New brands, varieties, or packaging types found September-December, 2009

I've continued picking up other people's discarded recyclables, but have stopped keeping tallies. At first, it was because concern over swine flu meant that I was tossing recyclables in whatever recycling bin I first came across instead of taking them home for logging. Then, things became really, really crazy at work, and I just didn't have the time or energy to deal with blogging. Now, I find myself itching to use my precious personal time for other things, including reading and commenting on other people's blogs. I may go back to entering tallies again in the future if I have more time on my hands.

Meanwhile, here is a tally of new brands, varieties, or packaging types found over the last few months:

• glass bottles: Howl beer, Paul Masson Grande Amber Brandy
  
• aluminum cans: Sprite Zero, Watermelon Four Loko Premium Malt Beverage (found outside an elementary school)
  
• plastic bottle: Sobe Fuji Apple Pear Lifewater
  
• metal bottle (really!): Bud Light beer (not sure where/how to recycle)
  

The metal Bud Light bottle was completely new to me. I went to www.budlight.com to see if there was any information on where to recycle it, and was shown this message:

Our site requires Flash 9 in order to present you with the highest level of interactivity available.
Please click here to visit the Macromedia site and download the free Flash player for your Web browser, then return to our site to experience our site at its best.

Messages like that annoy me no end. I'm using an old computer that can't handle Flash, and don't appreciate being kept out of the site just because I can't view flashy animations.

Anyway, I'm not sure what to do with the bottle. The local recycling contractor separates ferrous metals from other recyclables by using magnets, then sorts the remaining materials by shape and weight. The Bud Light bottle isn't attracted to magnets, and is light enough that I fear it could end up being sorted into a load of plastic bottles, which it would contaminate. What should I do with it?