R ECYC L E
a u g u s ta - r i c h m o n d c o u n t y C E L E B R AT E , C H R O N I C L E & I N S P I R E A Q UA R T E R LY P U B L I C AT I O N P R O D U C E D by
ISSUE 2 AU G U S T- O CTO B E R 2 0 1 5
wa n t to s e e yo u r c h i l d’s a r t w o r k f e at u r e d o n t h e f r o n t pa g e o f r e c yc l e a u g u s ta ? s u b m i t e n v i r o n m e n ta l ly- m i n d e d a r t w o r k e l e ct r o n i c a l ly to a u g u s ta@ r e c yc l i n g p e r k s . c o m
3 WE NEED YOU Volunteer and service opportunities in Augusta.
4 BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT A spotlight on Art and Soul Corner Curio - keeping Augusta alive with creativity.
6 RECYCLING MADE EASY Use this guide to recycle right, every day of the week.
7 MAILBOX DIET Part of R-R-R is reducing. Learn how to eliminate unwanted junk mail.
8 CONTAMINATION Contaminated recycling means more costly processing and possibly more expensive service.
9 RECYCLING RULES Use this quick 1-2-3 as an easy guide to learning the lingo to recycle right and recycle more.
10 GETTING OUT August-October calendar of activities and events in Augusta - Get out and meet your neighbors.
12 RECYCLING REWARDS Check out a complete list of discounts available Recycle Augusta-Richmond County is produced by Recycling Perks. It is our goal to build awareness of recycling, encourage people to participate in recycling every day and every week by rewarding for recycling with discounts and freebies. Learn more and enroll in Recycling Perks FREE at RecyclingPerks.com
to reward your recycling efforts from fabulous local establishments.
14 BACK TO SCHOOL It’s time to head back to school, but not without remembering to keep it green.
YOUR AUGUSTA TEAM Suzie Vance | augusta@recyclingperks.com Monique Webb | mwebb@recyclingperks.com Bill Dempsey | bdempsey@recyclingperks.com
16 RECYCLED LAUGHS Environmentally themed comics to lighten the mood and make your day great.
Research links youth volunteering to a higher quality of life as an adult.
WORDS: Suzie Vance, Recycling Perks
WE NEED YOU! There are so many ways to give back to your community. Augusta needs YOU. Check out the opportunities below and participate where you can. We are looking for you! Volunteers that is. Recycling Perks hosts a monthly volunteer MeetUp group that raises money for a different local non-profit organization every month. It’s really simple and doesn’t take much time, but boy do we make a huge impact. We want you to get involved, get community service hours and give back to Augusta. According to U.S. News and World Report, “research links youth volunteering to a higher quality of life as an adult (Moeller, 2012).” So if you’re in high school and need some community service hours,
join our ongoing Meet-Up group and we will help you have a higher quality of life as an adult. Not a high school student? That’s alright, we take volunteers from all walks of life. Volunteering in the community isn’t restricted to the physically fit, the young or the brave, it’s for everyone. Even recent research studies show that, “communities with lots of volunteers are more stable and better places to live, which in turn further boosts volunteerism (Moeller, 2012).” Let’s keep up the good work Augusta. Come out to our monthly Meet-Up
events and learn how you can increase recycling rates in our city. For more information on our Meet-Up Events check out our page by searching “Recycling Perks” on MeetUp.com or contact Suzie Vance - Augusta Representative at augusta@recyclingperks.com. Next Meet Up: Saturday, August 15 3-6 pm Roma’s Pizza 1133 Agerton Lane
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LOCAL BUSINESS ART & SOUL CORNER CURIO WORDS: Suzie Vance, Recycling Perks
Recycling Perks loves local businesses. It’s the foundation of recycling rewards in Augusta & Richmond County. We’d like to introduce you to Art & Soul Corner Curio. They’re new to rewarding recyclers, joining the Perks family this past Spring.
A
rt & Soul Corner Curio is an art gallery, vintage store and antique shop in the heart of Downtown Augusta, located at the corner of 5th St and Telfair. When I visited this shop I was impressed by the many items that were handmade using recycled materials. It seems that there’s nothing too small or old to be used to make works of art! There are lawn “flowers” made from kitchen utensils, masterful works of art painted on discarded doors, and even a lawn mower made from items that were definitely not meant to be on a lawn mower!
