Recycling at home is fun, easy, and good for the environment. Here's how to incorporate it into your daily life.
Studies show that the more we consume the more trash we generate. Landfills and incineration are two major ways of trash disposal. However, landfills take up space and can create health risks for the communities by which they are located. Incineration burns waste however, it also can create air pollution. An alternative to generating tons of trash every year is recycling. Recycling reduces trash and is economical. Many things people discard as refuse can be reused in many different ways. Reusing things makes it unnecessary to use valuable resources to create new product. The number of post consumer products on store shelves is increasing. You can do your part by starting it in the home. Recycling is easy, will save you money, and can even be fun for the whole family.
There are different kinds of recycling. There is recycling of paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, and even car oil. Bleached paper and newsprint recycling reduces the amount of trees that are cut down. Plastic can be recycled into other plastics. Glass can be melted down and made into many different forms from drinking glasses to glass fiber. Aluminum can be recycled into other cans, foil, and even wrapping paper. Most do not realize that even car oil can be burned for energy recovery and/or recycled and re-used.
In the home it is easy to recycle your used plastics, cans, paper, and glass. It is not necessary to buy expensive multi-sectioned containers or take up an entire room or garage. Recycling can be done in a corner of a kitchen. A couple of boxes in a corner or a couple of regular kitchen trashcans are sufficient.
To recycle aluminum cans, simply rinse them out after use, and toss into the container you set aside for aluminum. The same can be done with your daily newspaper after you read it""just toss it aside into your designated area.
Newspaper does not require any preparation. With glass, it is imperative that you clean it before setting it aside. Remove any wrappings and thoroughly wash any glass that has food remnants. Also thoroughly wash any glass that has held any sort of cleansing product or otherwise noxious substance. For plastic it is helpful to look on the bottom of containers to make sure they are indeed recyclable plastics. The recycling symbol is a triangle made with three arrows going clockwise. Many times there is a number in the middle that is used by recycling plants.
Car oil takes a little more preparation. If you change your own car oil at home, be sure to store it in an appropriate container. A suitable and safe container can be purchased at an auto parts store, gas station, or the automotive sections of stores like Wal-Mart and K-mart. Be sure that the oil is not spilled and never pour it down a sink or drain. The easiest thing to do is to take it to a service station unless you have an oil recycling center near you. For the things other than oil, locate recycling centers in your phone book or you can check with local chain stores. If you are near a university or college, you can usually find recycling bins around and near campus. Moreover some cities have recycling as part of the weekly trash pick-up and even provide containers. Find out if that may be the case in your neighborhood. A special perk of aluminum can recycling is that many times you can get a small amount of money for the cans. Some states have set amounts per can and some areas pay by the weight of the aluminum.
By recycling you are helping the environment and helping yourself. Recycling helps reduce cost that companies pass on to the consumer, reduces the number of trash bags you purchase for your home, and even puts you in a creative mindset to reuse your refuse. For example, instead of washing out a bottle for recycling you may decide to turn it into a lamp. Recycling will change your life in a good way. See how creative you can be.
