Castlewood Ranch HOA

Eco-Friendly Disposal and Recycling

           Castle Rock's "Going Green With Miss Christine" here. Helping to make Going Green a little bit easier for our community. I've already told you the "Who, What, When, Where, Why and How" on your typical residential recycling. If you missed it go to:www.myspace.com/GoingGreenWithChristine to find out more, or you can email me.

           Now let's talk about the not so typical things we need to dispose of. Things like CFL's (compact fluorescent lightbulbs), Batteries, Electronics, Ink and Toner cartridges, Cell phones and Paint. All of these things are harmful to our soil and ground water when disposed of improperly. And what about old clothes and shoes?.. How do we recycle those? These are some of the questions I recently received in my emails from various community members at: GoingGreenWithMissChristine@comcast.net

 So I drove around town and made a couple of phone calls, and this is what I found out:

                                                    Eco-Friendly Disposal and Recycling

-CFL's can be safely disposed of for free at our local Home Depot near Founder's and I-25. Or at your local Ace Hardware store.

- Batteries can be safely disposed of for free at Home Depot and at Office Depot. (not car batteries).

- Electronics can also be recycled at Office Depot (on Milestone Ln) for a minimal fee ranging from as little as $5.00 and up to $15.00.

-Ink and Toner cartridges can not only be recycled at Office Depot, but they will give you a $3.00 store credit in exchange for each one you bring in! (You can bring in as many as you want, but you can only use 3 credits at a time. That can be up to a $9.00 savings every time).

-Cell phones can be recycled at Wal-Mart and Office Depot.

-Paint (latex and water based) can be disposed of with your regular trash as long as it is dry/solidified. Mixing it with kitty litter or saw dust is a good way to help this process along. Liquids can leak out of the trash trucks, onto the streets and into the environment. So be sure your paint is completely dry before you dispose of it.

(*This information was found at www.bouldercountyrecycles.net, as well as calling several local home stores such as Home Depot and Sherwin Williams to validate. If you need to dispose of oil based paint, other chemicals, or tires please call Tri-County Health at 303-846-6249.)

            -Clothes and Shoes can be recycled by placing them in designated bins in the parking lots of: Home Depot, Walgreen's (by Founder's and I-25), and Pizza Hut.

I hope you all found this information helpful. If you have any questions or comments please email me at: GoingGreenWithMissChristine@comcast.net

Written by: Christine Losciale-Thoemmes