Set Up a Home Recycling System

Recycling helps cut domestic waste that would otherwise be buried in landfills and provides a steady supply of used materials that can be transformed into new, practical objects we use every day. Recycling is beneficial to the environment and to us, and in no time at all, you should find it as natural and instinctive as breathing. Recycling at home is an easy and necessary thing to do. It can save you money and cut your waste by half or more probably reducing your garbage bill.

Steps

  1. Ask your municipality or council for a recycling bin or 'dumpster'-style outdoor bin which depending on where you live may be free of charge.
  2. Request the list of recyclable materials from your local collector. Not all municipalities councils or cities accept empty milk cartons, for example, or used plastic grocery bags.
  3. Set up a place in your home for collection of clean paper, cans, plastic containers and unbroken glass. These should be cleaned before putting out for collection. The bin for paper will probably be the largest. Paper waste is Compost
  4. Go to a landfill and see if there is anything of use.



Tips

  • Set up recycle cans or bins around the house wherever you have a garbage can to reduce waste on the spot.
  • Think of new ways to re use old items that you would usually put in the landfill.
  • The best paper to recycle is computer paper. The least useful is construction paper. Shredded paper is difficult to separate so it goes into a lower grade paper. Only shred what you must shred.
  • Rinse containers to help reduce any odors.
  • Recycle those things that can only be recycled!
  • Join freecycle to give away unwanted household items such as furniture
  • To cut down on clutter, consider an can and plastic crushing recycling bin such as the Ecopod.
  • See your local recycle regulations.
  • Automobile fluids should be recycled too. Take used oil and other fluids to a local repair shop and they will recycle it for you.
  • Some countries may provide small cash rewards for each item recycled, so it's a good idea to save up the items until you have enough to buy something with the rewards.
  • Crush plastic containers and cans because it saves space in your cans and in the truck that transports them.
  • Challenge yourself to reduce your garbage by half. Even if you are recycling now this can be a great challenge to try to reduce or re-use as many items as possible.
  • Try to avoid making special trips in your car to recycle, as you will be using fuel unnecessarily. Combine it with a trip you are making anyway.
  • Reuse, or donate for reuse, as much as you can. Reduce packaging and use of materials can also help in reducing landfill waste.
  • Wash the indoor bin regularly with soap or bleach.
  • Expand your awareness and educate yourself about recycling so that the process becomes more efficient over time.
  • List just about anything including boxes on Craigslist in the free area.
  • If you live in an apartment and have only a small bin, which you might be obliged to leave on a porch or shared balcony, use an indelible marker to mark your address on it.
  • Recycling can be even easier if your community has mixed recycling.Because you would only need two containers then one for mixed and one for glass.
  • If you can't have a compost pile or bin consider a worm bin for kitchen food scraps or an indoor composter. Indoor composting and worm composting in odor free. Some indoor composters run on electricity.
  • Don't just think of the normal items you can recycle, do some research and expand it. Some things you might be able to recycle easily are:

    • Junk Mail
    • Batteries
    • Beer and Wine bottles
    • Paper and plastic bags
    • Magazines, newspapers, phone books

Warnings

  • Lots of places have hazardous waste facilities. Check these out for toxic wastes.
  • Never put biodegradable organic materials in recycling such as meat, egg shells, bones. These will be refused, and animals are likely to be attracted to the scent and make a mess that nobody will appreciate. Compost these items instead. It should however be noted that some counties do collect biodegradable foods and will provide a special container for that purpose.
  • Bins are usually free, but they can get stolen, especially in the city. Putting your address on it is a handy deterrent.
  • Soiled tissues, diapers, fabrics, broken glass, toxic materials, etc. will not be accepted. The worker(s) will usually leave such items in your bin.

Related Articles

  • Reuse Junk Mail
Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Set_Up_a_Home_Recycling_System&oldid=362519"