Recycling in West Hartford: How2Recycle Labels Make Things Simpler

West Hartford’s Department of Public Works wants residents to be aware of how much simpler deciding what to recycle is thanks to an app as well as ‘How2Recycle’ labels.

Submitted by the Town of West Hartford

The process of determining whether you should toss certain packaging types into the recycling barrel or the trash barrel has just gotten easier.

The ‘West Hartford Recycles A-Z Waste Wizard‘ app is available at no cost for your smart phone or tablet. Go to Google play or the Apple App Store.

Have you ever wondered whether you should recycle or toss a particular item? Now, answers are easily accessible from your mobile device.

The West Hartford Recycles A-Z Waste Wizard will tell you how to recycle, reuse and properly dispose of hundreds of items.

How It Works:

1. Search for the item by name.
2. Search results provide options for reusing and recycling of the item.
3. Drop-off locations are provided. Click on the location name and the address and phone number will be revealed.

How2Recycle™ label

Recycling is also much more straightforward now that more than 50 companies including General Mills, Nestle, Ziploc, Minute Maid, Target, and REI, are now using How2Recycle™ labels on all of its packaging material.

The How2Recycle™ label is a voluntary, standardized labeling system that clearly communicates recycling instructions to the public.

The label includes these four parts:

Recycling Symbols

Information and locational instructions let you know if an item can be recycled traditionally or by other means.

Preparing Material for Recycling

Gives steps to properly prepare the item for recycling: rinse, empty, remove, dry, discard, or reattach parts.

Type of Recyclable Material

Lists the type of material the packaging is made from: paper, plastic, glass, metal, coated paper, multi-layer.

Recyclable Parts of Packaging

Indicates the parts of the packaging that needs to be recycled in this specific way. Typical parts include: Bottle, Tray, Insert, Box, Bag, Wrap, Can, Film and Pouch.

The Multi-Component Labels

These side-by-side labels let you know how to recycle the whole package, not just a part of it. Each “tile” represents a different part of the package. How2Recycle™ labels are intended to be read left to right, based on which part of the packaging you encounter first. For example, a frozen food entrée would have an outer cardboard box, a film over the food, and a plastic tray containing the food.

Look for How2Recycle™ labels on packaging from these participating businesses:

McDonald’s
REI
Estee Lauder Companies
Endust
General Mills
Clorox
Minute Maid
Kellogg’s
Target
Ziploc
Honest Tea
Georgia Pacific
Hasbro
ShopRite
Reynolds
Nestlé/Purina
Kimberly Clark
Kashi Cereal
Brita Water
Glad
Pam
Nature Valley
Soapbox
Annie’s
Novolex
Wegmans Food Markets
Ecologic
CCF Brands
Sealed Air Re-Imagined
AMPAC
ConAgra Foods
Plum Organics
Sigma Plastics Group
Seventh Generation
PAC Worldwide

To learn more about How2Recycle™ labels, go to http://www.how2recycle.info/labels.

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