Central Vermonters recycled 440 pounds of prescription pill bottles from January 2014 to December 2015 at our Additional Recyclables Collection Center (ARCC). Some of you might be asking, how did they do that? I thought you couldn't recycle items that small in Vermont. It is true that most pill bottles are under 2 inches in diameter in two dimensions, so most cannot be recycled in your curbside or household recycling bin. In order to be recycled in your bin, all items must be 2 inches or larger in 2 or more dimensions. Otherwise, these small items can jam up the equipment used to sort and separate recyclables at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). The ARCC offers a place where people can recycle and recapture these small items into the marketplace, instead of throwing them in the trash.
The ARCC was started in 2012 by the CVSWMD to keep valuable resources out of the landfill. If you haven't been, we collect around 30 hard-to-recycle materials; including paint, batteries, textiles, electronics, and even energy bar wrappers, toothpaste tubes and prescription pill bottles. Small items or packaging like, tooth paste tubes or prescription pill bottles, may seem like silly things to recycle. After all, they are small and maybe you don't generate many of them. Or, perhaps you are not aware that there is a way to recycle them. In January 2016, we got confirmation that recycling these pill bottles was worth it. They could be reused in a brilliant way. Through our ARCC program, Central Vermonters sent 440 pounds or thousands, of prescription pill bottles to The Malawi Project. Every little bit counts, and the pill bottles turned out to be valuable resources.
The Malawi Project is a nonprofit organization that sustains aid programs in Malawi, one of the poorest nations on Earth. One of their programs involves distribution of medicines. In Malawi, it's difficult to obtain bottles to pack and distribute these medicines. In the USA we casually toss them into the trash can. To meet their needs, the Malawi Project started a program to accept recycled prescription pill bottles. From the efforts of facilities, like the ARCC, and individuals who cared to recycle them, they collected 2 million prescription pill bottles! So many that they have successfully concluded the program (though we still collect pill bottles at the ARCC). That is a huge number of bottles. All kept out of the landfill and reused for the distribution of much needed medications to the people of Malawi. This is just one example of how we can turn our trash into treasure, if we have the chance.
The ARCC was started in 2012 by the CVSWMD to keep valuable resources out of the landfill. If you haven't been, we collect around 30 hard-to-recycle materials; including paint, batteries, textiles, electronics, and even energy bar wrappers, toothpaste tubes and prescription pill bottles. Small items or packaging like, tooth paste tubes or prescription pill bottles, may seem like silly things to recycle. After all, they are small and maybe you don't generate many of them. Or, perhaps you are not aware that there is a way to recycle them. In January 2016, we got confirmation that recycling these pill bottles was worth it. They could be reused in a brilliant way. Through our ARCC program, Central Vermonters sent 440 pounds or thousands, of prescription pill bottles to The Malawi Project. Every little bit counts, and the pill bottles turned out to be valuable resources.
The Malawi Project is a nonprofit organization that sustains aid programs in Malawi, one of the poorest nations on Earth. One of their programs involves distribution of medicines. In Malawi, it's difficult to obtain bottles to pack and distribute these medicines. In the USA we casually toss them into the trash can. To meet their needs, the Malawi Project started a program to accept recycled prescription pill bottles. From the efforts of facilities, like the ARCC, and individuals who cared to recycle them, they collected 2 million prescription pill bottles! So many that they have successfully concluded the program (though we still collect pill bottles at the ARCC). That is a huge number of bottles. All kept out of the landfill and reused for the distribution of much needed medications to the people of Malawi. This is just one example of how we can turn our trash into treasure, if we have the chance.
Read the letter from the Malawi Project about their work and this success!
| letter_malawi_project_jan_2016.pdf |
Guest Blogger: Charlotte Low, CVSWMD Outreach Coordinator
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