Recycling Tips


  • Buy an item in a recyclable or re-useable form. (eg. Instead of buying soft drinks in a plastic liter bottle, choose the same or similar product in an aluminum can; instead of buying the one gallon plastic jug of water buy a 5 gallon container and use it over and over; buy laundry detergent in a cardboard box rather than a plastic jug since the cardboard is biodegradable)

  • Rinse or wash items that contain food liquid or residue. (eg. tuna fish or corned beef can, jar of mayonnaise, ketchup bottle, foam food box, foam meat tray from the market, aluminum foil)

  • Food wastes that cannot be composted can be refrigerated for a while. This prevents putrification or the bad smell from decomposition. Then, feed them to your dog, cat, or pig. If you don’t have such animals, you may know someone who does.


    No smell when a week's food leftovers are stored in the freezer.

  • Flatten cardboard boxes and store these in a dry place until there is enough to recycle.

  • Save your old newspapers in a cardboard box for recycling. Then, co-operate with a neighbor or relative and on your trip to the recycler, offer to take their materials also.

  • Bring your own shopping bags to the store or market. Either cloth or paper bags work great. And, some stores will actually pay you for saving them from supplying a bag. (eg. Payless Market: 5 cents/bag)

  • Rinse and bend aluminum beverage cans. Then place them in a collection bag or container for later recycling. Aluminum foil (clean with no food residue) is also recyclable.

    RRRC: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Compost
    Reduce:
  • Use a cloth shopping bag and avoid taking plastic bags at the local stores.
  • Buy products made in locally recyclable materials (eg. aluminum cans vs. plastic bottles)
  • Buy larger sizes. These reduce the number of containers of a product that you would accumulate and eventually have to dispose. For drinking water, refill the 5-gallon container and then refill smaller containers to carry with you.

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    Reuse
  • Use an empty plastic container (eg. milk, engine oil, etc.) as a planter or to hold clothes pins.
  • Offer a used or unwanted item to the Salvation Army, Goodwill Organization or offer it on the radio (K-57 Trader Horn).
  • Use old vehicle tires as a composter.
  • Use old, rusted roofing tins to make a box around a tree. Then throw in green debris like coconut fronds, weeds, etc.

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    Recycle
  • Deliver aluminum cans, cardboard and newspapers to the local recyclers on Guam. Some now accept “clean” steel food cans and plastics (types 1&2).
  • Recycle old steel items like bicycles, pipes, car parts, etc. Glass can go to the Transfer Stations. For military personnel, Anderson AFB has a specialized machine to pulverize glass.

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    Compost
    Information sheets are available for free from RAG.
  • Things to compost: coffee grounds, tea bags, vegetables leftovers, fruits, leaves, grass, weeds, & other organics.
  • Things to avoid from the compost pile: meat, fat, animal skin, fish, dog & cat manure, (small amounts of meat/fish type waste can be added to the compost pile only if buried somewhat deeply into the composting material.) Covering a smelly item with compost eliminates the odor.

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  • Compost all yard trimming/cuttings and kitchen scraps (except grease, fat, and meat). Cardboard, when torn or shredded, can be successfully composted; or, it can be used as a mulch around a lemon tree or banana plant. Coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, fruit skins, vegetable cuttings, rice, etc. are compostable)


    Used tires become a home composter. The tire wall has been cut out.
    Easy to move tires to mix material.

  • Instead of "throwing away" an old table or filing cabinet since you bought a new one, try giving it away. Offer a used or unwanted item to the Salvation Army or Guam Rehab Center, or offer it on the radio (K-57 Trader Horn). Even if it needs repair, someone may want it who may be handy with tools and can do some repairs.

  • Use damaged or worn-out automobile tires as a composter. Use an empty container (eg. milk, engine oil, etc.) as a planter or to hold clothes pins.

  • Newspapers, magazines and any other type of paper can be dropped of at Guam Transport Warehouse in Harmon (See Recycling Centers). Magazines can also be donated to a school or library and newspapers can be donated to a pet shop or veterinarian for use as liners in their pet cages.


    Recycling station at a Tamuning apartment building

  • No aluminum cans for the fiesta. Instead, keep these confined behind the bar and give all drinks in waxed paper cups. Bag empty cans for recycling. The paper cups are biodegradable.

  • Don't burn your trash! Burning your trash or yard waste is a really bad idea. The fire creates new chemicals that go up into the air. If we don't breath them someone else probably will. Some chemicals can be very toxic and others make the global warming problem worse. Recycling your paper plus composting is a sensible alternative.