Being green in North Fulton or southforsyth (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: how much, house)

[runnergrl]

I am a GA native but have lived out west for a few yrs and have gotten quite used to being more green(ie, recycling, green grocery bags, using less chemicals to clean the house, making the house more energy efficient, trading down to more fuel efficient cars) Just being more aware of not being wasteful. When I lived in Cumming about 6 plus yrs ago...recyling was basically non existent unless you made the trip to a recycling facility and did it on your own. Rumor was the trash company just mixed the recyclables in with trash, after you would go thru the trouble of separating it.

Has the Atlanta area in general taken to the green trend? do you all find that people are really trying to make a difference?

The counties I mentioned...how much are they invested in trying to be green? I want to be able keep being green when we relocate to GA...I am hoping that things have become more progressive in this area than when I previously lived there.

[runnergrl]

Cmon guys...yesterday was earth day. Do people support being green in north burbs of Atlanta? Do people bring reusable bags to the grocery store and not get weird looks? Do the trash services give a big enough container for recycleables and do they actually recycle them? Have people become more cognizant about being less wasteful? Will I find myself being in a minority by continuing my efforts to be green?

[aliscott]

I have just returned from Europe where people for the most part recycle. There are conveniently positioned bottle banks and plastic container bins all over. I was in southern Spain and I know the same set up is in the UK.
I think the garbage companies for the most part don't offer recycling services like they used to. You really have to hunt them down, I am going to do some research into this and I will let you know what I find out. I live in the North Forsyth area.

[Vampgrrl]

You cannot really be all that green in Atlanta if you were one of hundreds on GA 400 or I-85 driving into downtown every morning.

[RainyRainyDay]

runnergirl, I'm from the west coast (British Columbia) and I'm on your page. Reusable shopping bags are available at Publix, Walmart, Home Depot etc. but I don't see people using them. I do see much more use of them at Whole Foods in Sandy Springs, near my office.

I personally switched my trash service to Liberty Disposal, a local vendor that seemed to be more recycling conscious. I sure hope they don't just junk the recyclables. Liberty will give you as many recycling bins as you want - we have two. However, in my neighborhood and environs, the number of households putting our recycling bins for any trash company is a very small minority. Doubtless because of this, Liberty recently switched to every-other-week recycling pickup. I don't personally mind saving my recyclables for 2 weeks, but it's probably a confirmation of the lack of demand.

The free market in trash collection services is not really helping the environment either. I see all the trash bins out in my area while walking my dogs. There's daily trash collection in my area thanks to people's use of WM, AW, North Metro Waste, Liberty, Robertson, BFI ... and those are just the ones I can think of, off the top of my head. So we have all these garbage trucks driving around burning gas.

[aliscott]

I have found this site which shows on a map where the recycling centers are in Georgia. Let me know if I can help you with any other information. I will be glad to help.

Recycling Centers Found In Georgia

[aliscott]

Here is another wonderful site Earth 911 » Making Every Day Earth Day, Reduce, Reuse & Recycle, Green Lifestyle just type in your zip code.

Also another comment, in Ireland they started to charge for plastic grocery bags to encourage people to use the ones you bring with you. I have noticed that now nearly al the stores sell these bags for a dollar, but they need to charge the public for the plastic to try to get them to switch.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by runnergrl

Cmon guys...yesterday was earth day. Do people support being green in north burbs of Atlanta?

I do.

Do people bring reusable bags to the grocery store and not get weird looks?

The folks at Vinings Kroger are usually amused at our use of off-white cloth *Publix* grocery bags at their store.

Do the trash services give a big enough container for recycleables and do they actually recycle them?

There are several different trash companies in some areas. The one we use (Robertson Sanitation) will provide multiple recycling bins if required, and those bins are picked up at a different time from the regular trash.

I haven't actually followed a truck to see where it goes, but their web site says "Separate collection vehicles are routed to the home, one to empty the waste for disposal at a sanitary landfill, and the other to collect recyclables for transport to a materials recovery facility."

Have people become more cognizant about being less wasteful?

I've been recycling since the 70's, usually drive a relatively high-mileage vehicle, and try to be watchful of water use and fix water leaks as soon as I can. Not sure what else we can do. We'd use more fluorescent lighting (we do use a few), but to be honest I'm still not completely convinced that the mercury content and disposal hassles of such bulbs doesn't outweigh the savings one obtains in power consumption.

Will I find myself being in a minority by continuing my efforts to be green?

I think that really depends on the group you end up hanging with. Some folks are concerned about such things, and other folks are more concerned with the upcoming NFL draft. Sad.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

There are several different trash companies in some areas. The one we use (Robertson Sanitation) will provide multiple recycling bins if required, and those bins are picked up at a different time from the regular trash.

I haven't actually followed a truck to see where it goes, but their web site says "Separate collection vehicles are routed to the home, one to empty the waste for disposal at a sanitary landfill, and the other to collect recyclables for transport to a materials recovery facility."

The company we use (Liberty Disposal) does likewise. Different truck, comes at a different time of day. The same was true when we previously used Waste Management. I am hopeful that the idea they just send the recyclables to the landfill is just an urban legend, these days.

[runnergrl]

Thank you everyone! I believe that whenever we get back home to GA and will most likely reside somewhere in Alpharetta or Suwanee...That I will keep true to my green habits I have formed out in here in the West. If anything, those of us who do "green" will inspire others. I get so jazzed when I see our recyclable container become fuller than our garbage container....sometimes week to week...we will only have one bag of garbage and the recyclable one will be full. And the recycable container is the same size as the garbage one.

I think when people see the what extra effort in separating your trash can do...that mean less stuff is going into the landfill. I have just recently phased out using the plastic bags...and the ones I dont use, I take back to the grocery store which has a container for the plastics to be recycled.

I also use dish cloths more for cleaning up messes, drying off hands and the like instead of paper towels....and I use cloth napkins instead of paper ones. I cant tell you what a difference this makes....because I dont buy paper towels as often as I used to. And it is amazing, because it is such a small change. And I pack lunches for my school aged daughters...and they use the same water bottles(like nalgene) everyday.

No big deal to keep these habits going....I think the big challenge will be for the recyclables, especially since there is more volume of that than the trash...even if it means driving them somewhere once a week.

And as for the driving...we will make sure we choose a community that will provide a small commute for my husband and for myself to be able to everything done within close proximity and efficiency. We were never ones for the big SUV's...but even so we have downsized from what we had (a volvo cross country wagon to an eurostyle type wagon...more compact so better gas mileage).