Since another post about clutter and neatfreaks went into recycling, I was just wondering how many here recycle and how far do you go in recycling.

I recycle aluminium cans. We have a crusher and it's very easy to crush them and put them in a bag and take them to be recycled. I also add aluminium foil or anything else aluminium to the mix. We also take metal parts, iron, etc. to a place in town that pays you per pound.

We participate in our local Freecycle communities. We're always posting items and sometimes getting items needed. It amazes me the things people give away!

We recently had a yard sale -- things that some people would take to the dump, others bought them from our yard sale and we made over $500 !!


I don't consider myself an 'environmentalist' at all, but just thinking about the different things our family does make me feel pretty good about what I do.

So what's some things your family does so things don't end up in the dump?

Pretty much the same as you. We try to PRE cycle as much as possible, too. Recycling is wonderful, but, PREcycle is very important, too.

We don't have a recycling program here, so I try to be very careful in what I buy.

__________________
Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

I try recycling aluminum cans but it annoys my husband (probably because I collect them in a bag in the kitchen before taking to the garage and crushing a bunch at once lol). We don't buy canned sodas very often though. I usually save glass jars to use for drinking out of, since when I buy glasses they get broken.. jars seem to last way too long.

We don't have a recycling program around here. We don't drink soda, so no cans here, I try to buy frozen foods instead of canned foods, if I do actually buy a bottled water at a gas station or something I just reuse the bottle over and over with regular tap water, I use old newspapers to cover the table when the kids paint rather than just tossing them right away (don't really consider it recycle but it is reusing something LOL), I wish I could get into using cloth diapers instead of disposable but I am a germophobe and it gives me the creepies to even think about it. I reuse plastic grocery bags or bring them to the store to recycle them, I use the paper sacks to cover packages I mail out instead of buying a roll of the brown paper to wrap them in.

I suppose I could do more but I guess it isn't really something I think about a lot.

ETA: We also use rechargable batteries as much as we can.

__________________
I've had a Foreman Grill for about six years. I've done about 85% of my cooking on it, but I've never burnt myself. Probably because I don't use it as a pillow.

We have a small recycling center here and I try to use it as much as possible.

I'm able to recyle:

pop cans
tin cans ~ veggie/tuna/etc...
newspaper
corragated cardboard
shredded paper
mixed paper
milk jugs
glass

Every couple of months they also do a collection for used batteries, old paints/chemicals and electrical stuff (tv's, monitors, etc...).

I also have at least one huge garage sale a year and what doesn't get sold, goes to one of the local thrift stores we have here on the island.

__________________
"Why must you speak, when you have nothing to say." Horatio Hornblower

We have curbside recycling that takes aluminum, cardboard, paper, magazines, & plastics. They used to take glass but don't anymore. We also reuse plastic grocery bags to line our small trashcans. We also mulch our yard versus bagging and taking to the landfill - not exactly recycling, but keeping it out of the landfill.

Lisa

__________________
"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

I am married to a recycling psychopath. We have curbside recycling that takes aluminum, cardboard, paper, magazines, glass, & all recyclable plastics. Each has it's own rules and regulations (i.e. the corrugated cardboard must be cut down to a particular size and bound together) and DH makes a career out of getting each and every thing in its right place. God forbid that I throw away one scrap of paper that could have been recycled. I'm all for recycling, but like everything, it must be done with some moderation. If I have to use 3 gallons of hot water to clean the PB jar, it's not worth it to me...LOL

We also do the things lisacb does, reusing plastic and paper grocery sacks, etc. DH even uses partial pieces of paper towel and washes out ziploc bags. He would probably be willint to try one sheet of TP.


cj/

Oh yeah, I forgot about the paper grocery sacks - we use those to collect all the paper recyling in so on trash day it doesn't blow around.

I reuse some Ziplocs. For example, I keep the same one and just refill with a package of hotdogs or sausage in the freezer. I use the same one for homemade frozen waffles & pancakes. I reuse the same one for open packages of sliced cheese in the fridge.

Any ziploc that was used for non food uses gets saved and reused for another non food use ie: dds taking money to school in backpack, distributing girl scout patches, saving boxtops for education, etc.

Lisa

__________________
"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

We recycle everything except glass, for some reason our county doesn't take glass. Our county opened a new electronics recycling center which will be nice when we get a new computer.

One reusing thing we do has saved us some money. We buy a case of water with the sport tops, then when we drink them we wash them in the dishwasher and refill with our water. The bottles can last for a month or two and since the kids never drink a full bottle I'm not throwing out "expensive water"!

