by Lois Szymanski, photography by Nikola Tzenov
Bin There Done That
When Westminster resident Terri Coppersmith and her husband Dave replaced the wooden-framed single-pane windows at their house, Dave used the old windows to build a tiny greenhouse. Reusing materials like old windows benefits not only the Coppersmiths but also all of us: It reduces the amount of material that goes into landfills and it’s healthier for the environment.
Terri says that she and Dave have been recycling “forever.”
“Like many of us, my parents grew up during the Depression. Frugality was a way of life,” she says. “I think it’s important to keep those traditions alive. And, by extension, it keeps things out of the landfill. I like to make braided rugs out of old clothes like worn-out T-shirts. A little creativity can go a long way, plus it’s fun.”
Ashlee Treece, Carroll County
Recycling and Conservation Manager
Recycling is essential to responsible waste management, but it is not the only answer. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans generate approximately five pounds of municipal solid waste per person per day.
The most eco-conscious way to manage waste is to create less of it:
• Reduce the amount of trash you generate.
• Reuse everything you can, including donated clothes and refurbished furniture.
• Recycle by turning something useless into something new and useful.
Although recycling is a more sustainable alternative to landfilling, it still has environmental impacts, which is why it should be considered the last step in waste reduction.
Carroll County Recycling and Conservation Manager Ashlee Treece admits that recycling can be confusing — knowing what to recycle and where to recycle it. But help is on the way. A new recycling app for Carroll County is slated to launch in early 2025, she says.
“Recycling empowers Carroll citizens to become stewards of the environment,” she says. “One of the biggest barriers to recycling participation is confusion. Guides and long lists on a website can only give a limited amount of information.”
At RecycleCarroll.org, users can search for an item by keyword and receive information about where it should go, such as a single-stream bin, recycling center, household hazardous waste event, or the trash. The recycling mobile app will provide a keyword search and allow users to get information by snapping and sharing their photos.
“Recycling empowers Carroll citizens to become stewards of the environment. One of the biggest barriers to recycling participation is confusion. Guides and long lists on a website can only give a limited amount of information.” – Ashlee Treece, Carroll County Recycling and Conservation Manager
What To Know About Recycling
Treece says she has heard the skepticism surrounding recycling.
“There’s been a lot of media messaging that recycling is pointless,” she says, “that things don’t get recycled, so don’t bother. But when the right things get put in the bin, they do get recycled. While recycling isn’t the panacea for a global waste crisis, it is a critical tool.”
Carroll County offers single-stream recycling to make recycling more convenient. Instead of separating products by type, the most common recyclables are now mixed in a bin. These items include paper and cardboard, metal food and beverage containers, and glass and plastic bottles, tubs, jars and jugs.
“Single-stream recycling makes it more convenient for residents, but it’s important that only acceptable items be put in recycling bins,” Treece says, explaining how unacceptable items contaminate the entire load. “If a load is too contaminated, it may be rejected at the sorting facility,” she says. “It’s too time-consuming to pick out [unacceptable items], and that isn’t cost-effective.”
At the county’s Northern Landfill, 1400 Baltimore Blvd. in Westminster, residents may also recycle rigid plastics, vehicle batteries, antifreeze, motor oil, hydraulic oil, diesel fuel, kerosene and transmission fluid, as well as cooking oil, vinyl siding, select electronics, useable building materials, clothing, books and other items in good, reusable condition.
Treece says that reusing items is an essential component of reducing waste.
For New Windsor resident Gail White and her husband Joe, getting into the habit of recycling is key.
“Joe uses old motor oil to keep rust off his metal tools,” White says. “My sister built a doghouse out of Styrofoam egg cartons, and it kept the dog dry and toasty.”
White strains, refrigerates and reuses cooking oil, puts eggshells and vegetable greens in her garden instead of in the trash, fills empty milk jugs with water to weigh down tarps on the farm and hangs aluminum pie plates in her garden to scare away the birds.
Think Before You Toss
Like the Whites, Treece encourages people to adopt the mantra of reduce, reuse and recycle before sending something to the trash. When it comes to recycling, Treece says it’s essential to keep in mind the following:
Know What Can be Recycled Where and When.
“There are separate free drop-off areas for recycling ‘white goods’ like major appliances, scrap metal and leaves, shrubs and tree trimmings,” she shares. “Tires can be recycled [for a] small fee of $3 each off the rim, or $4 each on the rim for 33-inch outside diameter or smaller. There is a limit of five tires per household per year.” You can drop off CFL light bulbs at most Lowes and Home Depot stores. The county also accepts these bulbs at Household Hazardous Waste Collection events, held biannually in April and October, along with paints, stains, sealants, paint thinner, solvents, household and pool cleaners, pesticides and herbicides, photographic chemicals, lithium batteries, vape liquids and other similar items.
Never pPlace Tanglers in a Single-Stream Recycling Bin.
Tanglers are items that can cause jams that damage recycling equipment, such as plastic bags, twine, string, rope, textiles, cords, and garden hoses. “Imagine what happens when a vacuum sucks up string,” Treece says. “Workers must climb into the machinery and cut the tangles out by hand, which is very dangerous. I’ve seen this during a facility tour, and it’s terrifying.”
Be Certain What You Intend to Recycle Is Actually Recyclable.
“Wish-cycling is when we wish something was recyclable, so we throw it in the bin and hope for the best. While it is well intended, it actually hurts more than it helps,” she says. The chasing arrows and numbers on plastic don’t indicate whether an item is recyclable in the Carroll County recycling program. “The number indicates the plastic resin type, and the arrows basically mean that [this item] could be recycled somewhere, somehow, but most plastics we encounter that are not a bottle, tub, jar, or jug are not recyclable locally,” Treece says.
There are other ways to reuse and repurpose items. Drop-off facilities for clothes, furniture, children’s toys and other household items exist across the county. Organizations such as the Northeast Social Action Program Thrift Store, Westminster Rescue Mission Thrift Store, ReStore, The White Rabbit Auxiliary Thrift Boutique at Carroll Hospital and the Carroll County Humane Society (for pet supplies) take various goods.
Some organizations, including the Military Order of the Purple Heart and Pickup Please, will pick up items from your home. Freecycle.org and the Buy Nothing Project also have chapters in Carroll County.
It takes effort, knowledge and a purposeful intention to become a citizen when it comes to waste management. We all have a role to play, and if everyone makes an effort, together, we can make a difference by reducing, reusing and recycling, one item at a time.
Learn more about recycling in Carroll County, including information on county-licensed waste haulers and upcoming recycling events, at RecycleCarroll.org.
