Looking forward to seeing it happen and hearing from y'all how many points you accumulated in this first pass!!



OMGosh I'm a garbage geek.

A bit anti-climactic for me.


In my enthusiasm, I forgot the stuff is being weighed as a community so they're just dumping it in a huge truck. My little sticker does naught.
Still a great thing, though!

I am hoping I didn't miss it completely.

I am used to the trash pick-up and recycling happening at about 11 am on our street but today the trucks were rumbling through at 8 am.

My stuff was out by 8:15, so we shall see.

My son is glued to the front windows. He wants to see if these drivers are as nice as the last.

I find the fascination with garbage collection absolutely hilarious.

Similar to the excitement Steve Martin had in The Jerk when the new phonebooks arrived. At least oaksandmaples and adavis own their garbarge lust proudly, Bo-Peep has to hide behind her son. Really Bo-Peep, using a 4 year old like that? And I thought Kate Gosselin used her kids!

I own it. I am recycling obsessed.

And now there are points involved.

This gets the competitive folk all riled up even if they don't admit it.

Yay! The recycle bank people just emptied my stuff!

Thanks! I now have "I'm picking out a Thermos for you...for you..." going through my head now.

Sorry for not keeping up with what this is all about, but we have to go to the AAA website and register in order to get in on the program?

You should have received a brown colored mailer in the last 2 weeks with instructions to register for the recylebank program.

It probably ended up in the American Disposal recycle bin.

Dang, Richmond outed me. I do like the cool new BLUE trucks.

Did anyone else have a problem registering on-line? Every time I try it tells me that the information is incomplete (even though all fields are completed). I sent an email to their Help Email and they actually replied back stating that RecycleBank was not yet in my area ( )

So I called the number and they told me that they are having problems with their system and they have tech support working on the problem.

I guess that's why they are in the garbage/recycling buisness and not the IT business.

Doom n gloom time......hope I am wrong but the word is coming from Ffx....the new company is pulling a fast one on us to get the Brambleton contract-----in a Ffx community where a friend of a friend lives (yeah, I know) they have stopped giving out the benefits for recycling. That is, after 3 months, they announced "there is no more money for the recycling program". Looked like they used the program to get the contract. We'll see if this happens here. Call me chicken little, etc.

OK recycle OCD people.... question for you.
Can I recycle styrofoam if it has a number 6 on it?

You've pretty much described social security in a neat little paragraph.

Was it a food container? Like a to go box?

No, all clean/no grease - the packaging for a Braun toothbrush.

It does seem like the new recycling is a lot pickier. Unless I threw things in with the last company that I wasn't supposed to. No yogurt containers or the plastic containers that hold strawberries/blueberries since it's not 1 and 2. Oh well. My bin was full on Friday when they came to pick it up.

No points from the pick-up have been posted on our account yet. Wonder how long that takes??

I called them on Friday to try and resolve my on-line login problems and the customer service representative said that it ususally takes about 2-3 weeks before amounts begin to post to accounts.

Clarifying an earlier post I made... I thought my bin said we can only recycle plastics #1 & 2. I went on the website, and it says we can recycle #1-7. I'm too lazy to go into the garage right now to make sure I'm not crazy. I'm going to go with what the website says.

It's possible no one cares, but I wanted to let you know what I found out.

My wife just says throw everything in and let them figure it out! I think I saw a bumper sticker to this effect, but it was about killing terrorists or something.

I care

I am also going with what the website says as the authority over the sticker on the recycling tote.

We recycle all plastics 1-7 though we do try to purchase in containers that are 1's and 2's.

For the recycling naive, what's the difference?

http://www.recyclenow.org/r_plastics.html

I get that they're different, but why would one prefer to buy a #1 or #2 over a #3-#7?

Info on plastics and why we try to stick to the 1's and 2's:

#3 – PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) is everywhere but is the least recyclable plastic, releasing dioxin in manufacture and also as it ages. It is used in plumbing, shower curtains, wire jacketing, siding, windows, dashboards, outdoor furniture and jungle gyms. PVC items are generally one-use, becoming trash when discarded.
Toxic additives and stabilizers such as lead and plasticizers contribute further pollution as it breaks down. PVC contains Bisphenol-A and phthalates, as well as DEHA (linked to liver cancer). DEHA in cling wrap leaches into oily foods on contact. Recycled or discarded, this dangerous product can one day come back to haunt us.

