Recycle Something
To find specific recycling information about the following click on the links to find out more.
Electronics -- Printer Cartridges -- Crayons -- Cans -- Paper/Cardboard -- Plastic Bags
Electronics
Stressed out about how to get rid of your old electronics?
We can help you.
Why you don't want to throw them away
Because electronics with cathode ray tubes (CRTs)--such as old televisions and computer monitors--contain lead, they can pose a threat to the environment when discarded in the garbage. In Minnesota, all non-residential waste generators must recycle CRTs or manage them as hazardous waste. There are no restrictions on disposal of CRTS by household generators of CRTs, but we strongly suggest that you recycle your electronic waste in an environmentally sensitive fashion. In fact, many garbage haulers may not even pick up your electronics left as trash.
Why is there a fee to recycle my electronics?
In most cases in Minnesota, you have to pay to get rid of your old electronics. The recycling of CRTs in particular is expensive because of the expense of handling the leaded glass.
Most recycling professionals don't like to charge you because it often leads to illegal dumping and improper disposal. This is why your county household hazardous waste (HHW) programs usually accept your old paint, pesticides, and similar products for free (although they are supported with tax dollars).
Proper management of electronics is the hottest issue in recycling today. There is a National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative (NEPSI) that is trying to find a way to create the cheapest way to recycle old electronics on a nationwide basis. So in the long term, things look brighter, but for the moment there is a cost to the consumer.
Where to take them or who to call
Please click here to an excellent directory of recyclers and drop-off sites for electronics at the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance web site.
Recycle your Laptop for FREE! Order a free kit from RAM to recycle your laptop using our postage paid program from anywhere in the United States. Our kit includes instructions on how to package your laptop reusing a box from home and a postage paid label for mailing your laptop to a legitimate recycler. Click here to send an email to receive our laptop recycling kit. Please note, this RAM program is only for recycling laptops.
NEW!! Holiday Lights Recycling Program!
Recycle your unwanted holiday lights and electrical cords for FREE!
We have FREE pick up available in Mankato, Hutchinson, Twin Cities, St. Cloud, Duluth and Pine City areas.
Printer Cartridges
Recycle Your Ink Jet Cartridges!
RAM has partnered with a legitimate ink jet cartridge recycler here in the USA to help recycle ink jet printer cartridges. We can send you a free recycling kit right to your door! All ink jet cartridges will be either refurbished or recycled.
Kit for bulk shipments
KIT FOR BULK SHIPMENTS: This is our preferred method for recycling as it is more environmental by shipping in bulk quantities. Up to 30 cartridges can be mailed by this method. We provide you with a small box that acts as the collection box and shipping box all-in-one. Postage is paid. All you have to do is set up our box in an area to collect ink jets from employees or customers. When it's full, tape it shut and mail. Click here to order your free box!
Laser Printer Cartridges
Sorry, our program does not currently recycle these cartridges.
Buy Remanufactured Cartridges
Don't forget to close the recycling loop by buying remanufactured cartridges. Most office supply stores now carry them!
Crayons
Crayon Recycling and Recycled Crayons
RAM is partnering with CRAYON RECYCLE PROGRAM™ to help Minnesotans recycle crayons.
The CRAYON RECYCLE PROGRAM™ recycles old, rejected, broken crayons into fresh, new CRAZY CRAYONS™! The new crayons are in all different shapes, colors, and styles.
Sorry, LAF Lines cannot reimburse for shipping. But for every pound of crayons sent to LAF Lines Ltd. for recycling, you will receive one CRAZY CRAYON™. For example, if you send in 50 pounds of unwanted crayons, you will get 50 CRAZY CRAYONS™ in return, as an effort to "close the loop".
For more information on ordering CRAZY CRAYONS™, visit their website. You can also be a collection point at your school or organization. Call for more information!
Also see the CRAYON RECYCLE PROGRAM™ website by clicking here.
Cans
Recycling aluminum cans helps to save more energy than just about any other material. Aluminum is very energy-intensive to make at a smelter; when cans are recycled and sent to a secondary smelter, it takes 95 percent less energy to smelt them into new cans than if a can manufacturer used virgin aluminum ore.
In Minnesota, you can usually redeem cans for cash at recycling centers and local metal recycling businesses. There are several resources for finding a place to redeem cans.
We've received a lot of requests to post the price offered per pound at local recycling centers. However, prices change so regularly that RAM can't possibly update them fast enough. Please call the centers below for the latest prices!
Your county solid waste office. In some cases, particularly outside the Twin Cities metro area, the county owns or operates the local recycling center and can redeem your cans. To find your county recycling contact, click here.
State end markets directory. The Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance maintains a list of places that accept all types of material for recycling. Click here to view the directory.
In the metro area, there are several RAM members that will redeem cans.
Dakota County Eco-Site in Eagan, 651-905-4520.
Kaplan's Metal Reduction in St. Paul, 651-222-8551.
American Iron in North Minneapolis, 612-529-9221
Paper/Cardboard
Recycling cardboard and office paper is one of the best ways to reduce your business's garbage bill. In addition, recyclers WANT your office paper and cardboard!
There's two parts to paper recycling: collecting the material inside your facility and getting it taken away by a recycler.
How do I collect it?
The first part is usually the most difficult! It is important to put clean material into the container that gets picked up by a recycler, so you'll need to know a few things first.
Office paper is usually collected from many different locations within a facility. Cardboard is usually collected in a shipping or receiving area.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a useful Office Paper Recycling Guide on the web.
Weyerhaeuser has a paper calculator on its web site that helps you figure out how much paper your office generates.
Who takes it?
You have several few options for finding someone to take your office paper and cardboard.
The simplest route is to check with your garbage hauler and see if they also accept paper and cardboard for recycling. They will usually be able to give you a recycling container at your loading dock.
There are also many paper recyclers who would like your material.
RAM members that can collect or accept your recyclable paper and cardboard include:
Recovered Materials Management, Apple Valley, (952) 891-8565.
Weyerhaeuser, New Brighton, (651) 635-1409.
Rohn Industries, St. Paul, (651) 647-1300.
LDI Fibres, New Hope, (763) 536-6841.
Waste Management, (952) 890-1100.
Allied Waste/BFI, 651-455-8634 (St. Paul area), (952) 941-5174 (south and west metro),
763-784-2104 (north metro)
Rock-Tenn Recycling in St. Paul, (651) 641-4874.
LJP Enterprises Waste and Recycling, Mankato area, (507) 934-6029
Tell them you heard about it from the RAM web site!
In addition, the Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board (a joint powers group of six Twin Cities metro counties) has a Resourceful Waste Management Guide on-line. You can go to the SWMCB web site and find a metro recycler for cardboard and office paper.
Outside the Twin Cities metro area, contact your county solid waste office. To find your county recycling coordinator, click here.
What happens to it?
Want to know how recycled paper and cardboard get made into new paper? See how recycled paper is made at Liberty Paper in Becker, Minnesota by clicking here.
Plastic Bags
You can recycle more plastic bags than you think with this program. Find out more from the "It's in the Bag" website.
