Recycling in Orange County was conducted by several municipalities and at the county landfill until a few years ago. The cities have ceased their picking up of the items to be recycled as of a few years ago when the Orange County landfill was filled.
Sandra Hoke is a big promoter of recycling and says Recyclops accepts most items that can be recycled. “I think it’s a wonderful way to be good stewards of the Earth,” Hoke encouraged.
A private company based in Utah, Recyclops has provided recycling during the last year or so for a charge of $12 a month. They provide their customers with blue plastic bags to be filled and placed by the curb of the customers’ residences that they pickup every two weeks on the day assigned to the neighborhoods of the City of Orange.
Most plastics can be recycled through Recyclops. Recycling numbers in a triangle found at the bottom of the item determine if the item can be recycled. Recyclops accepts numbers 1 through 5 and 7 in their bags. Number 6 is Styrofoam and is not accepted.
Plastic bags are not accepted either because they mess up the recycling machinery. Hoke recommends taking plastic bags to the grocery stores which usually have a spot for those to be returned.
Any form of paper is recyclable. Newspapers, magazines, receipts, junk mail, and cardboard. Recyclops does ask their customers to break down their cardboard items and lay them flat under their bags of other recyclable items.
Metal cans are recyclable including aluminum. Many people will recycle their aluminum cans elsewhere for the money.
Recyclops charges an extra $7 a month for glass items. “I have been bringing my glass for a long time to Target. The Target stores have a place in there for glass,” Hoke suggested.
Hoke believes recycling is an important process to keep this area clean and cannot understand why some people will throw their items on the ground instead of recycling. “It’s a mystery of a life isn’t it. I have heard this said from people that they pay for garbage pickup and they don’t intend to pay for anything extra to recycle. Use to we didn’t even think about garbage we just put it in the can and threw it away and that’s the end of it. Garbage is a big thing when we’re on this planet, but we have to figure out what to do with it, and recycling I think is just a wonderful idea,” Hoke reminded.
Recyclops picks up members’ bags of recyclable items every two weeks. To become a member the cost is $12 a month. You can register with Recyclops by just clicking on the “Curbside Recycling” logo found on the right side of the KOGT.com webpage.
Another environmental activity that Hoke takes part in is the Field of Plenty located behind the Orange Christian Services office on Park Avenue. The Field of Plenty is about two acres where there are ten raised beds and row gardens which are cultivated by local volunteers.
All of the vegetables from the Field of Plenty are donated to Orange Christian Services to help people in need. Hoke said this has been the garden’s best harvest ever, and she is not sure whether it can be attributed to the February freeze.
In June the Field of Plenty yielded 26 pounds of cherry tomatoes. Earlier the gardeners harvested 280 pounds of the popular red potatoes for Orange Christian Services. Hoke donated a great big box of surplus yellow squash to the soup kitchen at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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