Consumers these days produce a lot of garbage, and that trash overloads landfills if it isn’t converted and reused. Here are some items you should be recycling.
Metal
Most people know that empty soda cans are recyclable, but you should also save empty spray cans, tin foil and other metal food containers. Old appliances, rebar and car parts can also be recycled. Contact shredding companies Fort Lauderdale and you can even turn some of that metal scrap into cash.
Paper Products
This includes cardboard boxes (flatten them first), newspapers, old phone books, used greeting cards, wrapping paper and even the tubes found in the center of paper towels and rolls of toilet paper. All can be recycled and put to better use.
Kitchen Scraps
Instead of tossing food waste into the trash, place potato peelings, eggshells and other kitchen scraps into a composting bin. Set aside a 55-gallon trash bin purchased especially for kitchen scraps. Make sure it has a secure lid and set it near your back door along with a small shovel to make it easy to build your compost.
Keep a smaller container with a lid under your kitchen sink. Every time you cook and clean, store your scraps in the container. When it gets full, take it outside and empty it into your compost bin. Cover those scraps with a shovelful or two of leaves, soil or other organic matter. Within a few weeks, you’ll have nutrient-laden soil for your garden.
You won’t be able to add meat scraps to your compost pile, but you can add many other food items.
Glass and Plastic Bottles
These include food containers as well as water bottles. Rinse everything before putting them in your recycling bin to eliminate kitchen odors. Glass containers can be converted and reused several times, so be sure to recycle them.
Recycling Tips
Before you start recycling, come up with a system for how you will store such items. Think of ways it will be easy to toss that can or bottle into your own home recycling bin.
Place your recycling container next to your trash can so that it’s easy to toss items where they belong. Have a bin for this purpose in your kitchen as well as your office or other room to make it easy to place items into their appropriate container.
That way your trash won’t take up space and will help the environment.