Recycle Lady: Earth Day Projects and Envelopes

Dear Recycle Lady,

Lately, I have received letters from several charitable organizations that include a return envelope that is bright red, blue, or orange. Some of them are also red, blue, or orange on the inside. Others are red, blue, or orange on the outside, but white on the inside. I know that red, blue, and orange paper is recycled with magazines, but what about these envelopes with the white lining? Where do they recycle? Puzzled About the Color

Dear Puzzled About the Color,

Good question. Envelopes that are red and orange outside and inside are not recyclable. These colors, along with black and chartreuse, are too intense; thus, are not recyclable as it is impossible to bleach them or to dye them during processing. If the red and orange envelopes are white on the inside, they are recycled with magazines. To determine whether other colored envelopes recycle with magazines or with office paper you need to make a tear in the envelope. If the inside of the tear is white, indicating that the fibers are white, the envelopes are recycled with office paper. If the inside of the tear is colored, the envelope recycles with magazines.

Dear Recycle Lady,

Here is my suggestion for an Earth Day project. I cut banana peels into small pieces and put them around rose bushes. The peels turn brown, disintegrate, and fertilize the plants. Do It Yourselfer

Dear Do It Yourselfer,

Great idea! Planting very small pieces of banana peels directly into the soil, as you suggest, will not only fertilize the soil but also feed the earthworms which bring additional benefits for the soil and plants. Banana peels are a good source of plant organic matter to help enrich the soil and contain nutrients for healthy plant growth. According to several websites, there are a couple of other ways to make banana fertilizer. One option is to cut the banana peels into small pieces, put them in a jar and cover them with water. After they have soaked in the water for a week or so, pour the water around the base of your plants. Another option is to dry out the cut-up pieces of banana peels by putting them in the sun or an oven at a low temperature with the door ajar, then bury them around your plants.

The soil around a plant should never be greatly disturbed when adding any kind of fertilizer (again to protect that microbial activity in the soil), but the banana peels can be pushed in with fingertips or placed just under the mulch layer.

Dear Recycle Lady,

My Earth Day project was adding eggshells to my flower beds. The shell contains calcium carbonate, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus, all of which are good for plants. Rinse the shells and when dry, they can be put in a coffee grinder to grind them into a fine powder. This powder can be stored until you have enough for your garden. Eggshells can also be used to start seedings in early spring. I put eggshell halves in an empty egg carton, fill each one with a seed starting mix, and add a couple of seeds. When plants are ready, put eggshells and all directly into the garden. Before planting the seedlings in the soil, I crack the shells just a bit so the roots can grow out of the shell. Otherwise, they may be root-bound. Gardener

Dear Gardener,

Thanks for your excellent information on using eggshells to fertilize garden plants. Not only are you saving a valuable resource, you are also eliminating waste that takes up space in the landfill.

For additional information on eggshells as fertilizer, see https://gardenforindoor.com/how-to-use-eggshell-as-fertilizer . It has information on preparing your eggshells before using them to fertilize your garden. Before using eggshells to start seedlings, readers might want to check out the website, https://www.gardeningchannel.com/how-to-use-eggshells-garden . It has some cautions about using eggshells to start seedlings, mainly having to do with the size of the shells being too small as the plants begin to grow.

Thanks to all those who participated in one of the three local Earth Day events this year; and special thanks to the nearly 60 recyclers who came to the Recycling Center to celebrate with us. Together we can make an impact on the environment and our wonderful Earth.

Have questions about recycling, or interesting information about recycling? Send questions or requests to Recyclelady7@gmail.com . Dear Recycle Lady is sponsored jointly by the Greenbrier Recycling Center and Greenworks Recycling.

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