Recycling In The Keweenaw

Information about where to take various recyclables in the Copper Country: used oil, household items, corrugated cardboard, car and rechargeable household batteries, paint, refrigerators, and other large appliances. Select a file and Click to see

• "Recycling in the Keweenaw"
  html file or PDF File
  
  
• Waste Management (Peninsula Sanitation) Recycling Guidelines (New 10/06/2008)
  PDF file

Information concerning recycling rechargeable batteries (Ni-Cd, Ni-MH, Li-ion, Pb).

How to turn food waste into compost indoors year-round (with a little help from redworms). In PDF format.

WARNING: If the red wrigglers used for composting are released in the wild, they can harm our northern forests. Surprisingly, earthworms were not part of the ecosystems that evolved since the glaciers retreated some 10,000 years ago. We may have grown up learning that worms are good for our gardens, but non-native earthworms are no friends of our forests. Read more about it at Great Lakes Worm Watch and a
series of postings from an urban field ecologist

The earthworms used for composting are particularly harmful to forest nutrient cycling, even though most of their spread has been from discarded fish bait. To prevent your compost from accidentally introducing these alien invaders to new areas, researchers recommend freezing your compost for at least a week (a month is better) to kill worms and eggs before using the compost outdoors.

Last Update: 9/22/2008