Recycling Authority
January 2020

20000 West Eight Mile Road | Southfield
248-208-2270 | www.rrrasoc.org
Happy "Green" Year!!
It's the perfect time to take stock and assess your life, and perhaps re-evaluate some of your habits. Along with personal health and wealth goals, many people have goals for how to live more sustainably for the benefit of the larger community and the world. Here are a few changes that you can make to be more green in 2020!

Use Eco-friendly Cleaners
Some benefits of using eco-friendly cleaners include: making your home safer, protecting your health, cleaning up your indoor air, and helping the environment.

Reduce Your Paper Towel Use
The average homeowner spends almost $600.00 a year on disposable paper towels. Nearly 550,000 trees are used to produce paper towels. Using cloth towels can really make an impact.

Try Meatless Meals
It may sound over the top but raising animals for food requires a lot of land, fossil fuel, water, and food. Cutting back on some of the meat you eat is a good way to reduce your environmental impact. It also has great health benefits and reduces your grocery bill.

Bring a Reusable Mug
Are you someone who stops every morning to get that cup of coffee on the way to work?
Why not bring your own mug? Americans alone throw away 500 Billion foam coffee cups
each year. Yes, billion with a "B". Do your part by grabbing your mug on the way out the
door in the morning. Chances are you won't have to pay as much either! Many places will give you a discount or will only charge a refill price for bringing your own mug. Win, win!
Misleading Marketing
Please do NOT bag your recyclables, in any type of bag, including plastic bags marketed as "recycling" bags. All recyclables should be loose in your cart or bin.

For operational efficiency and employee safety, bagged recyclables are removed and thrown away. Bagged recyclables are NOT opened and sorted.

To view our recycling guidelines, click here.
What Happened To All Your Stuff in 2019
Another year has passed and thousands of tons of materials have been diverted from the landfill because of YOU! Thank you for recycling with us in 2019 and for continuing to recycle with us in 2020!

Materials Recycled -- 16,092 tons

Materials Reused -- 193 tons

Household Hazardous Waste Diverted -- 250 tons

Yard Waste Composted -- 20,401 tons

Garbage Landfilled -- 60,855 tons

Total Tons Recycled & Utilized -- 36,936 tons or 38%
RESULTS ARE IN!
Most Polluted Item Survey

Plastic Bags ...............35%

Food Wrappers ..........11%

Cigarettes ..................20%

Straws ..........................8%

Plastic Bottles .............26%
We asked you, "What do you think is the most polluted/littered item in the United States?"

Most of you think it's plastic bags .

And actually, it's cigarettes! By far cigarettes are the most littered items in the United States. In fact, an estimated 4.5 trillion cigarettes are being tossed each year. That's one big "butt" problem!
RRRASOC Recycling Directory
Not sure what to do with stuff?

Visit  rrrasoc.org and use the Recycling Directory search bar to type in keywords and get recycling, composting, reuse or disposal instructions.

The searchable, intuitive format of the Recycling Directory provides RRRASOC specific information.

Also Available:
  • Mobile App
  • From your App Store or Google Play, search for "Recycling Authority"
  • Alexa Enabled Device
  • Simply say, “Alexa, enable Recycling Directory.”
RRRASOC - Recycling Authority | 248-208-2270 | rrrasoc.org