There’s a new service coming to many towns that picks up and recycles a wide range of items not currently recycled by municipal recycling centers. Called Ridwell, it is designed to help you rid yourself of items well…and avoid sending them to the landfill!
Ridwell coordinates with local municipal recycling facilities, and they only collect items that a municipality does not recycle from home recycling bins. Thus far, they are well-established in much of Washington state, and they are expanding in five other states, including California. They pick up from homes, condos, and apartment buildings. You can do a location search to see if they already offer service in your area.
My cousin in Bellingham, Washington is thrilled with Ridwell. She pays about $15 each month for pickups every two weeks. She is now able to recycle Trader Joe’s plastic packaging and the filmy plastic that all products come wrapped in these days, along with old textiles and other hard-to-recycle items, such as batteries, etc. I’ve signed up to start Ridwell recycling as soon as they’re ready to roll in Los Angeles.
To find out more, check out the Ridwell website. And if you’re in Los Angeles, you can sign up through Eventbrite for Ridwell’s LA-focused online Q&A session this coming Tuesday, May 23rd, 6:30-7:15PM.
Other Options
To be clear, Ridwell is not the only potential way to maximize your recycling. Your city may already have safe recycling options for batteries and electronics, etc. But you must drive to the collection sites, which are not open every day and may not be conveniently located. And they don’t handle other materials, like plastics and textiles. If you are in the LA area, check out the options at Los Angeles’ S.A.F.E. disposal sites.
And then there is Terracycle. This company offers boxes that you can purchase to fill up with all kinds of things not recycled from your blue bin, overlapping with Ridwell in the kinds of items recycled. You can purchase a TerraCycle Zero Waste Box for hard-to-recycle trash, but the low end price is over $100 for a box, and you have to ship it back to them. Terracycle is a great solution for companies and institutions looking to make a difference, but less than practical for home use at this point. (Terracycle is experimenting with home pickup bags in Colorado, so if you live in the Centennial State, you can check out that offering.)
I’ll just close with…
A Caveat and a Question
The caveat: the best way to address the issue of our growing landfills and the dangers of waste pollution is to reduce consumption. The second best way, when feasible, is to buy or exchange good, used alternatives at your local thrift stores, or through your local Buy Nothing Facebook group.
The question: Do YOU know of any other opportunities for maximizing recycling in your community? If so, please share with a Comment below!
(P.S. None of the services mentioned above are compensating me in any way, or are even aware of my recommendations:)
2 Responses
Very useful article. We could write an article on Ridwell in the next Los Angeles Chapter Climate Reality chapter. What do you think? Or ask them when is their next online event and we could add it to our calendar?
Thanks! Just saw your comment! And yes to both ideas…let’s talk.