This Wednesday is a “Red Wednesday”, which means trash and recycling pickup. Please go over what can be recycled. Ideally, rolling recycling containers are stored and deployed in the back alleys along with trash cans. Please make sure you pick up containers after pickup tomorrow night.

If you have not done so already, don’t forget to sign up for your Recycling Perks.
In order to take your recycling to the next level, read this: 10 ways to improve your recycling.

In recycling news…

WTOP News reports that collections are under strain in all jurisdictions of Northern Virginia.

Many of those people have kept busy spring cleaning, and the result is bigger piles of trash and recyclables on the curb.

“Most of the jurisdictions are reporting a huge increase in trash and major waste generation from our households. Since stay-at-home orders were put in place, some have recorded 30% to 40% increases in the overall waste that is set out,” said environmental planner Debbie Spiliotopoulos, of the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. “It’s a huge burden on the waste collections systems.”

In other news, a Virginia Tech science team is helping make lithium-ion batteries more environmentally friendly. By reformulating the materials used for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries, researchers have come up with a way to process and recycle the batteries’ electrodes without using organic solvents. The advance could reduce the costs, hazards, and environmental impact of manufacturing and recycling these common power sources.