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You know about recycling your paper, plastics and soda cans but what about recycling Mother Nature? Yes, even the fallen leaves from the trees can be recycled. Recently the City of Chattanooga’s Department of Public Works announced that they will begin a loose leaf collection from November to February. Here’s the information they provide:
“Public Works crews will collect loose leaves on each residential street two times during the season. Bagged leaves, loose leaves, and brush must be separated at the curb for collection. Residents must request bagged yard waste collection and brush collection by calling 3-1-1. Leaves and brush may also be taken to the Wood Recycling Center located at 3925 N. Hawthorne Street where wood chips and leaf compost are also available free of charge to City of Chattanooga residents. Leaf collection is a residential service only. It is illegal for landscapers or contractors to dispose of yard waste, including brush and leaves, by placing materials at the curb for City collection.”
They also have some handy guidelines for you to follow:
- Separate loose leaves, bagged leaves, brush and bulky items. These materials are collected, processed, and disposed of differently.
- Move loose leaves, bagged leaves, and brush as close to the curb edge of pavement as possible, but avoid placing the materials in the street or co-mingling materials.
- Avoid raking leaves into ditches. Doing so can cause flooding problems and have a negative impact on water quality.
- Avoid raking leaves into the street. Doing so can cause drainage problems and lead to hazardous driving conditions when leaves become wet.
This is certainly a very nice service but it might not be the most convenient one. First of all, there is all that business with “co-mingling” materials. Do you really want to sort your piles of raked garbage? And what happens if you spend hours raking those piles but the crews don’t show up until the next day. Won’t those leaves blow back into your yard? And just try keeping kids from diving into those piles!
The better course of action for leaf recycling or any proper recycling of bulky items would be to give Junk King Chattanooga a call. This is the Chattanooga based business that has made recycling junk their number one priority. It doesn’t matter what you’re throwing away; if Junk King thinks it can be recycled they’ll make their best effort to insure that item gets to the right recycling center. There could be several facilities around Chattanooga which take in different types of materials. You won’t have to worry about finding out which piece of junk goes to what recycling center; the Junk King crew will do all the work. You also won’t have to get your hands dirty because that same Junk King crew will do all the heavy lifting. When it comes to recycling in Chattanooga, Junk King is your best bet!
Let’s talk e-waste factoids. The Environmental Protection Agency put out a report in 2007 (the last time they did this) entitled “Management of Select Electronic Products in the United States.” According to the findings, there were 2.25 million tons of “televisions, cell phones and computer products” that were tossed on the scrap heap that year. Of that amount only 18% were actually recycled leaving a whopping 82% dumped into landfills. A vast majority of those e-waste items could end up leaking cadmium, lead and nickel into the top soil and water supply if they are left to rot in a landfill. That’s not a good thing.
Just as with the rest of the nation, Chattanooga is in the recycling business and provides opportunities for its residents to handle all their recycling needs whether that involves curbside pickup for city residents, hazardous waste removal or computer recycling. The only drawback with these Chattanooga programs is that you have to work on their schedule.
Folks who care about their electronic gadgets are always on the look-out for the “next generation.” Just look at the long lines that crop up whenever Apple announces that they are selling a new “thing.” Doesn’t matter if it’s an iPhone, iPod or iPad; they are all guaranteed to sell out within hours. Next generation excitement also comes into play with video game consoles. Check out the next time Xbox or PlayStation has a new version of their game systems and you’ll see folks camping over night at your local Chattanooga shopping mall parking lots. When it comes to televisions, we’re already in the throes of the next generation – it’s called HDTV.