Source: Freeway Insurance Feature Photo Source: Unsplash, Paweł Czerwiński
In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 600 times the amount of his or her adult weight in garbage. Recycling is an important part of protecting the environment and helps conserve resources and energy, preserves valuable landfill space and supports a healthy environment.
Below are 10 ways to recycle, some of which also help with reducing and reusing.
1. Use reusable bags instead of plastic. A weekly trip to the grocery store requires an average of 10 plastic bags to carry the entire load of groceries home. That is approximately 520 plastic bags per year for a single household. Rather than recycling the plastic bags, use reusable cloth bags that you can wash and reuse throughout the year. 2. Reuse scrap paper for crafts. Even the smallest bits of pretty fabric and paper can make a big impact. Turn them into strips of decorative tape and you’ll have beautiful trims ready to use. 3. Repurpose glass jars and containers. You’re paying extra for these food-filled glass containers, why not reuse them for other household items that need a new container? You can look up many green living ideas on Pinterest that will show you great ways to recycle plain glass jars into pretty home-products, ranging from food containers to decorative light-hangers. 4. Use cloth napkins and towels. Using cloth napkins and towels in the kitchen and bathrooms will help to reduce paper consumption and give you a reusable product, possibly saving you a couple hundred dollars a year. 5. Recycle electronics. Even if you’ve tried everything you can to revive your electronic device, laptop or computer, don’t just dump it in the garbage. You can donate it to charities that can fix it up or send it back to the manufacturer that will end up recycling the body and parts for other products. Some ink cartridge manufacturers will give you a prepaid label to mail back used-cartridges to recycle. Look into the manufacturers of your devices and find out about their recycling programs.
Extreme recycling
These 5 extreme recycling tips take more work, but if you’re serious about Green Living, then continue on to these ways to recycle:
1. Recycle water. This one is a big investment, as you’d have to reconfigure your water pipes so that bathwater and sink water can be used for either flushing the toilet or for watering your yards. You’ll be recycling the water to serve more than just a single purpose and as a result, also saving more on your water bills. 2. Make your own compost. You’ll be leaving your organic waste in a compost bin to decompose so that you can recycle the compost for plants. Be sure that you have the right container and put only decomposable items in. 3. Switch to using cloth diapers. Using cloth diapers for your child may seem outdated, but women have done this for centuries. Disposable diapers aren’t usually put into recycling categories, so you’re better off using cloth diapers if you truly want to go green. 4. Collect rainwater to use for watering plants. If you’re in a state other than California, which is in a drought, you should be taking advantage of the rainy season and recycling the rainwater. Save more money on your water bill by using the natural water for watering your indoor or outdoor plants. 5. Buy secondhand furniture. It’s one of the greatest ways to recycle furniture that is still usable and also reduces trash in the landfill.
True green living requires a lifestyle change, but there are little things you can do that will help our landfills from becoming unusable. Just follow these ways to recycle, and you’ll be on your way to having less garbage and wasted resources.
What ways can you recycle? Are you a community climate change champion? What ways do you recycle now?
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