Dear Recycle Lady,
Do you recycle odd and various shapes and kinds of batteries? If not, do you know anybody else in the Lewisburg area or Greenbrier County who does take batteries for recycling? Thanks for your help! Hopeful
Dear Hopeful,
The Recycle Center in Ronceverte only accepts car batteries, lawn mower batteries and rechargeable large batteries, such as cordless tools. It does not accept alkaline batteries, which include AA, AAA, C, D and 9-volt batteries.
However, the good news is that TerraCycle offers the recycling of 10 pounds of alkaline batteries for $44. They will send you an UN-certified container with a Life Latch lid, a poly liner, tie, instructions, terms and conditions and a pre-paid return shipping label. They also send tape for covering the battery terminals as required by DOT regulations. Be sure to weigh the container before mailing, as its weight must not exceed 10 pounds.
TerraCycle is known for recycling hard-to-recycle items. They have free recycling for 111 products, which keeps a lot of hard-to-recycle items out of the landfill. The Recycle Center participates in their free recycling of toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and floss containers which is sponsored by Colgate Oral Products. “TerraCycle is working to eliminate the idea of waste.” They have been developing recycling solutions for over 20 years, have over 40,000 clients with recyclers in more than 20 countries. For more information, see TerraCycle.com. It is a fascinating program and makes for interesting reading.
Dear Recycle Lady,
This spring I put in a new flower bed, so I now have lots of empty, black plastic pots for plants. They have a recycle symbol with a #5 in it. Can these pots from nurseries be recycled? Gardener
Dear Gardener,
Unfortunately, black plastic pots cannot be recycled, but they can be reused. Locally, Lowe’s accepts all used plastic pots and plant containers. Take them to the outside area just beyond the flowers and put them on the shelves. After these used pots and containers are cleaned and disinfected, they will be reused in preparing the next year’s plants and flowers for sale. A great example of a circular economy.
Dear Recycle Lady,
What is green methanol? Not a Chemist
Dear Not a Chemist,
According to freetheocean.com, green methanol is a cutting-edge fuel extracted from food waste in landfills. (This process is similar to the one at the Raleigh County landfill that generates enough electricity to heat 2,400 homes in the Beckley area by processing methane captured from their landfill.)
The shipping giant Maersk is a pioneer in green methane-based fuel, an eco-friendly fuel that can reduce emissions from the ship by 65%–70%. In 2024, Maersk embarked on its first voyage powered by green methanol. According to esgroday.com, this was the world’s first carbon-neutral methanol-fueled container ship.
Kudos to Maersk, which has ordered 25 more of its current vessels to be retrofitted to run on green methanol. Globally, shipping companies are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in ports, as they contribute approximately a billion tons of carbon dioxide (C02) annually. Green methanol is one way they can reduce their carbon footprint.
Kudos to Emily Shirey, who has helped the WSS Girl Scout Troop, Greenbrier County 4-H campers, Eastern Greenbrier County Girl Scouts and the Lewisburg Girl Scouts all earn a Trex bench by sorting and recycling 1,000 pounds of plastic film. Hurrahs for all the Scouts and campers that participated.
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.