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The creativity involved in making these items is amazing. It’s a great place to inspire the artist in all of us. The owner, Gina Brewer, is a teacher who has a passion for sharing her talents with others. That’s why she’s opening her shop up for art classes for students who are being homeschooled/unschooled, as well for school field trips. It’s a great place to bring the kids and teach them how to make art from the things they might normally throw away. From the tiniest of scrap materials to big, bulky pieces, Gina finds creative uses
for nearly everything. If you’re looking for a great place to find unique ideas to inspire your creative side, you owe it to yourself to check out Art & Soul Corner Curio. If you’d like to plan a tour or schedule an art class, please call Gina at 803414-8259. Or stop by during their normal hours of 12 to 6 PM, Wednesday through Saturday. Inspiration is just around “The Corner”. Art & Soul Corner Curio 428 5th Street, Augusta Wednesday-Saturday 12-6 pm
Gina Brewer is a teacher who has a passion for sharing her talents with others. That’s why she’s opening her shop up for art classes for students.
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RECYCLING - MADE EASY -
Our single cart system makes recycling easier than ever! There’s no sorting or separating – just put all recyclable items in your recycling cart and we take care of the rest!
Household Recyclable Items
CANS & FOIL
PAPERS
PLASTIC
• Newspaper • Cardboard (flattened)
• Aluminum cans and foil • Tin, steel, metal cans • Aerosol cans (empty)
• Junk mail
• Bottles and containers
• Books and phonebooks
• Plastic milk containers
• Frozen food packaging
• Detergent containers
recycling DO’s
recycling DONT’s
• Recycle empty containers only
Do not include the following in your recycling cart:
• Rinse food residue from containers
Glass
Cleaners
Plastic bags
Fluorescent lamps
Styrofoam
Electronics
Packing peanuts
Medical waste
• All recyclables must be placed in the cart with the lid mostly closed • Only use the recycling cart provided by Augusta Solid Waste Department
Food contaminated paper QU
Photos
• If a customer service notice is received, make appropriate corrections prior to the next recycling collection day
ES
TIONS
?
• Place your recycling cart at curbside 3 feet from other carts, cars and objects with the lid facing the street
Hazardous materials
CA
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Automotive fluids 1 LL 3
If you prefer to drop off your recycling, we have three convenient drop off locations in Augusta: Eisenhower Park
1488 Eisenhower Dr.
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Warren Road Community Center 300 Warren Rd.
Julian Smith Casino 2200 Broad St.
You can drop off the household recyclable items listed above, as well as glass, which needs to be separated by color – brown, green or clear. AugustaSolidWaste.com
REDUCE WASTE
JUNK MAIL & PHONE BOOKS WORDS: Augusta Solid Waste
Did you know that you have the option to opt out & remove your name from unwanted mail and phone book deliveries? By signing up to opt out, you will help to reduce the waste and resources that are associated with these unwanted items.
Y
ou can opt out of receiving phone books by visiting yellowpagesoptout.com, entering your zip code and selecting the phone books that you wish not to receive. Also, it’s important to recycle outdated phone books. You can recycle these in your curbside recycling cart.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) you have the right to opt out for 5 years or permanently opt out for “junk mail”. If you do not wish to receive unsolicited mail, including preapprovals for credit cards or loans, you can request to opt out of receiving these offers. During the opt out process you will be asked to provide personal information, which is confidential and will only be used to process the opt out request. To opt out of junk mail, please use the information below. Credit Card/Loan Offers Opt Out: Toll-free 1-888-567-8688 www.optoutprescreen.com Direct Mail Opt Out: www.dmachoice.org
RECYCLE AT HOME Recycling is part of your existing solid waste program. If you receive City trash service, you can freely request a recycling container and start properly disposing of your recycling - including any junk mail and phone books you ‘re still receiving. To receive a recycling container, call 3-1-1.
ARE YOU DOING YOUR PART to recycle right and reduce contamination?
WORDS: Kevin Dubois
Recycling is good for the environment and supports “green” jobs for waste collectors, recycling material processors, and companies that sell the recyclable materials to be made into new products. Once a profitable business for many cities and private companies, recycling in recent years has become more costly. Aaron Davis of the Washington Post states that “Waste Management and other recyclers say that more than 2,000 municipalities nationwide are paying to dispose of their recyclables instead of the other way around.” Falling oil prices, a strong dollar, and a weakened Chinese economy have decreased the value of American recyclables. One other factor is playing an increasing part in the loss of value of recyclable material – contamination.
