Recycle THIS Illinois! It ain't easy being green!

Today we went to the Southern Recycle Center in Carbondale. "Why in Carbondale?" you may be asking when we live in Marion. Well, let me start from the beginning...

When we first moved to Illinois I was trying to figure out our trash/recycle pick up day here in the neighborhood. One Thursday I noticed a garbage truck (one driver that also got out to heave the trash bags into the back of his truck), but only 3 neighbors had their big blue roller trash cans pulled out to the road and no recycle bin. I thought how odd. I noticed that we did not have a roller trash can or recycle bin, so I called the number for Midland Waste that is listed on the side of the roller trash can. Long story short...trash pickup is not a taxed service so you pay about $200 a year to get this service; and recycle pickup does not exist period. I called the Marion recycle center that is minutes from us, but low and behold they only take cardboard (this will be good for all of our moving boxes one day). However, Carbondale that is 20 miles away has a self-service drop off; mind you they only take #1 and #2 plastics. Little ole Easley, SC picks up ALL recycled items except cardboard once a week from your house including plastics #1 thru #7. That's right #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 and #7.

So we arrive at the recycle center (pictured at top) where you drive in on the right side and exit on the left. Inside you will find two rows of bins with instructions so excessive that it confused me. You have to separate everything! The paper was very confusing. They have individual bins for magazines, white paper only, mixed colored paper (but don't put your colored newspaper in there; no that goes in the newspaper bin only). Mixed paper are the inserts in your newspaper and I suppose any flyers and such. Then they had a bin for brown goods and I believe a separate one for cardboard.

Obviously I was frustrated because I had not separated all my papers, and I'm still not sure if I put my envelopes with plastic windows or cereal boxes in the correct bin. I do know that I had to walk all the way down to the end to place one 8oz diet coke can in the aluminum bin. At the end, just out of spite I threw my #4 plastic lid to an oatmeal container (brown goods bin by the way??) in the #1 & #2 plastic bin.

By the way, as I was walking back to my car this man (that had his separated in containers upon arrival) that had just finished unloading his whole trunk asked me where the styrofoam bin was. I said, "This is my first time here, but I'm pretty sure you can't recycle styrofoam."

But...if you are into making those recycled lamps I've seen using CD's or DVD's this is the place to come. You BETTER remove those jewel cases first though!!!