Western Disposal

How to Create an Organic Garden with Your Compost

Paper, food scraps, wood, and yard trimmings are a few regularly discarded items that can be composted. By utilizing these materials, you can create a beautiful, cost-efficient, and eco-friendly garden. Read on for a brief guide to the composting process and follow these steps to create a beautiful garden.

• Spread a Brown Layer: The first order of business is deciding where you want to compost. Once you’ve designated a certain area, begin by spreading a layer of brown, or carbon-rich materials. This can include straw, leaves, and even shredded newspaper. This layer will ideally be a few inches thick.
• Top it with a Green Layer: After you’ve spread a few inch thick layer of carbon-rich, brown materials, you will then top it with a layer of green materials. This will likely be grass clippings, but can also include vegetable peelings and related kitchen waste.
• Add a Layer of Soil: After spreading a layer of grass, vegetable peelings, and other greens, you will want to add a layer of garden soils. This should be roughly one or two shovelfuls, however the amount can fluctuate depending on the size of your composting area.
• Add More Brown: Once you’ve added a layer of soil you will need to once again add a layer of brown leaves and other brown materials on top of the soil.
• Moisten: It’s imperative that you don’t let the area get too dry, because dryness slows the decomposition process. In order to gauge if your compost is moist enough, grab a handful and see if it feels similar to a wet sponge. If it feels dryer than that, moisten it to accelerate the composition process.
• Enjoy: Composting improves the quality of your garden soil and negates any deficiencies the soil may have had. Not only will you be left with an incredible garden, but you’ll also be helping the environment by utilizing this all-natural process.

To learn more about composting and its many benefits, don’t hesitate to contact Western Disposal in Boulder. To find out more information, call us at (303) 586-1100 today.

Visit These Websites To Learn More About Proper Disposal Of Different Types Of Trash

For trash services and recycling services to run smoothly, you have to be diligent about keeping possible contaminants out of the system. Some materials are hazardous, and other items can disrupt the processes used at trash and recycling facilities. Follow these links to learn how to dispose of tricky items. For more help making sure you’re following trash and recycling guidelines, call us at Western Disposal Services at (303) 586-1100 for help anytime.

• It’s important to keep possible contaminants out of your recycling bin. If you’re unsure what to send to recycling and what to put in your trash, keep this list of things you shouldn’t recycle by Earth 911 in mind.
• Cooking oil could damage the machines that sort trash, so it doesn’t belong in your bin. Find out how to properly dispose of cooking oil in this guide from TheHousingForum.com.
• Motor oil poses a similar danger to trash sorting facilities. Instead of putting your oil in the trash, find out about motor oil recycling in this National Motorists Association article.
• Boulder County has a facility dedicated to disposing of and recycling hazardous waste. Learn more about Boulder’s Hazards Materials Management Facility and how to get rid of your hazard waste on their website.
• Fluorescent light bulbs aren’t good for regular trash collection, but they can be recycled. The Environmental Protection Agency has advice on how to recycle or dispose of fluorescent bulbs on their website.

How to Dispose of Items that Shouldn't be Placed in the Trash

Your trash can is not the best place for all of your waste, but even if your items aren’t suited for normal trash service, you still need to get them out of your home. Here are some common items you may be struggling to dispose of and how to get rid of them once and for all:

Hazardous Materials

Any item that is flammable, combustible, poison, or toxic is considered to be hazardous waste and can’t be collected through a normal trash service. If you’re unsure if your item is hazardous, check the container for any wording that suggests the product could be poisonous or could explode. Instead of putting hazardous materials into your regular trash bins, take them to your county’s household hazards waste facility. In Boulder County, the Hazardous Materials Management Facility serves residents in Boulder, Broomfield City and County, and the Town of Erie.

Cooking Oil

In its liquid form, cooking oil should not be put in the trash, but solidified oil can be included in your normal trash collection. If the oil naturally solidifies, you can dispose of it that way. Adding cat litter to oil that doesn’t naturally solidify will turn it into a solid you can put in the trash. Cooking oil can also be composted.

Motor Oil

Dirty motor oil has no place in the trash can. Instead, wait for the oil to cool, and pour it into empty gallon containers from other household items, such as empty milk containers. Take the oil to a gas station that has an oil recycling service. Some oil changing companies also offer oil recycling services. There may be a small fee for the recycling.

At Boulder, Colorado’s Western Disposal Services, we’re here to make trash day easy. Call us anytime if you’re unsure about how to dispose of an item. You can also inquire about our residential and commercial trash and recycling services. Dial (303) 586-1100 today to see how we can help you with your trash service.

How It's Made: Recycling

Recycling has become a way of life for many people, but do you ever wonder what happens to the trash that you put into your recycling bin? Your recyclables have a long journey from your curb to their final transformation into a new product, but nearly everything you take the time to recycle does get re-used and helps reduce waste.

In this video, see where your recyclables go after you put them in your bin. See how many times recyclable materials are sorted before they are compacted and sent to a recycling center. Then, find out how the recycling center cleans, melts, and shreds plastics that can be molded into various products, including new recycling bins.

At Western Disposal Services, we’re committed to building a zero-waste society. Call us today at (303) 586-1100 to learn more about our recycling services in the Boulder, Colorado, area.

Trash that Should Be Kept Out of Your Recycling Bin

Everyone knows how important recycling is to the planet, and technological advances mean that more things can be recycled these days than ever before. However, there are still some things that are best kept out of your recycling bin. Do your recycling service a favor, and put these items in your trash can:

Shredded or Colored Paper

Whole or torn sheets of paper are ideal for recycling, but shredded paper is a different story. When your shred paper, you break up the paper fibers, making it more difficult to recycle. Shredded paper is also hard for recycling services to handle because it gets mixed up with other materials during the sorting process.

Colored paper is also a non-recyclable item. The color will seep into the other paper being recycled, rendering it useless. Pastel paper is OK for recycling, but put dark or neon paper in the trash.

Plastic Bags

Plastic bags are completely recyclable, but not by your residential recycling service. The problem is that the bags tend to get wrapped up in the sorting machines at plants used by many recycling services. Take these bags back to your grocery store. Most store chains have their own plastic bag recycling programs.

Pizza Boxes

Many people head to their recycling bins with their pizza boxes, because they are made of corrugated cardboard that, in many cases, comes from recycled material itself. However, once a pizza is added to a box, its recyclable days are over. The grease from the pizza bonds to the cardboard. Cardboard is shredded and mixed with water during the recycling process. The grease doesn’t mix with the water and instead contaminates the entire batch of recycling.

Pizza boxes aren’t the only culprit. You should keep all food-related waste out of your recycling bin for the same reason.

At Western Disposal Services, we’re here to help make recycling easy for you. If you’re unsure what to put in your recycling bin, or if you need more information about our commercial and residential recycling and waste management services, call us at (303) 586-1100.