Union County to Hold Additional ‘beyond the Bin’ Recycling Event This Fall

The Union County Board of County Commissioners will be holding another Beyond the Bin recycling event on Saturday, November 2^nd from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the campus of UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ in Cranford. The address for the campus 1033 Springfield Avenue in Cranford. The event will be held in parking lots 5A and 5B. All residents are asked to bring all unwanted, acceptable items to the event.

"As part of my 'Growing Together in Union County' initiative, we are committed to creating sustainable and efficient recycling opportunities for our residents. The Beyond the Bin event makes it convenient for everyone to dispose of multiple items responsibly in one location, ensuring that materials are properly recycled and given a second life," said Union County Commissioner Chairwoman Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded. "I encourage all residents to participate and take advantage of this valuable program as we work towards a more environmentally conscious Union County."

The County of Union understands that several challenges within the current recycling program still exist. Some residents may be unaware that certain items, such as a broken computer or old printer for instance, have to be recycled by New Jersey State law. Others are unsure of where to take items such as old unwanted clothing and accessories, reusable bags, mattresses, and food waste to be recycled. In turn, they then throw these items in the trash. By throwing them in the trash, residents unknowingly add to the waste problem on the planet and do not give these items a second life by recycling them.

For example, it takes fifty to one hundred years for a mattress to decompose in a landfill. Every landfill that is dumped into a landfill takes up 23 cubic feet of space. There were an estimated twenty million mattresses dumped into landfills last year as a result in people buying new mattresses. With that being said, 90% of a mattress can be transformed into reusable materials.

Another staggering statistic that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shares is that food waste is estimated to be between 30% and 40% of the food supply is thrown out into the waste stream (https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/food-loss-and-waste). Food is the single largest category of material placed in municipal landfills. With that being said, by recycling this food through the Waste Management CORe system (https://nj.gov/dep/dshw/food-waste-recycling-law/wm_core_overview.pdf), it gives our unused food or food scraps a second life as energy.

Union County's Beyond the Bin recycling event has partnered with the organizations MRM http://www.mrmrecycling.com/, Helpsy www.helpsy.co, Waste Management https://www.wm.com/, Renewable Recycling, Inc. https://renewablerecycling.com/, GoaTote Inc. https://goatote.com/ in the collection of the following items:

Covered Electronic Devices

Desktop or personal computers, computer monitors, portable computers, desktop fax machines, monitors, printers, tablets/e-readers, and televisions

Plastic Film

Clean, dry plastic bags, bubble wrap, Ziplock bags, dry-cleaning bags, newspaper sleeves, ice bags, cereal box liners, bread bags, produce bags, case overwrap (i.e. a case of bottled water)

Clothing/ Textiles

All textiles (Shirts, pants, skirts, sweaters, pajamas, jackets, winter coats, rain coats), shoes, accessories, handbags, backpacks, household linens, sneakers, boots, etc.

Reusable Shopping Bags (non-plastic)

Cloth, canvas, cotton, #5 woven and non-woven shopping bags

Food Waste Recycling

Produce; Meat, Fish and Poultry, Dairy; Bread, Pasta, Rice, Grains; Coffee Grounds

Styrofoam

Mattresses and Box Springs

For residents interested in composting at home, we have partnered with BrandBuilders LLC in making backyard composters, rain barrels, and more available for purchase online and pick up at the event. For more information on composting materials for your home or to make a purchase, please visit us at https://union.compostersale.com/

Pet Items

Also, the County will be accepting unwanted pet items (food, treats, collars and leashes, toys, etc.) for collection and donation to St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center, located in Madison, New Jersey, who makes life better for orphaned and neglected pets.

For a complete list of all acceptable items and materials for this event, please visit https://ucnj.org/recycling/

Union County's Beyond the Bin recycling initiative is brought to you by the Union County Board of Commissioners, in collaboration with the Union County Bureau of Recycling and Planning and the Union County Department of Public Works.

If you have any additional questions or would like more information regarding this and other recycling events and services in Union County, please call 908-654-9890 or visit www.ucnj.org/recycling.

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