Get ready: the plastic round-ups are coming

The Master Recycler Plastic Round-ups are being held over the next two weekends at four locations:

• Saturday, September 29 from 9am-2pm @ Floyd Light Middle School (10800 SE Washington) and Kaiser Permanente West Interstate (3325 N Interstate, off Fremont & Overlook Park)
• Saturday, October 6 from 9am-2pm @ PCC Sylvania (12000 SW 49th Lot 10) and Westview High School (4200 NW 185th North Parking Lot).

Be sure to check the list to see the items they will and will not accept.

I have basically revamped my family's recycling center in preparation for these events because you need to have everything sorted when you go. (You can always sort once you get there, but I think it's much, much easier to do it day to day.) I have eight boxes and bins in my garage labeled with numbers 1-7 and one for 'unmarked' plastics. Any plastic container or lid that can't go in the curbside bin goes into one of these boxes. (For me, numbers 1 and 5 and the unmarked plastics bins are quite full, while number 3 has next to nothing in it). Then I just take all of my bins to the round-up.

Holding on to all of these plastics between round-ups is actually great (if you have the space) for determining where my family can work on reducing the amount of plastic we buy. Easy: avoid buying produce like mixed greens and cherry tomatoes that come in clamshell containers. Harder: giving up 32oz containers of yogurt and my favorite salsa.