Get a free oil filter and save our local environment!

BLopez_teamToday’s post comes from ILACSD’s Hotline Assistant, Barbara Lopez!

Many of us know that it is important to recycle used motor oil, but did you know that recycling the oil filter is just as important? One used oil filter contains about 10 ounces of used oil, even after draining, and therefore should not be thrown in the trash. By recycling your oil filter, you prevent used oil from entering our landfills, our water supply, and our environment. Also, recycling an oil filter keeps about one pound of reusable steel from going to the landfill. According to CalRecycle, if each oil filter sold in California was recycled, nearly 67 million pounds of steel would be diverted from landfills; that’s enough steel to build three large sports stadiums!

oilfilterflyerTo encourage residents to recycle their old oil filters, the County of San Diego, Department of Public Works and I Love A Clean San Diego will be holding oil filter exchange events on March 23, 2013. Residents of the unincorporated county can visit one of the participating AutoZone locations, bring in a used filter and receive a new one free. In addition to oil filters, residents can also bring in up to five gallons of uncontaminated used motor oil to recycle.

If you are unable to attend these events, there are other options available to properly recycle used oil filters and motor oil. Some communities offer a free home pick up of used motor oil and filters. Also, there are nearly 300 Certified Used Oil Collection Centers in San Diego County that accept up to five gallons of uncontaminated used motor oil; many of these collection centers will also accept oil filters for recycling. If you have motor oil that is contaminated or more than five gallons of uncontaminated motor oil, visit a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility for proper disposal. To see if free home pick up of used motor oil is available in your community or to find a Certified Collection Center near you, visit WasteFreeSD.org.

Upcoming Oil Filter Exchange Events
All events will be held on Saturday March 23, 2013 from 10am-2pm. Limit one free filter per person. Free offer valid during specified date, time, and location.

Fallbrook
AutoZone at 1081 S. Mission Ave., Fallbrook 92028

Lakeside
AutoZone at 12421 Woodside Ave., Lakeside 92040

Ramona
AutoZone at 370 Pala St., Ramona 92065

Spring Valley
AutoZone at 699 Sweetwater Rd., Spring Valley 91977
AutoZone at 9710 Campo Rd., Spring Valley 91978

To find out about additional recycling events, visit WasteFreeSD.org today!

From Surfboards to Wine Corks, Your Summer Recycling Guide!

Today’s post comes to you from Barbara Lopez, ILACSD’s bi-lingual Program Assistant for our recycling database & hotline, WasteFreeSD.org!

Summer is finally here and although we are able to enjoy the sun year-round here in San Diego, summer brings more backyard BBQs, pool parties, and visits to the beach. While enjoying the summer, you might come across some items that you no longer need. Before sending it to the landfill, use our summer recycling guide to see if there are any other disposal options available.

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Have a surfboard that you no longer ride? Before you put it in your trash can, consider recycling your old surfboard to an organization like Rerip. Rerip has set up a few locations in San Diego where you can drop off surfboards in any condition to be recycled. Collected surfboards are then separated into three different piles:

  • Ones that are in decent shape are repaired for minor damages and are then given to nonprofits or people in need.
  • Ones that have seen the last of their surfing days are given to local artists and organizations that use surfboards for various art projects.
  • Surfboards that are difficult to reuse are saved for Research and Development in use as filler for concrete.

To find a location to drop off an old surfboard, visit rerip.com.

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As you are digging through your closet looking for your beach gear, you may find that you have old flip flops that you no longer wear. Luckily, you can send in your old flip flops for recycling through FeelGoodz’s Recycle Your UnFlop Campaign. FeelGoodz will store your unwanted flip flops until they collect enough to ship to UniquEco, a company that will distribute the flip flops to Kenyan villagers who will make new items out of the flip flops. Visit the Recycle Your UnFlop page for more details.

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Many of us already know that aluminum cans and plastic bottles are easily recyclable by simply placing them into our curbside recycling bins. But there are other items from your summer BBQ that can also be recycled.

  • Plastic cups, as well as other plastic food containers, are now accepted in curbside recycling programs in San Diego.
  • Wine bottles are also recyclable but did you know that natural cork can be recycled? Thanks to companies like Recork and Cork Reharvest, residents can easily recycle corks at participating BevMo! and Whole Foods locations.

Have other items that need recycling? Our one stop recycling resource, WasteFreeSD.org, can help you find a location to recycle or properly dispose of common household items. Try it today!

Why Should You Recycle Your Used Oil Filter?

Local resident recycling her used oil filter

Did you know that one used oil filter has an average of 10 fluid ounces of motor oil trapped inside it?

