How to Start Recycling at Home?
Nowadays it’s becoming more and more mainstream to recycle the products that you’ve used. And that’s a good thing! More people are becoming aware of the harm they do when they don’t dispose of their rubbish properly. Reusing and recycling the goods and products we use is important for our planet.
But not everything can be recycled. Most facilities have strict rules on what to recycle and how you should prepare your garbage before throwing it. That’s why we’ve created this useful guide to bring you the steps on how to start setting up a recycling program at home.
What is Recycling and What can be Recycled?
Simply put, recycling is the process that creates new products from used ones. Although it sounds elementary the process is quite complicated. It is a very long process of collecting, distributing, sorting and rinsing the rubbish. There are also numerous methods of e-waste recycling that manage electronics.
The main goal of recycling is to decrease the number of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. As almost all modern big cities have recycling containers, all people can easily participate in helping the earth become a better and cleaner place. However, there are still some rules that people have to follow, in order to correctly separate and throw their soon-to-be-recycled trash.
Here are three of the most widely spread materials that can be recycled:
Recycling Paper
Paper is one of the products that can be and should be recycled. It’s easy, efficient and you really have no excuse why not to recycle paper. Here are the types of paper that can be recycled:
- Office paper and shredded paper
- Books with soft covers (hardcovers must be ripped off)
- Junk mail
- Newspapers, Catalogues, Magazines
- Cardboards from milk, coffee cups
But there are also some things that cannot be recycled such as:
- Napkins
- Paper contaminated with bodily fluids
- Wrapping and wax paper
Glass
Glass containers from the products we use can be found all around our homes. Because of that, you don’t have an excuse not to practice. Here are the different glass products you can recycle:
*It’s important to wash all food from the food jars! An item can’t be recycled if it’s dirty.
- All bottles and jars
- Food containers made of glass
We should tell that it’s impossible to recycle:
- Ceramics
- Window glass
- Crystal
- Mirrors and light bulbs
Plastic
This is the third of the most common materials that we encounter in our homes.
What kind of plastic we can recycle:
- Milk jugs, soap bottles, soda bottles, plastic cups
- All plastics numbered from 1 to 7
- Clean grocery bags
And here’s the plastic products we can’t and shouldn’t recycle:
- Styrofoam
- Plastic tableware and bags
How to start recycling at home?
Recycling is all about making it your habit. When it comes to a new habit you should always start with an open mind. You should be ready to accept some changes and prepare to give a bit of your time of the day to separate the products.
- Go to your local recycling drop-off center. It’s always a good idea to go to your local drop-off center and ask them what they recycle and what they don’t. That way you’ll better know what you should sort when it comes to doing recycling.
- Place bins over the house. It’s important to place bins in the rooms which you are likely to produce the most garbage. In most homes, this is going to be the kitchen. But rooms like the home office, bathroom and garages are also places where you produce houses. Recycling bins are pretty popular and can be found in most big retail companies like IKEA.
- Start building a habit. The best way to keep recycling is to never stop. Much like other things in life practice will ensure that you stay on course. Be prepared to spare a bit of your free time to sort the rubbish.
- Practice every day. It’s important to separate the trash daily. That way the activity will be easier to do and it will become a routine just like washing the dishes.
Complete the Circle
If you want to fully bring recycling into your life then make sure you support the industry fully. Here are some tips to complete the recycling circle:
Reuse different materials
It’s always great if you can come up with different uses of the daily objects that we use. An old bookcase, for example, can be dismantled and made into shelves. With a little help of a professional handyman, you can transform every object in your home into something new and useful!
Buy recycled product
You should take a look at the products you buy. Nowadays almost every product has its recycled version.
Donate items and clothes
Just like with clothes you don’t wear you can recycle stuff that we don’t use. Take a look at the stuff that you don’t use and see what can be recycled. Whatever can’t be – why not donate it?
Conclusion
Saving our planet is quite important. Recycling is something that we can do and should do in order to do our part. It’s easy, accessible and helps the community you live in and the planet to be cleaner. What recycling tips you have? Share them with us!
