1. Find out what is recyclable everywhere. For example, even though we didn’t have curbside pickup for plastics in my area of New Mexico, we all know plastics are still recyclable. Make a list. If you’re not sure what’s recyclable and what’s trash, read Commonly Recycled Materials.

2. Perform a trash audit at your house. If you’re tossing recyclables, a well done (and easy) trash audit will let you know. One audit only takes about a week of your time, and in the long run will save you money on your garbage bill and help the planet. How to do your own green trash and recycling audit.

3. Set up a good recycling center in your home. I suggest placing your center in a high traffic area, but the garage or porch is good too. Ideally, you’ll want bins for each type of recycling, and if you have little ones, you’ll want to mark each bin clearly with a picture.

4. Contact your local recycling center about curbside. Your goal is to find out what they pick up and what they won’t. Many curbside programs pick up stuff that might surprise you. If you have curbside, make a note of days and times for pick-ups, and stick it to your fridge.

5. Locate a recycling center for all the stuff curbside won’t pick up. It’s highly unlikely that curbside recycling will pick up everything you need to recycle. For example, old CDs, batteries, drink boxes, wood, electronics and motor oil are good examples of things you can recycle, but not usually curbside. To locate a recycling center for almost anything, check out the resources below before you toss that item in the trash:

• Earth 911 – allows you to enter your zip and an item and a list of centers will pop up.
• Where Can I Recycle My…
• How Can I Recycle This? – AWESOME site that looks at new uses for old items. Highly reader interactive, so head over and participate.

Now you have no reason not to recycle; right!?

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

Five Steps To Recycling

When shopping, look for the following materials which can be recycled in most areas…

• Paper and cardboard.
• Aluminum and steel, both in can form and other products.
• Most plastic bottles IF you remove the lids.
• Glass of any type so long as it’s clean.
• Batteries.
• Computers and other appliances. Sometimes you can’t recycle whole appliances, but you can usually find a recycling center that will take care of the entire appliance for you (they’ll save the usable and recyclable parts).
• Clothing and shoes (that aren’t beyond repair). Give used items to non-profits or thrift stores. If clothing is beyond repair or too dingy for words, cut up those shirts and use them to clean with. Score two for you because you get to ditch paper towels.
• CDs, DVDs, and computer discs.
• Paint.
• Your whole darn car – seriously.
• Some juice boxes (look for the recycle symbol before you buy).
• Sometimes you can even recycle aerosol products.
• Hangers – of the wire variety.
• Cell phones.
• Eye glasses.
• Prescription bottles

What you often CANNOT recycle:

• Dirty, greasy paper and cardboard (pizza boxes).
• Many aerosol cans.
• Squeezable plastics like ketchup bottles have not been deemed totally recyclable, so buy glass if you have a choice.
• Paper or cardboard with lots of glue or adhesive stuck on.
• Styrofoam – it’s rare to find a recycling center that takes Styrofoam or foam, but that doesn’t mean you can recycle it – use it for mailing packages – but don’t buy it unless absolutely necessary.

Not sure how to get started? If you’ve got products and packaging to recycle, first learn about the local recycling center in your area. Figure out what they take, and how they like it (for example, some centers hate dirty boxes while others don’t care.) After navigating your local recycling center, find places to recycle those harder to recycle items. You can check Earth 911 for a center that takes specific items.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

What you can and can’t recycle