25 February 2008
Learning to Recycle - Ya Gotta Start Somewhere
Setting up a recycling system in our home was our obvious first step towards becoming better citizens of this planet. I googled recycling centers in our home town of Lincoln, NE and found a list of items that we are able to recycle. I also found a list of recycling centers to take my items to and info regarding curbside pickup.
If searching Google doesn’t return the info that you need, try Earth911. If you scroll down, the right hand column lists each state. Click on your state to find recycling programs near you. This site has additional info that I found very helpful.
Did you know? An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now! But a can that has been recycled can be back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days. That’s a much a faster turn around time than for plastic and glass and a another great reason to use aluminum whenever possible.
Once I figured out what we can recycle in our area, I purchased bins to house our recyclables. I found regular 20 gallon plastic storage totes on sale at a local discount store. I needed one for each of the following categories: aluminum, glass, plastic, mixed paper, newspaper and tin cans. Because we read the paper online, I didn’t actually have to get a bin for newspaper.
Next - I marked my makeshift recycling bins for what they will contain and lined them with plastic bags. We’ll thoroughly rinse everything that goes into the bins first. This will cut down on smell and ANTS!
My final step was to start filling up the recycling bins. They fill up faster than you would think and it is causing me to rethink the curbside pickup service our city provides (for a monthly fee.) I’ll give the drop off centers a go for a few months to see how necessary pickup will be.
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