Long before the current “green revolution,” libraries were the original recycling centers. While some people do wish to own some printed materials for a variety of reasons, libraries make it possible for one or just a few copies of newspapers, magazines and books to be used by dozens or even hundreds of people over their lifetime. Building and sharing such a community resource has always made sense environmentally (less impact from production and disposal) and economically (requiring a minimal investment per person for access to a wide range of materials).
For some time, the Ridgefield Library has made extra efforts to dispose of such materials when they are no longer needed in an environmentally responsible way. Through an arrangement with Hudson Baylor Corporation, we are able to recycle at no cost to us most of our paper waste, from a tattered paperback book that is losing its pages to the cardboard packaging in which our new acquisitions are shipped to out-of-date newspapers.
Now we are expanding our recycling program to include additional materials, and we need your help. Visitors to the Library will notice new clusters of containers with separate sections for different types of trash: paper, glass, plastic, metal and “waste”, i.e. non-recyclable materials like candy wrappers. These are located at several convenient locations around the building to make it easy for library patrons to dispose of their own trash appropriately. Please feel free to ask staff for assistance in locating the nearest containers and with any questions about what should go in which bin.
And now for the best part – with a proper recycling system in place, we will be changing our policy as of January 1st to allow visitors to bring in beverages in closed containers. Stay tuned for more on this in the coming weeks.
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