Recycling always seemed like a daunting task that I could never fully grasp. Anytime I started to think about it I became overwhelmed with way too many questions.
- What can be recycled?
- What can’t be recycled?
- How clean does it have to be?
- Do I have to pay for it?
- Is it worth the effort?
- Does it ACTUALLY save energy?
- Is it a scam?
I wish I could tell you that I know all the answers to each of those questions, but I’ll be upfront and let you know that I don’t have it all figured out. But what I can share is how I finally moved from the overwhelming questions to having some recycling habits that have made me feel like I’m making an impact..
Does it ACTUALLY Save Energy? - Is it a Scam? - Is it Worth the Effort?
I honestly have heard people ask all of the above questions and in a world where social media requires expert googling and research to vet every post for validity, I’m not surprised. There’s a lot of opinions and variables that have led to the above questions and I can’t say every piece of paper I put in the recycling bin at work is going to guarantee a tree doesn’t need to be planted and that every piece of clothing I drop off at Goodwill or a donation box will reduce the amount of clothes purchased from an outlet store. What I do know though, is that there IS value in being mindful and understanding that each of your actions has an impact on someone or something and for that reason I built some habits. Here’s how I went about educating myself and building some new habits.
What Can be Recycled? - What Can’t be Recycled? - How Clean Does It Have to Be?
When trying to figure this out I found myself on the EPA website learning something, much to my surprise. Check out their Frequent Questions about Recycling page for some of the basics. One of the most interesting things I read, which in hindsight is super obvious was,
“The most effective way to reduce waste, and the most environmentally preferred strategy, is to not create it in the first place.”
Because of that phrase when I open the cabinet door to where the trash can is, I think of different ways I or someone else might use that item but also how many times have I thrown this same thing or something similar away? This helped me recognize which things we could start buying in bulk or in the family size but also that I could repurpose some things. For example, the plastic container my raw mushrooms comes in, is a great container to keep other veggies grouped separately in the fridge and the huge Sour Cream containers from Sam’s Club are handy to store other leftovers in the fridge or dog food for weekend trips.
For a more interactive experience, check out the berecycled.org that is run by Keep America Beautiful. I love that you can select what you want to recycle, and it gives you some basic info along with myths and facts on recycling that specific material.
Do I Have to Pay for it?
This depends on where you are located, for myself, I could choose to pay for it for convenience, but we have multiple local recycle locations that I have found by googling “Recycling Near Me” and have just built dropping off recycling into certain errands and it’s worked out pretty easily. We stack the millions of amazon boxes we get behind the trashcan and I got some organizational bins for the garage that I store plastic, glass and paper in until I have a carload to minimize trips.
To keep myself realistic I tried to start with a small list of things I could do to start being more environmentally conscience, once I get those down, I add to it. I find if I do things this way, I’m more likely to stick with something because it just becomes the norm and automatic. For example, I started with Plastic, Aluminum and Paper first, then I added glass, and I’m just now starting to add tin cans. Below I’ll breakdown some of the other things I’ve started.
Recycling Habits
Trash is the LAST option – I’ve tried to make a habit of asking myself if there’s anything else I could do with something before putting it in the trash. Whether that’s donating, or using it for a DIY, thinking through different options helps me be more intentional with what I’m throwing out.
Reusable > Disposable – When I can buy something that can be reused vs something, I’ll constantly replace I try and go the reuse route the majority of the time.
- Reusable Ziploc Bags
- Reusable Grocery Bags (It feels like everyone gives these away for marketing so it's easy to snag some for free.)
- Totes
- Cooler Bags
- Large Grocery Bags
- Reusable Produce Bags
* I’m not sold on a specific brand on any of the above, I just watched for deals and tried a few different Grocery options to see what I prefer, I’m currently loving the totes!
Keep Recycling Simple and Convenient – I found it easier to start recycling when I put the containers in the same place as the trash. That way I really wasn’t changing my habit as much as tossing it in one bin or the other.
- I have a trash can for plastic, and a can for aluminum/glass next to our trash can under the sink
- Next to the trash can I keep a paper bag that I put our paper in so that I can easily just throw the entire paper bag into the mixed paper bin
What’s Next?
Like I mentioned earlier I’ve recently started recycling tin cans but as far as next things to add to my recycling habits I have two things on the horizon.
- I got a glass cutting kit to try my hand at some DIY crafts with glass jars and bottles. Pinterest is an amazing world of ideas, stay tuned for how those are going or just the funny fails!
- I downloaded the Grove Collective app and did an initial order to test out some different products, though I didn’t do an immediate second order, I have been looking through their catalog frequently online and they seem to be adding products pretty quickly so I foresee myself shopping there more frequently.
My hope is that this has inspired you to get past the overwhelmed part of recycling that you may have been struggling with and step into acting. I dare you to try adding one thing to your routine for a few weeks, if it works, grate, if it doesn’t try something else, try and find the things that work for you and play around with it.
