Recycling provides many benefits to our environment. By recycling our materials, we create a healthier planet for ourselves and future generations. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, recycling reduces the need to extract resources such as timber, water and minerals for new products.
Recycling also conserves energy. For example, recycling just 10 plastic bottles saves enough energy to power a laptop for more than 25 hours. To estimate how much energy you can save by recycling certain products, EPA developed the individual Waste Reduction Model (iWARM) which you can use at https://www.epa.gov/warm/individual-waste-reduction-model-iwarm-tool#full.
Additionally, recycling diverts waste away from landfills and incinerators, which reduces the harmful effects of pollution and emissions.
Recently, Southern Oregon Sanitation provided a press release with the following facts:
-Approximately 100 billion cardboard boxes are produced each year in the U.S.
-Recycling glass reduces air pollution by 20% and water pollution by 50% compared to making new glass.
-Around 5 million plastic bottles are thrown away in the U.S. every hour.
-It is estimated we use over 80 billion aluminum beverage cans every year and around 65% of these cans are recycled. This number is significant, however we are sending almost 30 billion cans to landfills.
-Plastic bags and water bottles may take up to 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill.
In the Illinois Valley, there is a SOS recycle station in Kerby at 905 Kerby Mainline Rd. The hours are Wednesday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
At the Kerby Station you can recycle:
-Plastics #1 and #2 (bottles and jugs only, rinse thoroughly; no tubs)
-Corrugated cardboard (has the wavy insides),
-Glass bottles or jars,
-Newspapers and inserts,
_monitors and TVs,
-Tin and aluminum cans (rinse thoroughly and no lids),
-Mixed waste paper (no wax paper or paper with grease or food)
-Pure motor oil poured into one gallon unbreakable containers that is not mixed with any other liquid.
All recycling at the Kerby Station is free and open to the public, they only ask that the recycling is kept contamination free and that you keep all the items separate.
Non Accepted items at Kerby Transfer Station:
-No Plastic bags – often people like to put their recycling in plastic bags to help them carry or manage it better. However, the plastic bag are NOT accepted any in of our containers.
-No Styrofoam – often people will bring the Styrofoam with their cardboard. This should be taken to the transfer station or put in your household trash.
-Lids of any kind, all #1 – #7 non bottleneck style containers (yogurt or butter tubs), packing material (styrofoam, packing peanuts), liquids and food, plastic buckets, dryer sheets, clamshell containers (plastic to-go containers, strawberry basket, furnace filters, plastic bags. Garden hose, clothing, disposable cups, paper towels, pet food bags, waxed cartons (frozen food boxes, shredded paper
SOS has reported, ”In cooperation with DEQ and the Solid Waste Agency, due to the amount of theft and vandalism at our Kerby Transfer Station and Recycle Depot, we will no longer be accepting scrap metal for recycling at this location effective August 1st, 2024. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.”
They listed other scrap metal recycling facilities as Redwood Avenue Transfer Station and Recycle Depot, 1381 Redwood Ave, Grants Pass and JP Auto & Metal Recycling, 29910 Redwood Hwy, Cave Junction, OR 97523
SOS also provides curbside service in the blue bins. Curbside recycling includes:
Corrugated cardboard (has the wavy insides),
-Tin and aluminum cans (rinse thoroughly and no lids),
-Plastics #1 and #2 (bottles and jugs only, rinse thoroughly and dispose of lids, no tubs or jars)
-Mixed waste paper.
Last year SOS expanded their mixed waste paper recycling for curbside collection. The following is what they now accept in the blue containers:
Cereal Boxes
Junk Mail
Magazines
Office Paper
Egg Cartons (paper only, no Styrofoam or plastic)
Pizza Boxes (no grease, food residue or liners)
Shoe Boxes
Toilet Paper and Paper Towel Tubes
Wrapping Paper (no foil, plastic wrap or tissue paper)
File Folders
Envelopes (with or without windows)
Paperback Books
Not accepted in Blue containers –
Even though the list of mixed waste paper recyclable items is extensive, there are still plenty of items that can’t be recycled and will contaminate the other items in your recycle cart. This includes:
Candy Wrappers
Foil and Foil Paper
Food-Contaminated Paper
Frozen and Refrigerated Food Boxes and Cartons
Paper Towels and Napkins
Paper Cups and Plates
Receipts
Tissue and Toilet Paper
Waxed Paper
Shredded Paper
Snack Food Bags
No curbside collection for batteries, take these to Kerby Transfer Station.
Also, yard debris must only go in green yard boxes or taken to Kerby Transfer Station and not be placed in the blue curbside container.
Paint has its own recycling stations. For a list you can go to https://www.sosanitation.com/waste-disposal-guide/.
The staff at SOS would like to stress that it is important to not contaminate a recycle bin. To ensure a viable recycling product is delivered to recycling markets, it is necessary to eliminate all contamination in recycling. Contamination of recycling can be caused by items such as; food scraps, lids, plastic bags, coffee pods, straws, to-go containers, styrofoam, trash or any other “non-program” material. Unfortunately, “wishful” recycling (the hope that a material is recyclable somewhere) can have serious consequences for your haulers, the recycling programs offered, and the overall recycling markets such as, an entire truck load of recycling getting rejected and sent to the landfill
If you would like to create a recycling station at your office or home, SOS has some printable brochures you can access at https://www.sosanitation.com/brochures/.
If you have additional recycling questions, you can contact the SOS Recycling & Educational Outreach Associate by calling 1-800- 922-1025. The phone number for Kerby Transfer Station is 541-479-5335.