Arizona Recycling (Phoenix, Tucson, Scottsdale: extended stay, apartments, rent)

[frazierdee]

We are loving our time in Arizona, love the weather (what's not to love), scenery is beautiful, the rent we found is great. For the most part we've found stores with our favorite foods, hubby found good micro-brews.

BUT - what is up with the lack of recycling in Arizona? The extended stay where we are has NO recycling. I've discovered people here just throw glass in the garbage, and must go out of their way to recycle cans, which I imagine few people do.

Has there been failed attempts at a bottle bill and other recycling efforts, or do the good citizens of Arizona just not care? I find it very frustrating. I don't want to sound too critical here. But recycling is just like breathing where we are from (Oregon). I find it painful to throw things away that I know can be kept out of landfills.

[Finger Laker]

Waste disposal is generally taken care of by the cities .... i know for a while phoenix proper was a little lagging in this regard, but i'm pretty positive that most cities offer recycling programs

a minority of states have deposit programs for cans/bottles - AZ is not unique in lacking this

our city (goodyear) has had recycling for a long time and is constantly expanding the types of recylable items can be left in the bins

in my travels, hotels are generally hit or miss when it comes to recycling .... again not unique to AZ

the city of phoenix has a few recyling drop off centers, where if you wanted you could save up and then drop off .... i'm sure other municipalities offer something similar

[frazierdee]

Thanks. I have found a place here at a Safeway where I'll take the cans. When I visit family in Texas and Tennessee it's a similar situation. Recycling and composting just happens to be one of my things. And don't get me wrong, we are loving our visit to Phoenix and surrounding areas.

[Ritchie_az]

I have a large recycle can that gets picked up the same day as the trash. But even if one doesn't have that they can choose to recycle... there are a number of recycling centers throughout the state.

[Winter_Sucks]

Originally Posted by frazierdee

We are loving our time in Arizona, love the weather (what's not to love), scenery is beautiful, the rent we found is great. For the most part we've found stores with our favorite foods, hubby found good micro-brews.

BUT - what is up with the lack of recycling in Arizona? The extended stay where we are has NO recycling. I've discovered people here just throw glass in the garbage, and must go out of their way to recycle cans, which I imagine few people do.

Has there been failed attempts at a bottle bill and other recycling efforts, or do the good citizens of Arizona just not care? I find it very frustrating. I don't want to sound too critical here. But recycling is just like breathing where we are from (Oregon). I find it painful to throw things away that I know can be kept out of landfills.

I'm not sure about the entire state, but I've been researching Sierra Vista for a possible relocation and the city is very into recycling and makes a point of stressing sustainability, which I think is a good thing.

[locolobo13]

There's a bunch of places S. of I-10 on 19th Ave.

[coatimundi]

Only a couple of states and most parts of Canada have recycling receptacles in private spaces like hotel rooms. Compared to other states, especially on the east coast, Arizona actually does pretty well with recycling and has a more active program.
Scottsdale seems to accept the most out of any place in the state: up to #6 plastics, I believe. Tucson is getting better, I think, but it's a matter of funding. You don't have to separate your recyclables for curbside pick-up in Tucson like you do in many other areas, which is nice, and you're given a, upright trash-can sized receptacle as opposed those dinky plastic crates. If you just Google "[the city you're in] recycling" though, you'll find plenty of drop-off sites.

[AZDesertBrat]

Originally Posted by frazierdee

We are loving our time in Arizona, love the weather (what's not to love), scenery is beautiful, the rent we found is great. For the most part we've found stores with our favorite foods, hubby found good micro-brews.

BUT - what is up with the lack of recycling in Arizona? The extended stay where we are has NO recycling. I've discovered people here just throw glass in the garbage, and must go out of their way to recycle cans, which I imagine few people do.

Has there been failed attempts at a bottle bill and other recycling efforts, or do the good citizens of Arizona just not care? I find it very frustrating. I don't want to sound too critical here. But recycling is just like breathing where we are from (Oregon). I find it painful to throw things away that I know can be kept out of landfills.

Check at your local Wal Mart. I don't know if they do it in the Phoenix area but our Super Wal Mart has a BUNCH of large bins where folks can bring their recyclables. Our trash pick up companies do 'some' recycling but only provide receptacles 'now and then' so people make good use of the ones at Wal Mart. They also have large bins inside the store to recycle plastic bags and their reusable bags, that they sell for 50 cents, are made of recycled plastic bags.

[frazierdee]

Thanks for the Wal-Mart tip. We are workng in Phoenix for another month or so, and I found the Waste Management recycling place - a little inconvenient, but I was thrilled just to find it. I will definitely check out the WM idea. They are all over the place, of course.

[Ponderosa]

When you put recycling containers in public areas of apartments and hotels, they get filled with lots of trash - not things that ought to be recycled. There is no personal accountability in these locales. The public psyche is different in OR as you point out. Maybe it works there. It's very different in AZ. Here we are driven by consumerism and convenience and disregard for anyone but ourselves. The recycle would be filled with half-eaten burgers and soiled baby diapers in no time.