skip navigation

TCB Home Page  Reduce-Reuse-Recycle  Directory Main Page  Recycling & Reuse  (Recycle, buy, sell,  donate, rent & repair  used items)  Recycling in Tucson  & Pima County  (Residential and business  recycling; neighborhood  recycling centers & other  public programs)  Landfill & Waste  Transfer Stations  Household Hazardous  Waste  (Computers, antifreeze,  batteries, oil, paint &  other home chemicals)  Recycling & Waste  Collection Services  (Home, Business  & Roll-Off)  Waste Reduction  Tips & Programs  Environmental Resources  & Community Programs     Program Sponsors          Tucson Clean & Beautiful programs made possible in cooperation with government and corporate sponsors, an array of partnering community agencies, members & donors, volunteers, and most importantly, YOU! Thank you for helping to improve our environment and quality of life! Tucson Clean & Beautiful P.O. Box 27210 Tucson, AZ 85726 (520) 791-3109 tcb@tucsonaz.gov Tucson Clean & Beautiful website © 1984-2008. All rights reserved.   Waste Reduction Tips & Programs Because Americans generate nearly 300 million tons of garbage every year, waste reduction is an important concern. Reducing, reusing, and recycling our waste are habits that we can and should practice every day, to keep more materials out of our landfills. Half of what is thrown away can be easily reused or recycled. When we reuse or recycle, items stay in use longer before they are discarded, and decrease the need for the same new items to be produced. Reduction is the real key. When we buy products packaged with less materials or packaged in materials that can be reused or recycled locally, we throw away less. Other Programs Arizona Green Business Program – “Green Shops” The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and AAA Arizona have teamed up to coordinate the Arizona Green Business – Automotive Program. Automotive repair centers certified as “green” by AAA have voluntarily demonstrated their commitment to reduction of hazardous wastes, reuse of supplies, and recycling of shop materials when possible. The first “Green Shops” to earn certification in Arizona are located here in Tucson! AASTRO Transmission & Service, 8150 E. 22nd St. 298-1103 AASTRO Transmission & Service, 4443 W. Ina Rd. # 141. 744-0665 AASTRO Transmission & Service, 5302 E. Speedway Blvd. 325-5500 Arizona Car Care Centers, 4195 W. Ina Rd. 744-4900 Arizona Car Care Centers, 7970 E. Golf Links Rd. 546-1600 Borst Automotive, 1255 S. Swan Rd. 748-8861 BrakeMax, 6560 N. Thornydale Rd. 878-0111 BrakeMax, 7613 N. Oracle Rd. 877-9991 BrakeMax, 7525 S. Houghton Rd. 663-0005 Milex Automotive Service Center, 6911 E. Broadway Blvd. 298-9404 The Directory Source, toll-free 1-800-422-8793 To reduce outdated telephone directory waste, residents and businesses may order the Dex Yellow and White Pages Tucson telephone directory on a free CD-ROM, to be accessed on computers, and CD directory software is available to be placed on business networks. Complete elimination of wasted directories can also be achieved by using the Dex telephone directory on the Internet for Tucson and many other areas. EPA WasteWise Program, 1-800-EPA-WISE (1-800-372-9473) This free program, developed and administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, provides assistance to businesses and other organizations to help them discover opportunities for reducing waste in the workplace. Tucson Clean & Beautiful is a WasteWise Endorser, and will be glad to assist you with waste reduction efforts at your business. Call Tucson Clean & Beautiful at 791-3109 for more information. The Freecycle Network E-mail: info@freecycle.org An online community providing a free service for people who would like to give away and/or receive reusable items. Everything posted on this list must be free. REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE? Reduce Notice the amount of packaging when you buy an item. Consider your options: Buy in bulk for items you use often; there is normally less packaging overall than buying many smaller packages Find brands that use less packaging Tell companies when you're dissatisfied with having to dispose of non-recyclable or excessive packaging. Manufacturers often listen to consumers who tell them that they no longer purchase their products due to excessive packaging. If purchasing an item that you can easily carry out in your hand, ask the clerk to keep the bag and carry the item with your receipt. Reduce the amount of mail you receive; download Tucson Clean & Beautiful's tip sheet on "How to Reduce Unwanted Mail" (Adobe PDF Document form) or see below. Reuse Creativity is the key. Think of other uses for an item or find someone else who can use it before you throw it away. Reuse bottles and jars. Empty jugs can be refilled at filtered water stations or machines. Rechargeable batteries, cloth products, and reusable razors reduce the waste produced by disposables. More durable alternatives may seem more expensive, but they save money in the long run. Reuse paper grocery bags at your grocery store; some stores give you a 5 cent credit per bag that is reused, or if you bring a cloth shopping bag. Recycle The efficiency of the American recycling industry depends on the quality control you provide. You can help by doing the following: Please, always follow your service provider’s guidelines, because the only commodities actually recycled are those accepted by the Materials Recovery Facility to be sorted and shipped for processing. Do not assume that a recycling symbol means it is recyclable through the particular service you use. Items other than those accepted by the Materials Recovery Facility contaminate the whole process and eventually have to be disposed off at a higher cost than if they were properly discarded as waste. Items not on the recycling list of accepted items are considered a contaminant and are sent with garbage to the landfill. Buy products packaged in materials that you know are locally recyclable. If you participate in TucsonRecycles, please Recycle the Right Way! Compost yard and kitchen waste; practice nature's way of recycling by returning nutrients to your gardens. "Make it last, wear it out, use it up, and do without..." How to Reduce Unwanted