Carts Around the World
Fun fact—when you publish a recycling newsletter, readers send you pictures of recycling and compost bins from around the world! We love it. Please keep ’em coming; send us your photos next time you travel. Today we’re sharing the fun—check out how people are saving valuable resources around the globe.
Recently people have been asking about using BPI-certified compostable plastic bags in their kitchen food scraps pails. We still accept food scraps in BPI-certified bags, so if you want to use them, feel free. You may also choose to line your pail with paper bags, newspaper, or other uncoated paper products. Or you can simply drop your food scraps directly into your green cart without any bag at all!
We will let you know if there are any changes to our bag policy.
RecycleSmart & Republic Services attend community events throughout the year. Attending events lets us answer your recycling and composting questions, and we help event organizers with waste sorting. Look for our booth next time you’re strolling through an event—we have a fun photo op and reusable giveaways! For more information about recycling and composting at your event, visit: RecycleSmart.org/event-recycling
Get the latest RecycleSmart news straight to your inbox by signing up for our e-newsletter! It’s easy—just go to RecycleSmart.org/newsletter-preferences to sign up. You’ll have the option to opt-out of the paper newsletter.
Don’t Cram Your Cart
Service reminder: Closed carts prevent litter! If your cart lid isn’t closed, Republic Service drivers might not be able to service it. Have more items than can fit? All single-family households can schedule one extra on-call landfill collection and up to four recycling and/or organics collections each year at no additional charge.
To schedule extra curbside collection, please call Republic Services at (925) 685-4711 at least two weeks prior, and discuss setout guidelines. In addition to scheduled extra pick-ups, you can leave additional bags of solid waste (garbage) beside the cart for an extra fee (currently $17.78 per 32-gallon bag). It will get picked up, and your account will be charged for the extra bag. Visit RecycleSmart.org/ExtraServices for more info.
If you find that your cart is often overflowing, it might be time for a bigger one! Just don’t leave that lid propped open. Carts that are closed help service run smoothly and keep trash, organics, and recyclables going where they should. When you make sure your carts are fully closed on pickup day, you are helping our shared environment stay clean!
Too Much of a Good Thing?
Sometimes we miscalculate at the grocery store and end up with aging produce. But don’t toss it! You can use these recipes to banish food waste. Wilted, bruised, or even just a little mushy, there’s a way to use it!
Tap the boxes below!
Mushy Banana?
Make this tasty granola:
- Mashed bananas
- Oats
- Coconut oil
- Maple syrup
Mix everything together and bake at 350 until crisp. You can also use this as a simple cobbler topping! Chop extra fruit and cover with granola & a couple Tbsp of butter. Bake until fruit is cooked and granola is crisp.
Sticky Peanut Butter or Jam Jar?
Soak up some overnight oats:
- Almost-empty peanut butter (or jam) jar
- Rolled or quick oats
- Milk
- Maple syrup
- Cinnamon
Add oats, your choice of milk, maple syrup, and cinnamon into the jar. Mix and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. Eat in the morning, with fruit and nuts if you’re feeling extra fancy.
Leftover Greens?
Whip up some pesto:
- Greens
- Basil
- Pine nuts/walnuts
- Parmesan
- Garlic
- Olive oil
Blanch your greens with a quick boil and ice bath. Then blend everything together in a food processor until it reaches a spoonable paste consistency. Use as a sandwich spread or add to pasta.
Bruised Fruits?
Turn them into jam:
- Fruit
- White sugar
- Lemon juice
Chop fruit.
Add to a pan with sugar and lemon juice.
Bring mixture to a rolling boil and then mash.
Cook until it thickens.
Pour into a jar and keep in the fridge.
Wrinkly Berries?
Bake them into a cake! They’ll still be flavorful and delicious.
And don’t chuck those strawberry tops—they taste great in a smoothie.
Handy Reminder
We all need reminders when we’re developing new habits. So we’ve made a sign you can hang at your home or office. At the RecycleSmart office, we tape this sign to the inside of our office front door as a handy reminder when we go out.
Do you have any tips you’d like to share?
Send your ideas to Authority@RecycleSmart.org
Tray Bien!
Let’s celebrate a plastic-reducing update from our superstar Wastebuster school, Burton Valley Elementary in Lafayette! The school, which serves lunch for 400 students each day, updated its lunch tray system last fall. Students said “see ya!” to paper boats and plastic baskets, and “hello” to new steel trays.
The old plastic baskets required kitchen staff to place a sheet of parchment paper in every tray, adding to their waste stream every day. The new trays, on the other hand, are durable, washable, lightweight, and prevent microplastic pollution.
Burton Valley upgraded its kitchen at the same time, installing new washing and sanitizing facilities, to make sure trays could be properly cleaned. They accomplished their kitchen remodel using funds from grants from RecycleSmart, the California Center for Environmental Health, Plastic Free Restaurants, and the California Department of Education.
This fall, RecycleSmart’s schools team is supporting Happy Valley and Springhill elementary schools as they switch to stainless steel trays. We are here to support your school, too! To find out more about RecycleSmart’s resources for schools and the Wastebuster program, please visit RecycleSmart.org/wastebusters. We’re opening our 2026-2027 grant cycle now.
Word Find
Find the pieces of a waste-free lunch below! Words are down, sideways, and diagonal.