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There are several sources of contamination. Some people use their recycle bin as an extra trash bin, adding huge amounts
of garbage, landscape debris, and other waste to the recycle stream. Some residents, whether confused or with good intentions, have been tossing almost anything rubber, metal, or plastic into the recycling bin. Recycling Perks (www.recyclingperks. com), a company that provides incentives for recycling, completed a survey and found a significant number of respondents incorrectly said that Styrofoam, wood, batteries, and plastic bags were recyclable in their local curbside program. Promoting ideas like “Recycle More, Trash Less”, governments and environmentalists have attempted to increase recycling rates by promoting larger and larger bins while demanding little or no sorting by residents. “Sorting took time and was messy. No one liked it.” said Davis. So Material Recovery Facilities, or MRF’s, were created to do what residents wouldn’t.
MRFs are automated with conveyors, screens, magnets, and other sorting technologies, but all along the separation route, there are also lots of MRF employees trying to remove non-recyclable contamination to maximize the purity and value of the paper, plastic, and metal they recover. Manual sorting by human beings is not 100% effective, especially as large volumes of material are whizzing by on a conveyor belt. Contamination that makes it through the sorting process is bundled and baled with valuable recyclables, lowering their value, and can even cause the whole bale to be rejected for not meeting low contamination standards. What’s more, contaminants like hypodermic needles, broken (non-bottle) glass, toxic chemicals, and animal carcasses present a real danger to MRF workers. Plastic bags clog sorting machinery and cause
operational shutdowns while the gears, grinders, and sorters are unclogged.
on ways to improve recycling in the workplace http://recyclingatwork.org/.
David Issacson of the National Council on Occupational Safety and Health said that there have been 17 recent deaths in the recycling industry and that recycling workers are injured at more than twice the rate of the average worker.
Take a tour of your local MRF to better understand the contamination problem.
What you can do | MRF’s want to stay in the business of recycling, but they need to make a profit. That means not having to pay extra employees to pick out contamination or suffer lower resale value of recyclables because of contamination. Here’s how you can help maintain recycling services in your municipality:
Recycle plastic bags at grocery stores and other businesses that accept them.
Follow the guide provided on the right side of this page to assure you’re recycling right. Read the Keep America Beautiful report
Learn about how to properly dispose of toxic and hazardous waste in your locality.
Sign up for Recycling Perks and earn rewards for recycling right! According to American City and County, reducing contamination and maintaining the value of recyclables – is THE central challenge facing the recycling industry. Citizens are partners with their municipality and their MRF and have a role to play in recycling right!
August 8/3 PARENTS HEALING Support Group, University Hospital, 7 pm, FREE
8/4 F.A.T TUESDAY Financial Fitness, Inner Bean Cafe, 10:30 am, FREE
8/4 LYMPHEDEMA EDUCATION 818 St. Sebastian Way, Noon, FREE
8/7 NAMI CONFERENCE Women’s Empowerment Conf, Library, 823 Telfair, 10 am, FREE
8/8 AUGUSTA OUTDOOR EXPO James Brown Arena, 10 am, Children $5-$7, Adults $12-$17
8/15 USA DANCE 90 Milledge Road, 8 pm, $8-$10
8/22 HOMECOMING SEMINAR Augusta Genealogical Society, 3500 Walton Way, 8 am, $40-$45
8/22 POWERLIFTING Python Gym Championships, 1910 Division St, 11 am, FREE
8/23 MUSIC AT THE MORRIS 1 10th Street, 7:30 pm, FREE
8/28 4 SEASONS CHAMBER JAZZ 3501 Walton Way Ext, 7:30 pm, FREE
8/14 ED TURNER & NUMBER 9 Rock & Soul Revue, Imperial Theater, 7:30 pm, $20-$50
8/15 IMAGINATION STATION Music Parade, 965 Hickman Rd, 10 am, Members FREE, Others $10
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Get Out In AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
September 9/5 CPR & FIRST AID American Heart Association, 1236 Augusta West Pkwy, 6 pm, FREE
9/6 CANDLELIGHT FOR A CAUSE 836 Reynolds St, 6 pm, FREE