Many people know that they can and should recycle their used motor oil, but they may not know that your used oil filter also contains used motor oil, as well as steel, both of which can be recycled so that they don’t contaminate our local environment and take up space in local landfills.   CalRecycle reports that more than two million gallons of motor oil from these filters are being disposed of improperly each year in California. Recycled used motor oil can be re-refined and used again, ensuring that it doesn’t contaminate our local waterways.  It only takes one gallon of used oil to contaminate one million gallons of drinking water!

I Love A Clean San Diego has partnered with cities in the area to provide an incentive to residents to properly dispose of used oil filters by providing a replacement filter for free when they bring their old filters to one of the events below.

If you can’t attend one of these events, there are more than 300 locations in San Diego County that accept used oil filters year-round for recycling at no charge. These locations, most of them auto parts and repair stores known as Certified Collection Centers, will also accept up to five gallons of used motor oil at no charge. In addition, Certified Collection Centers will pay residents 40 cents per gallon of used motor oil, upon request. Motor oil can’t be contaminated with water or other liquids such as antifreeze, solvents, or gasoline. If you have contaminated motor oil or more than five gallons of non-contaminated motor oil, you must visit a household hazardous waste collection facility.

For more information on where to recycle used motor oil and oil filters, visit I Love A Clean San Diego’s one stop recycling resource, WasteFreeSD.org. We encourage all San Diegans to visit our recycling website to learn more about similar events held countywide!

Upcoming Oil Filter Exchange Events:

Bring your old filter and receive a new one for free! Limit one free filter per person.

Chula Vista
Saturday, January 28, 2012 from 9am – 1pm
Pep Boys at 454 Broadway Ave.

El Cajon
Saturday, February 4, 2012 from 9am – 1pm
Pep Boys at 201 Jamacha Rd.

Santee
Saturday, February 11, 2012 from 9am – 1pm
Pep Boys at 10041 Mission Gorge Rd.

Lemon Grove
Saturday February 18, 2012 from 9am – 1pm
O’Reilly Auto Parts at 6925 Federal Blvd.

La Mesa
Saturday February 25, 2012 from 9am – 1pm
O’Reilly Auto Parts at 5350 Jackson Dr.

National City
Saturday March 3, 2012 from 9am – 1pm
O’Reilly Auto Parts at 1202 E. Plaza Blvd.

America Recycles Day 2011!

Every year on November 15th communities across the country come together to celebrate America Recycles Day, a day dedicated to educating and motivating our neighbors, friends and community leaders to recycle!  

America Recycles Day logoThis year, over 800 students at Los Coches Creek Middle School participated in an EnviroFair in celebration of America Recycles Day her in San Diego. I Love A Clean San Diego and The County of San Diego worked together to educate 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students about recycling and the importance of conserving the environment.

Activities included a lesson on recycling rules  and a fast and furious Recycle Relay by I Love A Clean San Diego educators, a composting discussion and demonstration by the Solana Center, watershed model presentations and water quality testing from the Splash Science Mobile Lab, and informational booths and recycled giveaways from Allied Waste, the County of San Diego, and I Love A Clean San Diego.

Greg Bledsoe of NBC San Diego caught some great action shots during the day, click here to view the video!

Los Coches Creek Middle School already has their own recycling program in place, with bins in classrooms and around campus. Shauna Stueve, a teacher at the school, gets help from students to ensure that the program runs effectively and that all recyclable items are placed in the correct bins. The EnviroFair showed students why their recycling efforts are so important. According to Robert Wade, a science teacher at Los Coches Creek Middle School, “Students were engaged and challenged by your staff and they all came away with global ideas they could implement in their daily lives.”

Immediately after school, many of the students and teachers joined I Love A Clean San Diego in a community cleanup in the area surrounding the school. Trash and recyclable materials were collected separately, and many students were surprised at how much litter they found in their community. Sonja Washer, a math and science teacher at Los Coches Creek middle school thanked I Love A Clean San Diego after the event, saying, “Thank you again for your concern for our environment and for educating our students so our futures are cleaner.”

One-Stop Recycling Resource

Have old paint cans, batteries, or electronics lying around the house? I Love A Clean San Diego provides San Diegans with an online recycling database, www.wastefreesd.org, plus a bilingual hotline (1-877-R-1-EARTH) that offer useful tips for safe disposal of paints and other household waste. This information about waste disposal and recycling helps to prevent illegal dumping, and prevents hazardous materials from entering our landfills, stopping serious environmental problems before they happen. In 2011, we provided referrals to keep 19,000 items out of local landfills!

ILACSD Profiles Old Town Recycling Center

ILACSD’s One-Stop Recycling Resource, www.wastefreesd.org, connects San Diegan with numerous recycling centers around San Diego County. One of those centers, Old Town Recycling, has been around since 1989 and has diverted millions of pounds of waste that would otherwise end up in our landfills. ILACSD staff members stopped by Old Town Recycling on a busy Friday afternoon and spoke with people recycling, bottles, cans, boxes and much more.