Mail You may download Tucson Clean & Beautiful's tip sheet on "How to Reduce Unwanted Mail" (Adobe PDF Document form) or see the listing below: Direct mailings (third class mail, presort standard, bulk rate) provide a service in our community for advertisers and consumers alike; but if you are receiving unwanted, unsolicited mail, be selective. If advertising is going from the mailbox to the recycle bin, then get off the mailing lists. Keep the following tips in mind: Reducing unwanted mail takes persistence and patience, as it takes a few months and several calls and letters before there is a noticeable decrease in the amount of solicitations you receive. The more diligent you are, the less mail you get. The following resources will remove your name from specific local and national mailing lists. Note, that this will not take you off of "carrier route" nonspecific local mailings that do not have your address on them. Additional tips: do not give your name, phone number, e-mail, or mailing address out for any type of contest, sweepstakes, prize, sample, or promotion unless you are truly interested in the program. These contests are prime ways that marketers obtain new or updated addresses and phone solicitation numbers. If you do choose to give your email address out to marketers, consider maintaining a separate, private email account for personal correspondence. For companies you do business with, be sure to express to their customer service departments your desire to not have your name, phone, or address shared with any other company, or even with other divisions of the company unless necessary for your account. This can be in writing, or often over the phone. For e-mail messages from companies you have not requested information, simply delete the message or use software that will block the email address. DO NOT follow the "directions to unsubscribe" from the list or provide additional personal contact information in a website form unless you initiated the email, transaction, or subscribed to the list. Often, by "clicking here to unsubscribe" from these lists, you are unwittingly confirming to the undesired company that your email address is current and correct, so they will send you more emails and pass your address and information on to other companies. Likewise, forward on only pertinent information to friends, family members, and co-workers; don't inadvertently become a junk mailer by forwarding on the latest scares, hoaxes, get-rich-quick schemes, and the like. Nobody is going to mail you a check just for forwarding an email to everyone on your contact list; if it is too good to be true, it probably is. Specific mailing lists you may choose to be removed from: ADVO/Mailbox Values and Paper Mint: Call toll-free, 1-888-241-6760 to request removal from their mailing list. America On Line CDs and other internet service providers: Call 1-888-265-8002 to request that your address be removed from AOL's mailing list. You do not need to provide your name or phone number; just your address should be sufficient. For many other internet service providers, their advertising typically has a toll-free number listed on the CD or packaging as well. Carol Wright Gifts: Send a letter to this address, requesting removal of your name and address from mailing lists.      Carol Wright Gifts      Customer Service      P.O. Box 8502      Lincoln, NE 68544 Catalogs: Call the toll-free phone number of the company sending the unwanted or duplicate catalog; request removal from their mailing list, giving them the exact information on your catalog's mailing label. You may also mail or fax your mailing label to the company's customer service department, with written instructions to remove you from all mailing, phone and exchange lists. Credit Offers: Call Experian at 1-888-567-8688 to be deleted from the mailing lists of three major credit companies. Recorded voicemail instructions will give options for the amount of time your name can be removed. Also, call or write to your specific credit card companies and tell them to stop selling your name to all outside companies and affiliates. a href="http://www.the-dma.org" target="blank">Direct Marketing Association: Maintains a do-not-mail list; member companies and organizations compare their lists to the DMA registration list, and remove registrants from mailing lists. Send a letter to this address, requesting removal of your name and address from mailing lists – a fee applies of $1 per name to be removed:      Mail Preference Service      c/o Direct Marketing Association      P.O. Box 282      Carmel, NY 10512 Harte Hanks Direct Marketing: Send a letter to this address, requesting removal of your name and address from mailing lists.      Harte Hanks Direct Marketing      List Maintenance      100 Alco Place      Baltimore, MD 21277 National Do Not Call Registry: The United States Government maintains a residential do-not-call list. Call toll free 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you would like to register. Power Mail: Attach the mailing label to a note, requesting removal from their mailing list.      Power Mail      Milltown Office Park      Route 22, Suite B-002      Brewster, NY 10509 Sweepstakes Offers: Call the toll free number listed on the offer to request removal for others not listed here. Publisher's Clearinghouse: Call 1-800-645-9242 to request removal from mailing list. Reader's Digest: Call 1-800-234-9000 to request removal from their mailing list. Sexually Oriented Advertising: At any US Post office, fill out and submit form 2150 or 2201. Val-Pak: Send a letter to this address, requesting removal of your name and address from mailing lists.      Val-Pak Direct Marketing Systems      8605 Largo Lakes Drive      Largo, FL 33773 Tucson Clean & Beautiful Reduce-Reuse-Recycle Directory for Tucson and Pima County © 1984-2008. Information is for individual use only, and may not be reproduced for commercial use without the express written consent of Tucson Clean & Beautiful. Tucson Clean & Beautiful is not responsible for the content of outside website links. Questions? Comments? Corrections or additions? Contact us! Tucson Clean & Beautiful P.O. Box 27210 Tucson, AZ 85726 Tucson Recycles Info Line (520) 791-5000 tcb@tucsonaz.gov