While many people would like to recycle to help do their part for the environment, it can be intimidating, especially if they haven’t recycled before. The good news is recycling can be very easy once you know the basics, and it will quickly become a part of your regular routine. Here, we will provide you with recycling tips for the home, such as renting a bin, which will allow you to make a difference.
According to the EPA, the current recycling rate is only 30%, and doubling that amount can help save the equivalent of over 300 million barrels of oil annually. As can be seen, recycling, while easy to do, is also of the utmost importance in terms of helping save the environment on a global level. We hope that the recycling tips for the home that we have provided here will help you get started.
If you have newspapers, then they should be stored in a separate bin, as they will be reused to make new newspapers. You can also have a separate bin in order to store old magazines, phone books, envelopes, flyers, and other paper materials. However, please remember to remove any plastic wrap or rubber bands from paper packages, albeit paper staples are acceptable. Regarding your paper recycling initiatives, please do not include any laminated cardboard or paper, as well as stickers, carbon paper, and conventional cardboard.
Also, did you know that paper drink cartons with plastic lining can be reused? However, not all local recycling centres will accept them, so you should ask beforehand. In addition, you should discard your napkins and power towels that have food stains on them, and you should discard any plastic-based wrappers that you have brought home from various restaurants. Furthermore, if you have corrugated cardboard in the home, then you will be happy to know that it is a very highly sought out recyclable.
You can help your local curb-side collectors with their jobs by using some string to bale together your corrugated cardboard. Still, your city may have placed limits—in terms of weight and size—so you may want to ask beforehand. In any event, the one constant to remember is to keep your corrugated cardboard bales dry.
You will not be able to recycle any cardboard that is greasy or wet, nor can you recycle cardboard that has a wax or plastic coating, such as pizza boxes, as they will clog your local recycling facility’s sorting apparatuses.
You should go above and beyond the call of duty to recycle as much plastic as you can because plastic does not biodegrade, leading to increased pollution caused by landfill waste. The good news is plastic can actually be reused to make a plethora of different and very useful products, but not all plastics are created equal. In other words, you should try and only purchase products with plastic types that have the most recycling options.
Most people are unaware of the different plastic types on the market as well as the varied recycling options for the different types of plastic that are manufactured, so please take a look at this article to learn more. In fact, the plastics that are accepted will actually vary depending on the recycling plant, so you should contact your local recycling facility to determine which plastic types and products they accept.
You should also remember to try and only buy plastic products that can actually be reused. Simply check for the recyclable logo or read the label on the product to determine if it can in fact be reused and/or if you can get a refund where applicable.
Regarding glass, it is usually recycled according to colour (e.g., brown, green, clear). In fact, most recycling plants actually prefer to have their glass be separated by colour. Interestingly, brown, clear, and green glass are collectively known as “container” glass, and they are commonly recycled in recycling centres in a myriad of different countries. It should also be noted that you do not have to remove any paper labels on your brown, green, or clear glass containers, as they will also be recycled.
However, you should store your pyrex, sheet glass, light bulbs, and mirrors separately from your glass bottles, as they not only have different melting points but different molecular compositions as well. In fact, most recycling facilities will not accept pyrex, light bulbs, mirrors, or sheet glass for recycling purposes. Still, all is not lost, as you can actually recycle your compact fluorescent light bulbs at any IKEA store in your area.
If you have any food cans that you wish to recycle, then you should remove their labels as well as their lids beforehand. Please remember to also wash the cans so that there are no residual food particles left over, and try to flatten the cans if you can. As for aluminum cans, they are highly sought after by many recycling facilities, but some may request that you not flatten them beforehand. If in doubt, ask before you begin recycling your aluminum cans.
Also, if you have any foil packaging and aluminum foil in your home, then you should recycle them, as they are often reprocessed in order to fabricate engine parts, thanks to their mechanical components.
If you would like more recycling tips for the home or would like to rent a recycling bin (4 to 40 cubic yards) without any stress or hassles, then please visit Red Bins at our website or give us a call at 416-733-2467 for a free quote and consultation. We also offer a full service option, whereby we drop off our bin, collect all of your junk for you, and then transport the bin back to our facility where we will recycle any applicable materials.
