Napa Recycling and Waste Services

CLOSE THE LOOP - BUY RECYCLED

Collecting recyclables is just the beginning. What happens after they are collected? They are reprocessed and made into new products...closing the loop and benefiting us all!

Here are some items that are manufactured from collected recyclable materials (including your curbside programs).

Aluminum & Other Metals: appliances, soda cans, building materials, furniture
Glass: bottles, kitchenware, mosaics, tile flooring, fiberglass insulation
Laser & Inkjet Cartridges: refurbished cartridges
Paint: recycled content latex paint
Paper: office & printing paper, chipboard, cardboard, paper towels, toilet paper & tissues, insulation, hydraulic mulch (usually mixed with seed for highways), absorbents
PET plastics (clear bottles): toter-bags, t-shirts, office & promotional products; EcoSpun™ or Polartec™ for fleece jackets, blankets, athletic wear
Plastics: poly-wood (decking), playground equipment, picnic tables, planter boxers, office materials, landscaping materials (e.g. lawn edging, fence posts, garden hose), collection bins, waste cans, street barricades, street cones, carpet
Textiles: canvas bags, t-shirts, polo shirts, absorbents
Tires: flooring, floor mats, walking paths, shoes, mouse pads, roofing, soil enhancements, tires (2%-6% recycled content), arena footing
Used Motor Oil: re-refined motor oil
Yardwaste & Wood: compost, topsoil, wood chips/mulch, absorbents

What happens when you buy recycled?

Reduce the extraction of virgin materials
Save energy; reducing the need for coal, oil or other nonrenewable energy resources
Help fight global warming by cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions
Use less transportation - manufacturing facilities are often near the source of materials
Create new enterprises, markets & jobs
Reduce solid waste and keep useful materials out of our rapidly filling landfills
Reduce air and water pollutants; recycled materials manufacturing is a much cleaner process
Create a greater demand for manufacturers to use recycled materials
Demonstrate a commitment to the environment and a sustainable economy
Help California reach its mandated recycling goals of 50% and beyond

Recycled Product Databases, Directories, and Catalogs

Find recycled content paper towels, toilet paper, etc. at the Natural Resource Defense Council's Shopper's Guide to Home Tissue Products.
California Integrated Waste Management Board - Search the recycled-content product database to find products, vendors, etc.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has an Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) program that encourages and assists Executive agencies in the purchasing of environmentally preferable products and services.
Check out a great Environmentally Preferable Purchasing guide from stopwaste.org.
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) provides a database of products that meet FSC standards.
The U.S. General Services Administration has a recycled products guide. Go to the main website www.gsa.gov and search for "recycled products."
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has a comprehensive online guide to greening your small business.
Green Home sells a wide array of environmentally friendly products online.
Green Seal provides updates on available recycled products.
Recycled Products Guide provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Pennsylvania Resources Council. Their Buyer’s Guide to Recycled Products may help you in your recycled-content product search.
RecycleStore - an online catalog of recycled-content products.

Did you know? Some collected materials (such as aluminum, glass, motor oil) are continuously recyclable without loss of quality. Some collected items degrade with reprocessing (e.g. paper towels cannot be recycled because the paper fiber is too weak) or have an undesirable appearance (e.g. mixed colors of plastic become a dark color, limiting the use).