Keep Toledo/Lucas County Beautiful
–by Melinda Lesniewiez
PUBLICATION DATE: May 05, 2020

Spring is here! When mowing lawns, remember not to put grass and other yard waste in with your recyclables. Practice “grasscycling” instead. Grasscycling is the natural recycling of grass and leaves by leaving clippings on the lawn when mowing. Grass and leaves contain valuable nutrients and decompose quickly. It saves time and money and helps the environment. If you have sticks, downed limbs, or other bulky yard waste visit http://www.ktlcb.org for options on how to properly dispose of these items.
What about paper? Recycling paper conserves our natural resources. Producing recycled paper requires less energy than producing paper from trees. Acceptable recyclable paper includes: newspapers, ad inserts, junk mail, office paper, magazines, catalogs and phone books. Small paper on their own – like sticky notes or shredded paper – sometimes get stuck in the processing machines. Ensure anything that goes into your recycling container is larger than a credit card. Shredded paper can be recycled as long as it is contained within a recyclable paper bag.
Don’t just recycle your paper, but also REDUCE it! Use the following links and e-mail addresses to opt-out of the below deliveries: Valpak Cancel at valpak.com/coupons/show/mailinglistsuppression; Yellow pages – Cancel at yellowpagesoptout.com; Credit Card / Insurance Junk Mail – Opt out at optoutprescreen.com/; Red Plum/Retail Me Not – Cancel at retailmenot.com/everyday/unsubscribe;
Other Various Junk Mail – Opt out at both dmachoice.thedma.org and directmail.commail_preference and The Blade Sunday Ads (i.e. the “Blue Bag”) – email circulation@toledoblade.com.
Melinda Lesniewicz is the Education Specialist for Keep Toledo/Lucas County Beautiful.