Stay green while using your green thumb this week. With all that earth-tending you may be doing, make sure you know the dos and don’ts of garden-related recycling, too.
Plastic flower pots: Recycle in your bin or cart at home, so long as they are smaller than two gallons. Though all plastic flower pots are not created equal, our buyers have a way of dealing with those that meet their recycling specifications and those that do not, and they are willing to sort them out. It’s best to keep recycling them.
Plastic plug trays: These are a different story. These thin, easily crumpled or torn black plastic containers are a no-no for all of our buyers, across the board. That makes them one of the few exceptions to the general “all containers two gallons and smaller” rule. They should be tossed in the trash if they can’t be reused.
Empty fertilizer bag: These plastic bags certainly stretch, but they are not clear or translucent — the other half of the plastic bag and film rule of thumb for products eligible for recycling at large groceries, pharmacies, and big-box stores in R.I. These heavy-colored opaque bags belong in your trash.
Leftover fertilizer: Use it up! If not, this material is household hazardous waste. Call our Eco-Depot program for a free appointment at (401) 942-1430 ext. 241 or make an appointment on our website: rirrc.org/ecodepot. Next year, try fertilizing nature’s way with our “Class A” compost (sold at RIRRC for $30 a yard) or your own.
Landscaping rocks: People will be looking for these to accent their own gardens. Post yours on Craigslist (providence.craigslist.org), FreeCycle (freecycle.org) or our Reuse Marketplace (reusemarketplace.org), and let a fellow Rhode Islander take them off your hands.
Krystal Noiseux is program manager at Rhode Island Resource Recovery.
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