Five Things You Didn't Know Could Be Recycled

You may think you are doing your part for the environment by setting out your recycling bin —composed of standard paper, plastic and glass items —on garbage night each week. 

However, there are even more items in your household, that you can keep from going to the landfill.

Here are the five things you didn't know could be recycled:

1. Electronics
It is against township law to trash electrical equipment. The township, in conjunction with JVS Environmental, holds on the second Saturday of each month in the parking lot near Clair's Kennel from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The next collection is tomorrow, April 9. 

They take the following items for free: CD players, cell phones, computers, copiers, fax machines, keyboards, printers, radios, scanners, speakers, stereos, telephones, televisions and VCRs. A fee is charged for televisions and monitors, but every other item is free. Television recycling costs $1 per inch of screen and monitors are $5 each.

2. Tennis Shoes
Time to get new running shoes and ditch the old ones? Or perhaps your sneakers are just too dirty. Nike will recycle any brand of athletic shoe through its Reuse-a-Shoe program. You can drop up to ten pairs of shoes off at the Nike Factory store at Tanger Outlets in Washington, PA. The company processes and recycles the shoes to make sports surfaces for basketball courts, tennis courts, tracks and playgrounds.  

3. Wine Corks
Stop tossing all those wine corks in the garbage. If you have a compost pile, toss them in there instead. Shredded corks can also be used in mulch.

Not your thing? Bring your wine corks on your next Whole Foods shopping trip in East Liberty, where you will find a drop-off bin.

4. Crayons
All those crayons that your children don't use anymore can be recycled. Ship them to Crazy Crayons, a recycling program that has stopped more than 62,000 pounds of unwanted crayons from going into the landfill. You can find out more information by clicking here.

5. Bicycles
Free Ride is a non-profit recycling bike shop that accepts used bicycles. Located at Construction Junction in Point Breeze, you can find more information by clicking here.