Old Town Recycling...One of 750 centers in ILACSD's recycling database

“We bring the recycling here for our entire apartment complex,” said David, a San Diego resident. David’s apartment building does not offer a recycling option so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Rodrigo supervises Old Town Recycling and says they get around 300 people a day. “We get a lot of glass, plastic and aluminum cans,” said Rodrigo. He says unusual items he sees is being recycled at his facility are auto parts.

Just a small fraction of what Old Town Recycling processes every day!

“Recycling is just the right thing to do,” said San Diego local, Justin. “We only have a finite number of resources on our planet.”

You can visit Old Town Recycling seven days a week from 7am – 6pm. They are located at 2161 Hancock Street, San Diego 92110. They accept a wide range of items, so log on to www.wastefreesd.org to learn more about what they accept as well as other nearby recycling centers.

Old Town Recycling employee preparing a pallet of recyclables for transport to a processing plant

Keep the Green Going…Recycle that tree!

Tis the season to recycle and I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD) is breaking down the post-holiday basics, starting with recycling your Christmas tree. Every December, ILACSD’s Disposal Solution Center provides accurate information for the proper recycling of holiday trees.

Christmas Tree

Instead of overcrowding local landfills with holiday trees, collected trees can be ground up into high quality mulch or composted and used to enrich soils for next years’ trees and poinsettias! Most waste haulers offer special holiday tree recycling programs to pick up trees with yard waste on regular collection days. In addition to curbside pick-up, tree drop-off sites are located in the communities of Carlsbad, Coronado, El Cajon, Escondido, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, lemon Grove, National City, Ramona, San Diego, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach, Vista and Unincorporated County.

Your tree is not the only item you can recycle; wrapping paper, cardboard boxes, packaging peanuts are also accepted for recycling many places. Plus, remember to donate unwanted electronics, clothing, and toys to local charities for reuse.

“I Love A Clean San Diego bridges the gap between residents and recyclers, giving San Diegans the opportunity to make the right choice for the environment”, says Pauline Martinson, ILACSD’s Executive Director.

I Love A Clean San Diego operates San Diego County’s only recycling website and call center which refers thousands of residents to the proper facilities to recycle or dispose of just about anything. From broken surfboards to wine corks, railroad ties to cooking oil, ILACSD’s Disposal Solution Center makes recycling quick and convenient. San Diego County residents can go to: www.wastefreesd.org or call 1-877-R-1-EARTH to learn how to recycle hundreds items.

Holiday Tree Recycling Tips:

  • Trees taller than four feet should be cut in half
  • All tree stands, nails and tree decorations must be removed
  • Check with your local hauler to see if they accept flocked trees

A complete list of tree recycling locations is available through our one-stop recycling database, www.wastefreesd.org or by calling 1-877-R-1-EARTH. Remember to Recycle that Tree!

Recycling from Past to Present

This week was a big one for the environmental community. Monday we celebrated America Recycles Day across the country with a proclamation from President Obama himself. While it was long and a bit dry, there were a few parts that really resonated with us, and reassured us of the importance of our work.

Each small act of conservation, when combined with other innumerable deeds across the country, can have an enormous impact on the health of our environment.  On America Recycles Day, we celebrate the individuals, communities, local governments, and businesses that work together to recycle waste and develop innovative ways to manage our resources more sustainably.

Recycling is important, and for some it’s easier than others. When I Love A Clean San Diego made the commitment to serve the community in 1954, recycling was term rarely used. Through phone book recycling drives, Christmas tree recycling programs, electronic waste collection events and our Disposal Solution Center, www.wastefreesd.org, I Love A Clean San Diego has always been first to tackle a recycling challenge.

We were especially happy to hear the report out on Monday from the City of San Diego which announced that the 2010 recycling diversion rate is their highest ever, at 66%. While we don’t want to strain a muscle patting ourselves on the back for this accomplishment, we know that I Love A Clean San Diego’s efforts over the past 56 years may have something to do with this recycling success. But, as a city and a county, there is still room for improvement. Why not shoot for 75% diversion from our landfills? But how?

Good news for those of you living in within the City of San Diego. The City of San Diego also announced on Monday that they will be accepting many more “rigid plastics” in the blue curbside bins. These items include clean plastic food packaging, plant pots, toys, even lawn furniture. The complete press release with all the new rigid plastic rules can be found on the City of San Diego’s website.

And to provide some inspiration for all of us who sometimes struggle with recycling, here’s another excerpt from Obama’s proclamation.

On America Recycles Day, let us respond to our collective responsibility as a people and a Nation to be better stewards of our global environment, and to pass down a planet to future generations that is better than we found it.

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!