approximately 500,000 trees would be saved weekly. We save over 1 ton of resources from being mined for every ton of glass recycled.

Setting Up Recycling In Your Home

Select Storage Location
Pick a location in your home, garage or backyard/patio that is easily accessible for everyone in your household. If your storage area is convenient, recycling becomes a daily habit.
Select Storage Receptacles
Consider convenience, price, space, weight and ease of cleaning when selecting your storage containers. Stackable plastic bins, crates, boxes and grocery bags are good options. Make sure that your recycling containers look different from your trash receptacles.

Tips:

• Buy a smaller garbage can for the kitchen. This makes you to remember to recycle.
• Make sure bottles and tins are clean before putting in the recycling bin. This prevents flies both at home and the recycling station.
• Spread the word. By telling other people and helping them to get started, we increase the savings that can be made.
• Get your children involved – if we can educate them early, they will grow up and appreciate waste reduction and will be able to apply these skills in later life.
• Educate your household. Post a list of the things that are recycled somewhere visible in the kitchen and main trash rooms until you and your family get in the habit.
• Label. Put clear labels on the bins so you and your family don’t forget what is what.  Permanent marker is a cheap and easy way to do this. 
• Crush your trash. Once clean, crush cans and plastics to make more room for other materials.

What to Recycle

The city and county recycling program will accept many materials but not all.  For right now the following will  be accepted: 

• Aluminum cans
•   Simply rinse the can, crush it to save space, and place it in a recycle bin. When you take them to one of the drop off centers you can dump your cans directly into the bin.  One advantage of recycling cans is that it takes 95 percent less energy to produce new cans from recycling than it does to produce from raw material. And another great thing is that there is no limit to the amount of times aluminum can be recycled so we can recycle them over and over.


• Paper
• Newspaper.  Needs to be fresh and dry.  Anything that comes in a newspaper, including colored sections and the glossy inserts, are accepted.   Recycling newspaper is a great way to reduce the amount of solid waste your home adds to the local landfill, but it's easy to become overrun by newsprint if you don't have an organized system. Your newspaper recycling system doesn't need to be elaborate, but it should help you stay organized to encourage you rather than discourage you from recycling.  One idea is to find a rectangle box or basket similar to the shape of a newspaper and put it in your living room, office or wherever you read the paper.  When you are finished reading it, place it in the basket and forget about it.  When the basket is full, simply bundle your newspapers and the next time you pass a recycling bin you can drop them off.
• Mixed paper.  Computer, ledger, wrapping, colored, arts and craft paper, unwanted mail, flyers, telephone books, note cards, blueprints, magazines, file folders, paper bags, Post-it notes, catalogs; and all envelopes including those with windows,  paper packaging can be saved together all in one bin.
• Do not include the following: carbon paper, stickers, or laminated paper, rubber bands and plastic wrap. Shredded paper is difficult to separate so it goes into a lower grade paper. Only shred what you must.


• Plastic bottles . 
• There are many types of plastic in common use. Plastic must be sorted by type for recycling since each type melts at a different temperature and displays different properties. The plastics industry has developed identification codes to label different types. The identification system divides plastic into seven distinct types and uses a number code generally found on the bottom of containers.  The only types of plastic accepted by Bardstown/ Nelson County are #1 and #2 plastics. 
  • #1 Plastic 2 liter soda bottles, cooking oil bottles, soda bottles, and water bottles are generally
  • #2 plastics mostly consist of laundry detergent and bleach bottles, milk jugs, and hair product bottles.
  • You will need separate bins for #1 and #2 plastics. And it is a good idea to rinse them out first.  This will help to keep odor down and will help in the recycling process as well .  You will also want to take caps and pump spray tops off unless they are marked with a number. They are often made from a type of plastic that is different from the main part of the container and generally are not recyclable.  And don't forget to flatten the plastic bottles by stepping on them. You will be able to fit more in your bin, and the recycling trailer will be able to carry more bottles, too.

• Cardboard boxes
• cereal, tissue, dry food, frozen food, shoe, and detergent boxes; paper and toilet rolls
• corrugated boxes used in packaging
• It is very important to keep it dry and clean. Plastic or waxy coated cardboard such as milk and juice cartons and wet or greasy cardboard, such as pizza boxes, cannot be recycled.
• Also, be sure to flatten all cardboard to make more room for recycling.

Where to Take Your Recyclables

Once you have collected a fair amount of materials you can drop them off at any of the following locations:

There will be two drop of locations in Bardstown

• One is in the Farmer’s Market parking lot- E. Flaget St. (Photo)
• The other location in Bardstown is Culpepper St. Near Walmart (Photo)
• There will also be a trailer in New Haven- Behind City Hall (Photo)
• For Bloomfield residents the trailer will be parked on Depot St.- Across from Bloomfield Fertilizer(Photo)

What Happens Next

On a regular basis the City and county employees will take the trailer bins to Nelson County Industries where it will be sorted and baled. Nelson County Industries Handicap Workshop employs mentally and developmentally handicap individuals from Nelson County, so when you recycle you will not only be helping to save the environment but also providing employment for the handicap population of Nelson County. 

From there, the recyclable products will be sold to a materials recovery facility.  Once cleaned and sorted, the recyclables move to the next stage of the recycling loop- Manufacturing. 
More and more of today’s products are being manufactured with recycled content.

• Recycled cardboard and newspaper are used to make new boxed, paper, and other products such as tissues, paper towels and toilet paper, diapers, egg cartons, and napkins.
• Recycled plastic #1 called PET is used to make new products such as carpets, fiberfill (insulating material in jackets and sleeping bags), bottles and containers, auto parts, and paint brushes.  Plastic #2, HDPE, which is used in milk, and detergent jugs can be remanufactured into trash cans, bathroom stalls, plastic lumber, toys, trash bags, and hair combs. 
• Recycled aluminum cans, one of the most successful recyclables, are remade into new cans in as little as 90 days after hey are collected.  They can also be used for aluminum building materials. 

The last step, but certainly not the least, involves the purchasing of recycled products. The value of recyclables is driven by market demand. As consumers, we must choose products with recycled content and packaged in recycled materials, so that the materials we recycle are put to use, and markets are sustained. When consumers purchase products that have been made with post consumer material the recycling process has been completed and can then be repeated. It takes education and awareness to remember to recycle and purchase recycled products.

One of the best things you can do is learn more about recycling, and especially to spread the word and encourage others to recycle as much as possible. Does your family recycle? It is never too late to start conserving our precious resources.