Recycle your garden pots through October 1st

You have got your seedlings transplanted (mostly) and now have a pile of greenhouse plastic. It's a good idea to reuse pots, trays, or baskets whenever possible to save money and reduce waste. However, the volume of pots can add up and these plastics can not be set out for curbside recycling pickup. You do have an easy recycling option set-up by the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association and Choice Plastics. Select garden centers will accept plastic pots, trays, and hanging baskets for recycling from April 15th through October 1st. Just bring clean, plastic garden pots to the registered drop sites listed on the MNLA website. (Please note that some sites will take pots only on June 19-20 and September 18-19.)

Guidelines:
• Do not bring household plastic or clay pots.
• Dump all soil and remove metal hangers.
• Your garden center will only take plastic for a limited time. Ask a staff person for more details.

The closest location to the Midway appears to be Linder's Garden Center - 270 W Larpenteur Ave, Roseville, MN 55113. Mother Earth Gardens is not too far either - 3738 42nd Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55406.

Where to Recycle?: Plastic bottle caps, wine corks

Here are some recycling options shared by HMEG members. Through our 5 years, we often take up the topic of waste reduction, including applying for grants. This is the first in a series where hard to recycled items are featured. To see all the posts, click our label "waste reduction.

• Recycle all "twist on" plastic bottle caps at an Aveda salon!
  From the Ramsey County A-Z Disposal Guide:

  Recycle Caps with Aveda is an ongoing recycling program that accepts plastic bottle caps. Caps that are accepted include any plastic "twist on" caps such as water bottles, soda bottles, milk bottles, ketchup bottles, shampoo bottles and laundry detergent bottles. Caps that are NOT accepted include metal caps and any "snap fit" plastic caps such as margarine and cottage cheese caps.
  
  Bring your caps to an AVEDA store near you. Please call ahead to confirm they are participating in this program.

• Recycle your wine corks at all Whole Foods locations- Cork is a renewable, recyclable material that doesn’t belong in our landfills. What to do? Bring your corks to Whole Foods stores, and drop them in the handy Cork ReHarvest boxes.
  

HMEG Announces a Yogurt Cup Re-Use Collection in the Midway at Shirtz Unlimited on Snelling Avenue

Please note: This collection has ceased due to expanded plastic recycling options at Whole Foods. You can take #5 plastics to the store located at Fairview and Grand Aves in St. Paul.


In the Midway area of St. Paul, HMEG members have set up a yogurt cup collection for the purposes of reuse. The collected cups will be made into seed starting kits. HMEG members have pondered waste reduction topics for some time, even writing applications for grants. There is the option to institutionalized waste; personal choice and action! Here is the yogurt cup collection announcement:

HMEG Announces a Yogurt Cup Re-Use Collection in the Midway at Shirtz Unlimited on Snelling Avenue. The Hamline Midway Environmental Group (HMEG), in partnership with the Recycling Association of Minnesota (RAM), invites you to recycle your large and small yogurt cups (with lids) to reduce waste! HMEG has arranged a neighborhood drop-off location at Shirtz Unlimited, a locally owned shirt screening business, on Snelling Avenue near the intersection of Minnehaha Avenue. The yogurt cup recycling is sponsored by the Recycling Association of Minnesotawww.recycleminnesota.org). The yogurt cups will be re-used to make seed starter kits for sale to the public. To recycle your yogurt cups and cottage cheese containers bring them to the Shirtz Unlimited store (755 Snelling Ave N, 651-645-3311). The pilot re-use program accepts only CLEAN single serving (6oz) and 32oz containers for recycling. Don't forget the lids! Please, no Yoplait brand or six-pack containers.