 In 2008 the City of Bardstown and the government of Nelson County worked together to apply for a grant to start a recycling program for city and county residents. In May of that year, they received the grant from the State of Kentucky. This grant made it possible to purchase a forklift, two balers, and five recycling bin trailers that would be necessary for the start of the program in our community. The trailers are parked strategically around the city and throughout the county. Residents can drop off recyclable materials in any of these trailers.
- Recycling can save you tax dollars! Every pound of material that is recycled is a pound that the City won't have to pay to dispose of in a landfill.
 Recycling saves energy! Placing one aluminum can in the recycling bin saves enough energy to power a television for three hours. - Recycling reduces pollution! Making products from recycled materials reduces air and water pollutants that would have been generated by processing these materials from virgin materials. Recycling 4,800 16oz. soda bottles saves a cubic yard of landfill space.
- Recycling conserves natural resources! If every American family recycled their newspapers, approximately 500,000 trees would be saved weekly.
Location
Pick a location in your home, such as the garage or patio, that is easily accessible. If the location is convenient, recycling becomes a daily habit.
Receptacles
Consider convenience, price, space, weight and ease of cleaning when selecting your storage containers. Stackable plastic bins, crates, boxes and grocery bags are good options. Make sure that your recycling containers look different from your trash receptacles.
Tips:
- Use a small garbage can for the kitchen. This makes you remember to recycle.
- Make sure bottles are clean before putting them in the recycling bin. This prevents flies both at home and the recycling station.
- Spread the word. By telling other people and helping them start recycling, we can increase our impact.
- Get your children involved - if we can educate them early, they will grow up and appreciate waste reduction and will be able to apply these skills later in life.
- Educate your household. Post a list of the things you recycle somewhere visible in the kitchen and main trash rooms until you and your family get in the habit.
- Label. Put clear labels on the bins so you and your family don't forget which is which. Permanent marker is a cheap and easy way to do this.
- Crush your cans. Once clean, crush cans and plastics to make more room for other materials.
The city and county recycling program will accept many materials, but not all. For right now, the following willbe accepted:
- Aluminum cans
 Simply rinse the can, crush it to save space, and place it in a recycle bin. When you take them to one of the drop-off centers, you can dump your cans directly into the bin. One advantage of recycling cans is that it takes 95 percent less energy to produce new cans from recycling than it does to produce from raw material. And another great thing is that there is no limit to the amount of times aluminum can be recycled.
- Paper
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 Newspaper needs to be clean and dry. Anything that comes in a newspaper, including colored sections and glossy inserts, are accepted. Recycling newspaper is a great way to reduce the amount of solid waste your home adds to the local landfill, but it's easy to become overrun by newsprint if you don't have an organized system. Your newspaper recycling system doesn't need to be elaborate, but it should help you stay organized to encourage you, rather than discourage you from recycling. One idea is to find a box or basket similar to the shape of a newspaper and put it in your living room, office, or wherever you read the paper. When you are finished reading it, place it in the basket and forget about it. When the basket is full, bundle your newspapers and the next time you pass a recycle bin you can drop them off.
- Mixed paper
 Computer, ledger, wrapping, colored, and arts and craft paper, as well as unwanted mail, flyers, telephone books, note cards, blueprints, magazines, file folders, paper bags, Post-it notes, catalogs, and all envelopes and paper packaging can be saved together all in one bin.
** Do not include the following: carbon paper, stickers, or laminated paper, rubber bands or plastic wrap. Shredded paper is difficult to separate so it goes into a lower grade paper. Only shred what you must.
- Plastic bottles
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 Plastic must be sorted by type for recycling because each type melts at a different temperature. The plastics industry has developed identification codes to label these different types. The identification system divides plastic into seven types and uses a number code generally found on the bottom of containers. The only types of plastic accepted by Bardstown/ Nelson County are #1 and #2
plastics.
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 2 liter soda bottles, cooking oil bottles, and water bottles are generally #1 plastics.
- #2 plastics mostly consist of laundry detergent and bleach bottles, milk jugs, and hair product bottles.
- You will need separate bins for #1 and #2 plastics. It is a good idea to rinse them out first. This keeps odor down and helps in the recycling process. Sometimes lids or pump spray tops are made from a different type of plastic that may not be recyclable. Don't forget to flatten the plastic bottles by stepping on them. You will be able to fit more in your bin, and the recycling trailer will be able to carry more bottles.
- Cardboard boxes
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 Cereal, tissue, dry food, frozen food, shoe, and detergent boxes, as well as paper towel and toilet paper rolls can all be recycled in Bardstown.
- Corrugated boxes
- It is important to keep these boxes dry and clean. Plastic or wax-coated cardboard, such as milk and juice cartons, and wet or greasy cardboard, such as pizza boxes, cannot be recycled.
- Be sure to flatten all cardboard to make more room for recycling.
 There will be two drop off locations in Bardstown.
- One is in the Farmer's Market parking lot- E. Flaget St. (map)
- The other location in Bardstown is Culpepper St. Near Walmart (map)
There will also be a trailer in New Haven- Behind City Hall (map)
For Bloomfield residents, the trailer will be parked on Depot St.- Across from Bloomfield Fertilizer (map)
 The City and county employees will take the trailer bins to Nelson County Industries where it will be sorted and baled. Nelson County Industries Handicap Workshop employs mentally and developmentally handicap individuals from Nelson County, so when you recycle you will not only be helping to save the environment, but also providing employment for the handicap population of Nelson County.
From there, the recyclable products will be sold to a materials recovery facility. Once cleaned and sorted, the recyclables move to the next stage of the recycling: closed-loop manufacturing.
- Recycled cardboard and newspaper are used to make new boxes, paper, tissues, paper towels, toilet paper, diapers, egg cartons, and napkins.
- Recycled plastic #1 is used to make new products such as carpets, fiberfill (insulating material in jackets and sleeping bags), bottles, containers, auto parts, and paintbrushes.
Plastic #2 can be made into trashcans, bathroom stalls, plastic lumber, toys, trash bags, and hair combs.
- Recycled aluminum cans are made into new cans in as little as 90 days after they are collected. They can also be used for aluminum building materials.
The last step of the recycling process involves purchasing recycled products. The value of recyclables is driven by market demand. As consumers, we must choose products with recycled content and packaging. When consumers purchase products that have been made with post-consumer material, the recycling process has been completed.
Please take the time to learn more about recycling. Spread the word, and encourage others to recycle as much as possible. Does your family recycle? It is never too late to start conserving our precious resources. |