#4 – LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene) is used for dry cleaning, frozen food, sandwich and tote bags, condiment squeeze bottles, clothing, furniture, and carpet. LDPE may be recycled into new bags or plastic lumber, but it uses more energy than producing fresh product. It is just beginning to be accepted through curbside recycling centers and EDCO. Some grocery stores accept used grocery bags.

#5 – PP (Polypropylene) does not contain Bisphenol A, is used in yogurt and margarine tubs, condiment squeeze bottles, bottle caps, drinking straws, medicine bottles, Tupperware, and new BPA-free baby bottles. Accepted by few recyclers.

#6 – PS (Polystyrene/Styrofoam) is ubiquitous, in compact disc jackets, eating utensils, take-out containers, coffee cups, egg cartons, disposable plates and cups, meat trays, packing peanuts, and insulation. PS readily leaches toxins into foods., especially in heat. Its bulk fills landfills and public landscapes, and causes suffering and death to animals and birds who eat it for food residues on it. It does not break down. Avoid it.

#7 – Other (MIXED PLASTICS)
This category is the “catch-all” designated #7. Depending on the manufacturer, similar products have no number. These items are seldom collected. Recycling them is impossible, with most contributing to landfills as trash. Avoid these plastics – recyclers can’t use it and don’t want it.

20 Free Recycle Banks Points!

Under promotion code, enter: SWEEPSTAKESTWENTY

I just got inside after watching AAA take my recyclables and watched them remove my neighbors' totes also. But they dont seem to be weighing or even using the hook at the back of the truck...The guy just lifted it and dumped it in the truck.
I'm confused!

Wait, he dumped it into the truck with all the rest of the trash? Or into a separate recycling area?

Two totally separate trucks. The one for trash is not the same as the one for recycling but both are managed by AAA.

Not sure if they are scanning the recycling totes or not- I haven't watched, but my understanding is that our points come from a community total.

Okay, good.

Personally, i'm just happy that we have a bigger recycle bin.

I am half tempted to call and get the bigger bin that the SFH's have.

Last two weeks, my recycle bin has been overflowing. This week, I actually left stuff by the curb because it wouldn't all fit. Much of that stuff was from last week that I kept saving because it didn't fit.

I guess it's good they're not measuring the individual cans then, since half of my stuff wasn't in it. However I think the smaller cans we have for the TH's are skinny and difficult to load up efficiently.

Plus, I'm sure if I drank less beer that would help too...

+1 on this.

We only have 2 people in the house/cityhome and our recycle tote was full to the very top again and there are still a mountain of boxes we need to break down.

I will let you go first in requesting a larger toter and see how it goes

Yeah, we have 3, but my 6YO doesn't really generate much waste. Had I not emptied my kitchen trash, there would have been nothing in my waste container, other than 2 empty dog food bags.

Similar here. We had cat food bags and a bag of kitty poo also. If only I could recycle kitty waste!

Yep. I have some dog poo in the back. Didn't make it today. Oops.

YAY! Thanks! Just got my 20 points.

wow, that was easy, got my 20 points too!

Same here- 20 points in my recyclebank!

Still waiting to see how many points we earn as a community.

I'm curious, too, especially now that both my trash can and recycling bin are MIA.... :-(

WHAT?!

That would NOT make me happy.

Um, that's not good.

I am so happy with the new system. Before, we just put our newspapers in the recycle tub, only to watch them get dumped into the same truck that took the trash.

This morning, I took both toters out to the curb out of habit. The recycle toter was 2/3 full, and the garbage toter was empty save a lone plastic grocery bag. Yay!

Response to whomever said their recycle stuff went into the normal garbage truck: The recycle truck came down our street this morning about 7:30, and the crew hooked our toter to the lift on the back of the truck. I assume it got weighed by the truck and the barcode was read during the lifting process, though no points have yet registered on recyclebank.com.

Just got an email that points were added to my account! I checked and got 40 points for the recycling pick up on 10/15. Did everyone get the same? That will solve if the mystery about how we're getting points... Total for Brambleton and then divided among registered participants or per home (I'm thinking it's the former based on what you brainiacs have already stated).

45!

I just checked. I don't know how I got it, but I have 40 pts posted on 10/15, and then another entry stating 45 points posted on 10/15? So, probably two weeks worth just posted on the same day (today incidentally).

Of course, the container ID just says AAA, so I suspect its probably just by the neighborhood.