9/11 SOUTHERN SOUL & SONG Imperial Theater, 7:30 pm, $15-$40
9/12 JAZZ AT THE G 2500 Walton Way, 6 pm, $5-$10
9/15 ORGANIZING CLASS 2907 Washington Rd, 5:30 pm, $10 per or $65 for series of 8 classes
9/18 ARTS IN THE HEART 836 Reynolds St, 2-day festival, 5-9 pm Friday, 11 am-9 pm Saturday, $10 adults, 10 & under FREE
9/20 ROCK AND SHOP Augusta Mall, 3450 Wrightsboro Rd, 3 pm, FREE
9/21 GOLF CLASSIC
James Brown Arena, 7:30 pm, $91+
10/3 GUIDED HIKE 1858 Lock and Dam Rd, 9:30 am, FREE
10/7 BEGINNING KNITTING 1833 Broad St, 6:30 pm, $1
1833 Broad St, 6:30 pm, FREE
9/25 FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Imperial Theater, 6:30 pm, 3-day run 9/25-9/27, $20-$46
9/30 AWESOME STORY TIME 936 Broad St, 10:30 am, FREE
3556 W Lake Dr, 8 am, $$ (Fundraising event)
9/21 LOOK GOOD, FEEL BETTER 818 St Sebastian Way, Noon, FREE
October 10/2 MIRANDA LAMBERT
9/23 KROC CENTER BOOK CLUB
10/8 MEDICARE AND YOU 1833 Broad St, 11 am, FREE
10/9 TCHAIKOVSKY’S FOURTH First Baptist of Augusta, 7:30 pm, Up to $51
10/10 HERBAL HEALING 1927 Lumpkin Rd, 10:30 am, FREE
10/17 SKYFEST & FLY-IN Daniel Field, 9 am, Adults $15-$18, Kids under 11, FREE
10/24 FOOD/CLOTHES GIVE-AWAY Grace St Church, 120 Grace, 9 am, FREE
10/24 JAZZ & WINE 739 Greene St, 7:30 pm, FREE
SAVE MONEY IN AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
Support the businesses who support you! All of the rewards on Recycling Perks are provided by businesses who support recycling in Augusta and Richmond County. Log on to RecyclingPerks.com to enroll in your free account and redeem earned recycling points for discounts from these fine establishments.
FOOD & BEVEREAGE SERVICES
BEAUTY & SPA Allegiance Ink Tattoo Ambience Hair Color Studio - Layton Chavis Bohler Butch Palmer Salon Charlye & Friends Hair Salon Coco Michelle Beauty Essentials Dapper & Co. M.G.L. Dricka Hair Halo Salon and Spa Kreative Kulture Hair Specialist Omar’s Barber Shop Relax Therapeutic Massage Studio Unique Vision Hair Salon
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES Adventure Crossing Augusta Fencers Club Ballroom in Motion Broadway Tackle Forest Hills Golf Club Jump Ah Lotz Le Chat Noir Level Up Pinetucky Gun Club Putt-Putt Golf and Games Wedges & Woods
Bistro 855 Blue Sky Kitchen Fatman’s Mill Cafe Hildebrandt’s Humanitree House Hungry Howie’s Joe’s Underground Laura’s Sweet Creations My Friend’s Place P.F. Chang’s Pink Frosting Ray’s Smokehouse BBQ Roma’s Pizza Saint B’s Delivery and Catering Salsa’s Bar and Grill Sandwich City Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm Sit A Spell Coffee House Soy Noodle House Steak-Out Sunshine Bakery The Bee’s Knees Which Wich in Augusta
HEALTH & FITNESS CrossFit 4 Everyone Dancing Dogs Yoga Dr. Tom Paris GA Aesthetic Med Spa Georgia Chiropractic and Wellness Center Gracie Barra Halo Salon and Spa Newman Tennis Center Oxygen Fitness Studio Riverside Cycles The Warehouse Workout Ultimate Ride & Fitness UnderBox Crossfit
FOOD & BEVEREAGE SERVICES 1102 Augusta Dawgs Belair Donuts Big Daddy’s Bar and Grill
All Green Auto Spa Augusta Atomic Tech Augusta Home Solutions Augusta Professional Auto Detail
Bowman Bookkeeping & More, Inc. Branum’s Sewing and Vacuum C & C Automotive Double O Sole Etched Memory Frank’s Tint & Graph-X Go West Event Planning and Personal Chef Green Guys Jerry Brigham & Associates Lucy’s Laundry Mem’ry Lane MyEyeDr Stanley Steemer Carpet Cleaner Summit Green Solutions Sweeny’s Watch & Clock Repair The Augusta Music Box The Drain Surgeon Top Notch Express Car Wash X-treme Audio Inc
SHOPPING Amelia’s Buds & Blooms Florist Art and Soul Corner Curio Avon Representative - Tonya Thomas Baskets By JaVon Battery Warehouse Boots, Bridles, and Britches Butch Palmer Salon Humanitree House It Fitts You Consignment Shoppe Lavender Starlight Mema Had One Moonlight Gems and Jewels PoPpin’ Stop RoMaLa Crochet The Book Tavern The Rebel Lion Den The Shoppe Tie Dye Rosie Video Game Heaven
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RECYCLE
WORDS: Suzie Vance, Recycling Perks
The average school tosses 38 tons of paper (or 8.36 million sheets), the equivalent of 644 trees, each year. Source: All Recycling Facts
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LET IT LIVE ANOTHER DAY
Kids are heading back to school and it’s important to keep recycling and environmental stewardship in mind.
