Earth Day, Every Day

The very first Earth Day celebration took place on April 22, 1970.  It was so successful that people celebrate it every year.  Earth Day reminds us of how we should act every day.  One of the biggest ways you can help to protect the environment and preserve the Earth’s natural resources is by recycling your trash.  Recycling reduces the amount of resources that we use.

Recycling your trash is easy if it’s disposed of properly.  Paper, plastic, glass, metals, and yard waste can all be recycled, or reused.  Plano and surrounding communities make it easy for residents to recycle by collecting these things curbside.  Other recyclables that can be dropped off locally are as follows.

Capri Sun Drink Pouch Brigade

Pearson collects empty Capri Sun drink pouches and sends them to TerraCycle, who turns the empty pouches into cool bags and pencil cases.  In return, Pearson PTA gets paid $0.02 per pouch.  Through all brigades like the one at Pearson, TerraCycle collects about 5 million drink pouches every month from over 3,000 groups.  They have paid out over $700,000 to charities.  Pearson PTA alone has collected more than 4,500 pouches so far this year and is due to get over $90.  For more information, please visit www.Terracycle.net.

Textiles

Metroplex Community Services (MCS) provides the following within the communities they serve - clothing and food for those in need, temporary relief from loss of income or other hardships, disaster relief, educational incentives to help people become self-sufficient, and help for the elderly and children.  Any items that are not used in the community are sent to third world countries, made into rags, or used for fiberfill.

If you have unwanted clothing, linens, hats, shoes, belts, purses, or chemical-free rags, just bring them to a collection container in the parking lot at one of the following locations for recycling.

Light Bulbs

Elliott's Hardware in Plano accepts ALL types of bulbs (tube, compact fluorescent (CFL), incandescent, halogen, etc.) for recycling drop-off, including broken bulbs.  Broken bulbs must be sealed in a jar or bag before dropping off.

Home Depot and Lowe's accept unbroken CFLs for recycling.  Customers can drop off expired, unbroken lamps at the returns counter of any Home Depot or Lowe's store.

IKEA (Frisco store) has a CFL collection/recycling program available to the general public.  Individuals can take their bulbs (no limit & no required packaging) to either the “Returns” or "As Is/Clearance" area.

Motor Oil

Used motor oil may be dropped off for recycling at any of the following North Texas Municipal Water District Transfer Station (NTMWD) locations:

Transfer station hours are Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call NTMWD at (972) 442-5405 for holiday schedules and additional information. 

Computers and Electronics

"Bigger, better, faster" means millions of tons of old computers and entertainment systems become obsolete and end up in landfills every year.  That's a lot of wasted space!  Electronics also contain toxic chemicals (like lead, mercury and cadmium) that contaminate soil and water if left in the landfills.

Erecycler offers a convenient and comprehensive electronics recycling program.  Erecycler accepts all electronics, including all portions of computer systems, televisions, and entertainment systems for reuse and recycling.  They follow the highest standards for social, financial, and environmental responsibility.  Erecycler wipes out any information on your computer and provides a receipt for your records.  This company follows a no-landfill policy and all parts of electronics are recycled domestically.

This service requires the following costs to be paid by residents to Erecycler:  $10 for televisions, $5 for computer monitors, $0.15/pound for all other electronics.   Payments Accepted:  Cash, Check, AmEx, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa.

Erecycler cannot accept televisions or monitors with broken screens.  Household and kitchen appliances are also not accepted at the electronics recycling events.  Erecycler events take place on Saturday mornings at the following locations.

Manufacturer Take-Back Programs: 

Effective September 1, 2008, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) mandated that all computer manufacturers selling products in Texas must provide free producer take-back programs.  These regulations only apply to computer monitors, CPUs, mice, and keyboards.  Manufacturers are not required to take back any other electronics for free, although several may do so for a fee.

Please visit www.texasrecyclescomputers.org for more information.

Before you recycle your old computer with its manufacturer, make sure you wipe out all information on the hard drive.  Contact your manufacturer for proper instruction to wipe out a hard drive. Manufacturers are not responsible for information recovery or security.  Also, be aware of the manufacturer's standards on social, environmental and financial responsibilities.  Make sure the company is partnered with a recycler that uses safe practices for its workers, does not send any computer parts to a landfill, and does not send hazardous materials overseas.

To learn more about the importance of electronic recycling, please visit:

Batteries

Rechargeable Batteries, found in cell phones, tools, and some toys, contain heavy metals such as nickel, cadmium, lithium, and lead which are quite toxic.  All City of Plano public libraries have collection boxes for these batteries. In addition, most can be recycled by returning them to the store where they were purchased or you can drop them off at Lowe's Home Improvement stores.  Reference the battery drop-off listing for Plano, Texas at www.rbrc.org or call 1-800-8-BATTERY for the location nearest you.

Button Cell Batteries, found in watches and hearing aids, contain mercury, silver, cadmium, lithium or other heavy metals. They are recycled to reclaim the valuable material and decrease the hazard to the environment. Many shops that replace watch and hearing aid batteries will accept your batteries for recycling at no charge.

Lead-Acid Batteries, used in automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, boats, forklifts, golf carts, lawn and garden tractors, and wheelchairs can be recycled by scheduling a Household Chemical Collection with the City of Plano Environmental Waste Services customer service at (972) 769-4150.

Uninterrupted Power Supply Batteries, once a standard part of personal computers, can be recycled at Batteries Plus located at 1725 N. Central Expressway, Suite 101, (972) 423-6100.  They will take all rechargeable batteries and Uninterrupted Power Supplies.