Re-use and Recycle Party and Event Trash

By Helen Venada, Waste Reduction and Hazardous Waste Coordinator
San Juan County Solid Waste Division

Party goers, event planners, and other Zero Waste fans…

Did you know you can now add paper cups to your commingled recyclables? They MUST have no liquid in them so drink it up or pour it out, please, before recycling. Plastic cups are NOT recyclable; if you’re not going to wash them for reuse, paper cups might be a better choice!

And in the interest of reducing waste, it would be useful to JUST SAY NO to those plastic domes, cup lids, and straws! It may take some creativity to do without but it’s a worthwhile challenge. Plastic that is used once truly is a waste…and these items are not recyclable. One use and they become garbage!

Here’s another idea to re-use plastics, while saving resources (oil) and money: Empty the contents of your plastic bags of commingled recyclables into the recycling bins at the solid waste facility; these bags are not recyclable in our current system and can be re-used several times before tearing or otherwise becoming unusable. Paper bags are reusable too and are also recyclable when they’re beyond use.

Don’t forget that you can borrow ClearStream recycling frames and bags to promote more recycling at your events! Give us a call to arrange for pick up. We can also talk about other ways to reduce party and event trash.

We’d love to hear YOUR ideas to help the islands to send less waste to the landfill! 370-0503