f you’re thinking about throwing
a little planning and creativity we can
the classroom or office for these items.
trash bin. It’s better to put a recyclable
that away, why not let it live an-
all do our part to make our environment
It’s a great way to make sure that every-
item in the trash than contaminate the
other day?
(and our schools) cleaner and greener.
one has what they need and ensure that
recycling bin with something “yucky”.
What are some of the things that you
every item is used.
Too often we throw things away
can do?
If you bring your lunch to school, use a
simply because we don’t want
One of our biggest opportunities to
lunch box instead of paper bags, and remember to keep it clean.
or need them anymore—not because
Classrooms are a great place to practice
prevent waste is in the cafeteria. How
they’re no longer useful. So, what do
reducing waste. When you have a writ-
many times have you been “starving”
you do with it instead?
Well, if it’s
ten report or assignment, use both sides
and piled food on your plate only to
If you have something in your lunch box
something that still has life left in it,
of the paper and use the whole sheet—
realize that your eyes were bigger than
or tray that you don’t want to eat, ask
you can donate it to charity, give it to
including the margins. If your teacher
your stomach? What happened to the
if anyone else would like it. Sharing is
a friend, or give it away online (freecy-
is OK with it, do your assignment online
left over food that you didn’t eat? Did
also a great way to make new friends!
cle.org or Craigslist.org are good local
and email the results to the teacher.
it go in the trash? Probably. Try to take
sources). Every item that continues to
What about all of the things that you do
only what you know you’re going to eat
These are just some of the ways that
be used is an item that isn’t in a landfill.
throw away each day? Having two con-
and there will be far less waste in the
you can help make your school a green-
Extending the useful life of every item is
tainers in the classroom (labeled “trash”
cafeteria. What are some other things
er place. But there is so much more that
just one way that we can all contribute
and “recycling”) for discarded items will
that you can do to prevent waste in the
you can do. The only limit is your imagi-
to a “greener” environment. We can do
allow everyone to participate in recy-
cafeteria?
nation. For instance, you could start a
this at home, at work and at school.
cling. And don’t forget to reuse school
“recycling club”, where you learn about
supplies, like folders and binders, as
It can be as easy as putting trash in
recycling and then teach others to recy-
Speaking of schools…How “green” is
long as they’re useful.
You can also
the trash bin and recycling in the recy-
cle. You’ll be an expert in no time! If
your school? Does your school recycle?
create a school supply exchange—if
cling bin. If you’re not sure which bin it
you’re not recycling at home, that’s a
Does it reuse or repurpose items? With
you don’t need it, maybe someone else
should go in, ask a teacher or other staff
great place to start. Augusta/Richmond
does. You could have a separate bin in
member. Still not sure? Put it in the
County service area residents can re-
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ceive a recycling container. And they
mally throw away -- get creative! Egg
can earn valuable rewards for recycling!
cartons, plastic bottles, rubber bands,
also have your own composting heap!
sentative is available to speak to your class or school about recycling and
crayons, bottle caps—the list of things
Opportunities to make our world
help YOU make your school a “green”
to use is endless! If you have room for
cleaner and greener are everywhere,
school. Have your teacher or principal
You can also donate used clothes, furni-
a garden at home, this can not only sup-
and this generation could be the gen-
call 762-233-2410 to learn more. And
ture, phones, computers, etc., to chari-
ply you and your family with fresh fruits
eration that makes recycling a part of
remember “Don’t throw it away; let it
ties. This is great for all of those items
and veggies, but is also a great way to
everyday life. YOU have the power to
live another day.”
that still have “another day to live”.
learn about the life cycle of plants. If
make a difference. If you’d like to learn
Make crafts from things that you’d nor-
you’re up for the challenge, you could
more, your local Recycling Perks repre-
Call 311 to learn how.
BACK TO SCHOOL
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RECYCLED LAUGHS TAKE A BREAK
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