When I finished off my purple-boxed Samoas a few weeks ago, I was left with three unique pieces of waste. There was a box, a plastic wrapper, and a plastic tray. (And to be fair, some coconut crumbs too). Being a recycling educator, I immediately wondered whether most folks in Hampton Roads would know what to do with these three unique pieces of waste.
You see, contamination is a major issue in recycling programs across the U.S including Hampton Roads. Well-meaning citizens often toss things they think might be recyclable into their household recycling bin. When items which are not accepted enter the recycling stream the whole process is slowed down and the value of the materials we can recover through recycling is decreased. It’s bad for business and bad for the environment. Improving the quality of our household recycling programs is an important part of keeping recycling profitable, efficient, and effective. So do you know where to throw your cookie boxes, trays, and wraps? Read on and find out.
- Cookie Boxes – The outer box of Girl Scout cookies is RECYCLABLE. In fact, it contains 100 percent recycled content so it may have been recycled numerous times already! Toss this in the recycling bin.
- Cookie Trays – The inner plastic tray included with some Girl Scout cookie varieties is NOT RECYCLABLE in Hampton Roads. Only plastic bottles and jugs are accepted locally. Try to reuse these trays or simply toss them in the trash.
- Plastic Wrappers – The plastic wrapping around your Girl Scout cookies is a bit tricky. Plastic bags and wrap are never accepted in your household recycling bin although they may be accepted at special collection points typically found at the entrance to grocery stores. Think bread bags, newspaper bags, and plastic bags – just make sure they are clean and dry. Plastic wrappers which are used around wet or sticky food items, unfortunately, cannot be accepted for recycling. The greasy food residue in cookies, cheese, crackers, or other individually-wrapped foods is a source of contamination and prevents the wrap from being recyclable. Long story, short: these are NOT RECYCLABLE, toss ’em in the trash.
Now that you know how to recycle right with your Girl Scout cookies go forth Thin-Mint-aholics and Tag-A-Long-Cravers and confidently snack on these girl-powered goodies while they last.