PLEASE NOTE that we are on the Week A Wednesday recycling schedule.

Here are some of the guidelines put out by the city:

How does it work?

All recyclables go in the 90-gallon blue cart and is collected every other week. This is included for free with your garbage service.

Collection Guidelines:

• Place your recycling at the curb by 6:30 a.m.
• Keep your recycling about 5 feet away from your garbage cart.
• Remove food wastes from recyclables before placing them in the recycling cart.
• Place all recyclables in the recycling cart – no sorting required.
• Flatten corrugated cardboard and place in your recycling cart. If you have more than what will fit inside the recycling cart, cut or fold it to 2 feet by 2 feet, and tie it into manageable bundles with string or twine and place next to your recycling cart.

What goes in the recycling cart?

• Paper: (newspaper, office paper, junk mail, envelopes, wrapping paper)
• Boxboard and cardboard: Corrugated cardboard and boxboard including:
• cereal boxes
• shoe boxes
• most gift boxes
• soda/beverage containers
• most food packaging containers such as boxes of macaroni and cheese, rice, microwave meals.
• Aluminum and metal cans: food cans (labels left on OK), soda cans
• Glass: Jars and bottles
• Plastic containers: # 1 through # 7, including yogurt and margarine tubs

What cannot be recycled in your cart?

• Plastic bags
• Styrofoam (cups, egg cartons, take-out containers)
• Pizza boxes from take-out or delivery services
• Yard waste/leaves (set out for yard trimmings pick up)
• Food waste
• Garbage (you may be charged for extra garbage if you put garbage in your recycling cart)
• Helium tanks
• Large metal items such as frying pans and metal pipes
• Large plastic items (plastics that are gallon-sized or smaller are ok)
• Wire coat hangers (recycle at your local dry cleaners)
• Why we can’t take these items: The recycling processing facility uses an automated system to sort and bale the recyclables. Prohibited items will jam the automated machinery.

Next up is our bi-annual Neighborhood Garage Sale on Saturday, October 15, 2011. If you plan to participate, please send us your address so that we can add you to the list we will publish prior to the sale day.

Also on Saturday, October 15, 2011 the local branch of the Raindrop Foundation, at 12400 Amherst Drive will be holding a Turkish Food and Crafts Fair from noon until 6 pm. All proceeds will benefit the Bastrop restoration efforts.

(And don’t forget about the Neighborhood Garage Sale Day, April 30th. Send us your address if you want to participate.)

Shred Day 2011 Saturday, April 16, 2011

8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Austin High Parking Lot

1715 W. Cesar Chavez

With the increased awareness of identity theft, it’s important to dispose of personal records carefully. To highlight this, the Austin Chapter of ARMA International, Financial Fitness Greater Austin and the City of Austin is sponsoring a Free event to help individuals and families with:

• Home records management
• Identity theft protection
• Recycling

Households can bring up to five file boxes of paper records for shredding. A mobile shredding truck from Balcones Shred will be on-site to shred the material.

Restrictions:

• No wet material
• No plastics/binders
• No electronic media

No three-ring binders In lieu of a fee for the service, monetary donations will be accepted for the Capital Area Food Bank.

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/default.htm

Looking to recycle CD Cases
Tim Hamblin, video archivist at the Austin History Center, accepts donations of empty CD cases. Bring your donation to the Austin History Center, 810 Guadalupe St., during business hours (available at www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc). Contact Hamblin at 947-7305.

Looking to recycle Cooking Oil
You can donate used cooking oil to DieselGreen Fuels, 5217 E. Cesar Chavez St. Drop off donations at any time, preferably in the oil’s original container.

There is also an on-site container where you can deposit oil. DieselGreen cleans the oil to remove water and impurities and makes it available as raw oil or biodiesel at EcoWise, 110 W. Elizabeth St. In addition to individual donations, the organization collects used oil from 75 local restaurants.

Interested in learning more about the process? DieselGreen has an open house on Tuesdays from 7 to 10 p.m.

Call 247-FUEL or visit www.diesel greenfuels.com for more information.