This means you can start throwing plastics labeled #3, #4, #5, #6, and #7 into your blue bin along with the #1 and #2 plastics. They will accept all plastics except plastic wrap, plastic bags, and Styrofoam (all things you can easily avoid using with minimal effort). And don’t forget, they also started accepting cardboard for curbside pickup in April – epic awesomeness!

The Charleston Post & Courier had this quote from Charleston County Council member Colleen Condon:

Expanding Charleston County’s Recycling Program to recycle all plastics #1 through #7 allows us to provide better service to our citizens and move closer to our 40 percent recycling goal with this important step.

Cheers to the Jenny and the CCR team, the Council, and everyone else who made this happen. I know it’s been a long time coming, and something that all of us local greenies have been hoping for. In fact, it’s the most common question we get from Go Green readers, and now I have the answer they want to hear!

This baby toy from Vulli would be a great gift for that green rug rat in your life, especially if they are teething. Sophie the Giraffe, as she has been known since 1961, is produced manually in France with 100% natural rubber derived from the hevea tree. Our 10-month-old girl definitely found it soothing, and was excited when it would squeak from time to time. You can definitely tell the rubber is natural, as it has a soft, almost moist feel to it. As an added bonus, it came in sustainable packaging. Green-wise, the only problem I see here is that it is imported all the way from France.

If you’re interested, head over to DwellSmart (map) or purchase online.

Note: For the next couple weeks, we will be reviewing products that would make good gifts for the greenie in your life. Our friend Mary Gatch, owner of DwellSmart and local green goddess, provided this product free of charge to our family for review on this website.

What are you working on eliminating? Oil-based gas, plastic bags, food from far off continents? Bottled water, dirty electricity, resource-intensive meat? Let us know in the new Go Green Poll.

Results from the last Go Green Poll, Summer is here – what sustainable action are you focused on?, can be viewed after the jump >>

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

I have been unable to reach anyone at Waste Industries, so if you’re living in Summerville and have any informatinon, please leave a comment.

Driving all around town shopping for holiday gifts is a resource hog – too much time, too much gas, too much hassle.

That’s why I’ve turned to Amazon.com year after year to help reduce my trips into the seasonal chaos. And while this is a welcome convenience, all those boxes do generate a mountain of waste – think of how many shipments Amazon makes each holiday season!

Fortunately, most of this packaging material is recyclable. Here’s a quick rundown on how you can recycle your Amazon.com packaging:

• The cardboard box is 100% recyclable. Store the broken down boxes with your other cardboard, and take them to a Charleston County Recycling drop site for recycling.

• Recycle the invoice. There really isn’t any personal info on the invoice that can’t be found via Google, so toss it into your blue bin with your other paper recyclables. If you’re worried about identity theft, shred then recycle.

• Amazon.com marketing materials are recyclable too. Yep, those glossy paper pamphlets they throw into the box are 100% recyclable. So after you’re done reading about Amazon Prime (a great program BTW), toss those brochures into your paper recycling bin.

• Recycle the brown paper padding. Some boxes will come from Amazon.com stuffed with crumpled brown paper to protect your purchases. This material is similar to brown paper bags, and can be put in with the rest of your paper recycling.

• Dream of recycling the plastic #4 bubble padding. OK, this is the one thing from your Amazon.com purchase that can’t be recycled (along with the shrink wrap around book orders). Unfortunately, plastic #4 isn’t collected in our area.

In the end, I have to give Amazon.com credit for using recyclable materials – except for that #4 bubble pack (Hey Amazon…get on that!) The good news is we can all help keep this stuff out of the landfill. So as the packages start showing up these next few weeks, stop to think how their contents could end up in your blue bins instead of your trash bins – and make it happen. Happy holiday recycling!

Foam packing peanuts

There’s good news: If you receive foam peanuts this holiday season, you can drop them off for reuse at a shipping place instead of throwing them into your garbage!

That’s what I did…

When you receive a package stuffed with foam peanuts, save them in a box, bag, or basket near your other recycling. Once you have a big enough pile, or actually have something to ship, take them with you to the nearest packing place for reuse. Michael from Mail & More at Belle Hall Station told me that as long as the peanuts are clean, dry, and are not mixed with other trash, most packing places would love to have them back.

This is a great way to reduce the demand on new foam peanut production, all the while keeping polystyrene out of the landfill, air, or ecosystem. I have a relative that ships us boxes full of foam peanuts each Christmas, and it’s nice to be able to dispose of them in a green way. Of course, they’re always good for office pranks…

92% of all poison exposure cases occur in our homes, 87% of which are accidental (makes you wonder about that other 13%, huh?) Anyway, this is why Charleston County Recycling is providing this free infotastic Household Hazardous Waste Wheel – so greenies like us can do that right thing when disposing of harmful household chemicals (click image to see enlargement.)

The wheel has four categories (House, Auto, Paints, & Pesticides), with several entries under each. You rotate the wheel to select a category and product, and it will tell you the hazardous ingredients, alternatives, hazard properties, and waste management solutions. You’ll be surprised at some of the solutions – I know I was. You can contact Charleston County Recycling at 843.720.7111 to get yours.

When I was a kid, bottled water could only be found in hotel minibars. Since then, we’ve convinced ourselves that bottled water is a necessity – this isn’t the case. Check out this post from Lighter Footstep for reasons why bottled water is baaaaaaaaad, and then head on over to Amazon.com to buy a reusable bottle. Read this article for both the pros and cons of bottled water.

It’s extremely easy to get a free blue recycling bin from Charleston County. Here are the three ways you can make it happen:

• Pick one up for free at the Romney Street Recycling Plant, The Bees Ferry Landfill, North Charleston City Hall, James Island Public Service District, Charleston County Public Service Building, and the East Cooper Service Center.
• Call 720-7111 to have a bin delivered to your house. This option can take several weeks due to staff limitations.
• Special mass pickups can be arranged if a large group of residents need bins. These can be setup at a local school, church, or community center by calling 720-7111.

There you have it!