10 Ideas For Easier Recycling At Home
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Recycling is one of the easiest ways to go green in your home, doing your part to conserve our precious environment for future generations. If your community doesn’t have a dedicated recycling service to take your recyclable waste away each week, you’ll need to put in a bit of extra effort to dispose of your waste properly so that it can be converted into new materials. Follow these tips to make the process as easy as possible.
- Know What You Can Recycle
The first step is to educate yourself as to which items can be recycled and which cannot. For the most part, anything made from paper, cardboard, aluminum, and glass can be recycled. It is important to note, though, that some recycling plants will not accept items that are contaminated with food waste, biological waste, and other dirt and debris. Be sure to check with your local recycling center to verify what they can accept.
- Sort Your Plastics
Many plastics, but not all, can be recycled. Look for the recycling symbol to determine if a particular plastic is recyclable or not. This looks like three arrows in the shape of a triangle, with a number in the center. For the most part, plastics numbered 1 to 7 can be recycled. However, this can vary by jurisdiction, so check with your local recycling center to be sure. To take your recycling efforts a step further, check products before you buy so that you can buy recyclable products whenever possible.
- Use Separate Trash Cans
It is far easier to sort out recyclables before they ever go into the trash. This will also help to prevent any contamination that could prevent certain items from being recyclable. Use dedicated trash cans for garbage and recyclables to make things as easy as possible for you and your family. The easier it is for you to recycle, the more likely it will be that you will stick with it.
- Pull-Out Trash Bins
If you don’t like the idea of having multiple trash cans in your kitchen, try a pull-out drawer. This deep style of drawer is perfect for two small bins that you can empty into larger bins in your garage or outside your home as needed. You’ll find a wealth of DIY videos online to help you convert a kitchen cabinet into a pull-out trash space, or you can hire a handyman or contractor to do the work for you. Either way, you’ll have easy access to your trash and recycling bins without creating an eyesore.
- Rolling Bins
Another option for keeping your trash and recyclables accessible but out of sight is to use baskets or buckets with casters. Simply roll them under a bench or small table to keep them out of the way when not in use. When you need to throw something away, just roll them back out again.
- Vertical Bins
If you are short on floor space, you can try using vertical bins instead. Look for hanging bins at your local home goods store, or search for videos online for help with going the DIY route. Make sure that it is easy for you to take the bins on and off the wall when they need to be emptied so that you’ll be more inclined to use them.
- Complement Your Decor
Just because your bins will contain waste items doesn’t mean that they have to look like garbage themselves. Look for bins in a fun color or material so that they become part of your decor. Match them all together for a cohesive look or choose several different styles for a more eclectic vibe.
- Label Everything
Don’t forget to label each of your bins so you know what goes in each one. You can print out labels using a label maker or your home printer, or you can get a bit creative and paint or draw the labels yourself.
- Separate Specialty Items
Things like batteries and light bulbs can be recycled, but they require special processing. You’ll need to separate these items from the rest of your recyclables. Empty coffee tins are perfect for storing these items until you are ready to drop them off at the recycling center.
- Corral Bulky Items
You likely don’t want large, bulky items cluttering up your home until you can take them out to the recycling center, so set up an area in your garage or yard to stash these items until you are ready to go. This way, everything will be in one place when you are ready to drop it off.
Recycling is so easy to do and only requires minor changes to your daily life. If you haven’t yet started with recycling, now is the time to join the green movement.
