Where Can I Wednesday

Brushing my teeth is one of my favorite activities. I beam when my dental hygienist comments on my teeth condition. Yet I use a lot of toothpaste, and those empty toothpaste tubes are a gray area on the green front. Can you recycle them? Can you not? Don't fear my readers... I did some investigating to figure out what we can do with our toothpaste-less tubes:

Since we have a debate going on in our "Broad Street Run More Sustainable..." comments AND on our Facebook page, I decided to investigate what people can do with their old race medals. Many runners & triathletes (etc) accumulate medals and don’t know what to do with them. Here’s some alternatives to throwing them in the trash (always a big no-no):

We’ve gone over where to recycle laptop batteries and battery chargers, but where can one recycle plain old (& rechargeable) batteries in Philadelphia? Where to Recycle Single-Use Batteries in Philadelphia For recycling the conventional (single-use) battery variety. Eforce Compliance (3114 Grays Ferry...

When I stop home at my parents house, I try to give them some hints of what they're not recycling (and should) as the self-appointed 'recycle police'.  But then I see it... No paper, but a lonely tube, surrounded by tissues. Good news: Paper tubes from paper towels, TP, tape, etc., can go into your Single Stream Recycling! No extra effort. Recycle on!  (And try to use dishtowels instead of paper...) ;-)

Reader Ryan asks: Where can we recycle computer laptop batteries? Answer: Good news for you, Ryan!  You can recycle laptop batteries in a few places:

Oh no! Did you forget to bring a reusable container to your favorite restaurant and need to get a to-go container? Good news for you - plastic cups, plates & to-go containers can all go into your single-stream recycling bin. However, food-stained boxes, stryofoam (ugh) and pizza boxes must go in the garbage.  (I personally cut the grease-stained pizza portion off to recycle the untainted part).  **Update: Philadelphia residents can take Foam (or styrofoam) containers #6 to the Northeast Sanitation Convenience Center at State & Ashburner Streets, but can NOT go in Single-Stream recycling.   Try to avoid

Philadelphians often get confused with food containers. Did you know the majority of food-container plastics can be recycled? Yogurt containers, plastic containers & juice bottles can ALL go in your single-stream recycle bin.  Just make sure to rinse & remove the food remnants (I use leftover dishwater or stick in happily with a pan trying to soak..) Keep on recycling!

Starting now, I decided to implement a new column on Green Philly Blog called "Where the Hell Do I Recycle That Wednesdays?!? (in Philly.)" (I considered How the F*@! but realized we should keep this somewhat family-friendly.) Lately, I've been going through a cleaning frenzy in my apartment trying to get rid of crap. But as I was going through my ultimate cleanse, I realized a lot of items aren't as easy to find a new home for - especially when avoiding the garbage. Avoid the landfill with our new column. Need to figure out how to recycle something? (Find out how our new column will work, where to submit your recycling questions AND where to recycle battery chargers after the jump!)

It's Philly Beer Week Ya'll! Although I enjoy a good local brew, I'm also a huge fan of wine. Wine bottles are recyclable and you can find local and/or organic wines easily. But what should you do with those damn un-recyclable wine corks? Good news - there's a few options for you! Choose one of the following to do with your wine corks: