Do Not Recycle These

Ribbons, bows, Styrofoam and the glue that sticks them to the gift are not to go in the recycling bin.

You cannot recycle wrapping paper that has metallic, glossy, glitter, or velvety flocking on it.

Plastic bags, twine, and anything else that is long and stringy cannot be recycled.

Shiny Christmas cards printed on photo paper, have metallic embossing, or glitter cannot be recycled.

Disposable plates, cups, plastic tableware, napkins, and paper towels should not be recycled. Some plastic cups may be recyclable, but read the bottom for recycle symbol. (Many people think that rounded arrow symbol means it is recyclable, but that is the resin code. Different municipalities can recycle different resins, but only number one and two plastics are recyclable in most places.)

Do not recycle candy wrappers or the bags that coffee comes in.

Pizza boxes and fast food carryout bags may include the additional message, “Recycle if Clean & Dry,” since pizza boxes and bags dirtied by a significant amount of grease or food residue are often not accepted for recycling.

Chip bags cannot go into the recycle bin, since most chip bags are made from aluminum laminated with polypropylene.

The popular K-Cup® pod as a whole cannot be recycled.

All is not lost as cardboard boxes are great to recycle, even with some tape on them.

Recycling Airline Style

Southwest Airlines is making a new fashion statement. The carrier has inked a multi-year partnership with Mexican fashion designer Carla Fernandez to use recycled leather from discarded Southwest airplane seats to create a new line of accessories and clothing ranging from shoes and bags to ponchos and key chains. The new items will be marketed and sold under the "LUV Seat: Mexico" banner.

What Recycle Symbols Mean

As we approach that time of year when thoughts turn to Spring cleaning, it is probably a good idea to also think about what we might recycle. The original recycling symbol was designed in 1970 by Gary Anderson, a senior at the University of Southern California at Los Angeles. It was submitted to the International Design Conference as part of a nationwide contest for high school and college students sponsored by the Container Corporation of America.

The symbols below show the various types of materials. If there is an R in front of the letters, that means it was already recycled. The numbers range from 1 to 7, defining which type of material it is.

Type 1 PolyEthylene TErephthalate is used for pop bottles. Type 2 High-Density PolyEthylene is used for milk and detergent bottles. Twenty-seven percent of type 1 is recycled, including 41 percent of plastic pop bottles. About 7 percent of type 2 plastic recycled.

Type 3 is used on window cleaner bottles, cooking oil bottles, detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, clear food packaging, wire and cable jackets, medical tubing, and in other household products and building materials, particularly siding, piping, and windows

Recycling types 3 through 7 are rare, because using virgin material is cheaper. Recycling rates for these materials are about 1-2 percent.

The recycling rate for all plastic packaging is about 4.5 percent, compared with 53 percent for aluminum.

 - A container or package, marked with this symbol above was manufactured with at least some materials that have been recycled. Generally, additional information is conveyed with the symbol such as, 'Printed on recycled paper'.

There is a symbol for glass, but usually all glass is recyclable. There are many other symbols used for various materials, and different symbols in different countries. They are all meant to make consumers aware of recycling, even if many of the products are not recycled.

Cleveland Recycles

The city plans to sort through curbside trash to make sure residents are recycling and fine them $100 if they don't. The move is part of a high-tech collection system the city with new trash and recycling carts embedded with radio frequency identification chips and bar codes.

The chips will allow city workers to monitor how often residents roll carts to the curb for collection. If a chip show a recyclable cart hasn't been brought to the curb in weeks, a trash supervisor will sort through the trash for recyclables.

Trash carts containing more than 10 percent recyclable material could lead to a $100 fine. It plans to roll out to nearly all of the city's 150,000 residences.

The city stepped up enforcement of ordinances governing trash collection last year by issuing 2,900 tickets, nearly five times more tickets than in 2008. Those infractions include citations for people who put out their trash too early or fail to bring in their garbage cans from the curb in a timely manner. The Division of Waste Collection is on track to meet its goal of issuing 4,000 citations this year. Fines for excessive trash will range from $250 to $500 depending on the amount.

The Washington, D.C. suburb of Alexandria, Va., earlier this year announced it would issue carts to check whether people are recycling.

Bread Bag Tags

They aren't good for much, but you can recycle them. Make it easy to tell what devices cords belong to by writing on the tag then clipping it to the cord.

You can also use a tag to mark spare keys before putting them away in the junk drawer. one other idea is to use one on the end of tape before you throw the tape in the drawer. That way you won't have to pry the edge of the roll the next time you need it.