Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Oh my! Welcome to the holidays ~ Boxes, boxes everywhere. In order to make myself feel better, I decided I would do a little research on ways to limit my impact. In the process, I read that the U.S. produces 1,643 pounds per person each year – yikes! To share what I’ve found, here are some tips:

RECYCLE:

PAPER

1.     You can recycle paper with staples, clips, or spirals intact – machines will take them later.

2.     Don't recycle paper with food stains – the grease/oil/etc. can destroy all of the paper in the load (water is added to the recycled paper and since oil and water don’t mix, it ruins the whole batch).

3.     Brightly colored paper is all a no go for the recycling bin. The ink can stop ruin the whole batch (like the grease).

4.     Shredding paper before recycling it decreases the value because it shortens the length of the paper fiber. If you have something that is semi-confidential you should rip it up by hand three to four times. For things that are confidential, you can find a facility that handles shredded paper.

5.     Milk cartons, juice containers, and coffee cups depend on the recycling center in your area. You need to check your area, but most don’t accept them.

PLASTICS

1.     Plastic bags are one of the biggest issues at recycling centers – they wrap around the machines and cause all sorts of issues. You should instead return them to stores – many now have recycling programs in place. You can find a local spot here: plasticbagrecycling.org.

2.     Even when your recycling program accepts #1-7 plastics, it’s often the shape of the plastic product that determines whether or not it can be recycled. So check the program specifics.

GLASS & METAL

1.     Rinse out bottles, jars, and cans.

2.     Don't worry about labels — they'll burn off at the plant.

3.     Include washed pie tins and foil, metal bottle caps, wire coat hangers, and scrap metal.

4.     Broken glass is recyclable.

5.     Recycling steel and tin cans saves 74% of the energy used to produce them. Aluminum cans are 100% recyclable.

6.     Reuse aluminum foil as much as you can. Then clean it off before recycling it. Buying 100% recycled aluminum foil supports a process that uses five percent less energy than the traditional aluminum foil manufacturing process.

REDUCE:

1.     Buy refillable containers - spray bottles, for example, can be refilled from larger jugs or concentrate.

2.     Choose concentrated or "ultra" cleaning products, which use 50 to 60 percent less packaging than traditional formulas.

3.     Don't use more product than the directions say.

4.     Remove yourself from junk-mail lists. One way to do this is to register with the Direct Marketing Association's (DMA) choice mail preference service (dmachoice.org). You should see a big change after three months.

5.     Pay bills online.

6.     Avoid individually wrapped items, snack packs, and single-serve containers. Buy large containers of items or from bulk bins whenever practical.

7.     Compost food scraps and yard waste. Food and yard waste accounts for more than 10% of garbage in some cities.

REUSE:

1.     Keep leftovers in reusable containers (glass is best).

2.     Pack your lunch – use a lunch box.

3.     Grab a microfiber cloth, which can take the place of 60 rolls of paper towels before it needs replacing.