Save Our Environment and Earn Money for the Town – Recycle!
China used to accept a lot of the world’s recycling. Now it doesn’t. Much of the United States’ recycling materials have to stay here, creating a challenge to our environment especially when it comes to plastics.
The good news is that Type 5 Plastics can now be recycled. Type 5 Plastics are hard and heat resistant; and include prescription medicine bottles, yogurt cups, hummus tubs, single-use cutlery, and some packaging for personal care products, like deodorant, lotion, or shampoo. Every resident should try to avoid plastics, like polypropylene, that cannot be recycled in normal curbside or drop-off locations.
Some other recent changes about what materials can go in the yellow recyclable can include the addition of chipboard, such as cereal and tissues boxes, and paper towel tubes; the addition of aluminum foil, such as foil trays and foil wrap; and the fact that caps and lids can now remain on bottles and jars.
As always, recyclables should be empty, clean, and dry. Contaminated cans and food containers cannot be recycled.
Recycling helps keep our community clean, generates revenue and jobs, and lessens the amount of trash going into landfills. For questions and more information, contact either Tony Ruiz, recycling coordinator, at tonyruiz@lakewoodnj.gov or 732-905-3405 Ext. 6003; OR Mordechai Holder, code enforcement officer at mholder@lakewoodnj.gov or 732-905-3405 Ext. 6050.