__________________
Mom to Miss C & Mr. E
Former SAHM now working full time
feboll@neo.rr.com

our town recycles glass, paper and metal -
but we also compost - so all of our vegetable scraps, coffee grinds, tea bags, lint - goes into holes that we use once a year to fertizile the flower beds.

I am an avid recycler. I do my best to recycle everything I can, including the papers the kids bring home from school (which can be overwelming). Sometimes my recycling bins outweigh my trash! I used to live in a community that had no curbside recycling (Oklahoma....argh). They did, however, have a small recycling center to go to. I loaded my van with my recyclables every week or so and brought them in. It was a royal pain, but I can't see throwing away plastics, glass and cardboard if it can be recycled.
Unfortunately, I don't think most people, in general, want to go to such trouble. If it's not picked up at the curb, they won't recycle. ALL communities need to have curbside!

__________________
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

Can you give us a Compost 101 lesson? I do now know much about it.

__________________
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

I'm a bit of a recycling nut. We have curbside collection of glass, aluminum, some plastic, cardboard, newspaper, magazines, paper. Every bit of junk mail gets recycled after I shred it. I even make sure to put the empty TP tubes in there! I reuse ziploc bags as long as they didn't contain meat or cheese. I reuse grocery bags when I scoop the litter boxes. If paper is blank on one side it goes into a magazine holder next to the computer to get used as scrap paper. We also compost. I share the kids outgrown clothes with friends and I love vintage things and antiques.

__________________
Cecilia

"We must love them both--those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject. For both have labored in the search for truth, and both have helped us in the finding of it."
Saint Thomas Aquinas

We recycle just about everything except used tissues. We also compost and buy products with as much post-consumer recycled paper in them as possible. I offer stuff on Freecycle and get stuff from them. I buy used books and, when possible, used clothing. Most of our house is furnished with used furniture. Even our cats are "used." We got them from the humane society

Everyone knows Reduce Recycle Reuse there is a fourth R Refuse. Also known as precycling. Don't buy things you don't need. Consider everything you buy. Buy things that don't come in alot of packing. Buy things made of post consumer recycled material. The recycled material is a good start but if it is not "post consumer" that just means they used the scraps which don't get me wrong is great just better to buy post consumer recycled materials.
We recycle everything around here from junk mail to clamshells to milk cartons to food scraps to you name it.
We put things on Freecycle and also in the free box at the free clinic. I don't throw anything away that could have any use.
Nike and St Vincent de Paul even recycle old athletic shoes (you just take out all the metal) and they use it to make "plastic lumber" and "plastic asphalt" for roads.
Turn off the water when you brush your teeth. Use native plants that don't require much water. Consider replacing ornamental plants with food plants.
Walk to the corner store. Bike to work or take the bus once a week.
We cannot all do all these things nor can we do everything but we can sure take a few steps and then when we are used to that take a few more.
It's not for political reasons or for me to make a profit it's just for the sake of humankind. In the last hundred years we have drastically altered the course of the Earth and that is no lie.

Some misconceptions: Just because plastic has a number and the recycling sign does not mean it's recyclable in your community. There has to be a market for it.
A little food in tin foil etc is bad. Most people think it will burn off in the process but the fact is the materials sit on a truck and/or train and/or cargo ship (most recycling goes to China) so if there is even a miniscule amount of food rodents will come in and spoil a whole load. Better to throw it away if you cannot get all food off it.
Using most soap type products pollutes our streams etc because of Phosphates and that is also what gives them suds. So if you try the environmentally friendly stuff and it does not suds up the way you are used to remember it's because of the phosphates. Changing your dishwater a couple of times is a smaller price to pay than putting poison down the drain.
Using canvas shopping bags makes a big difference. The process of making plastic bags is horrendous.
Also with plastics if you can find an alternative like buying milk in bottles or cartons you will make a big difference. The process of making plastic is horrendous and mostly done in countries where the standards are even lower than ours.

I can't think of anything else right now.
I am really asking you all to consider your trash. The landfill here only has 80 years to go and then they have to find somewhere else which they are working on now. Think of our grandkids and their grandkids and so on living in a world where there is no room for trash so they have to dump it in the ocean or maybe the fumes from our plastics suffocating future generations.


I forgot to add about electronics. They emit dangerous chemicals when decomposing. There shouild be a hazardous material disposal in your community. Our state is passing a law that the manufacturers pay the disposal fees.

__________________
The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Here is some info on composting. It is not difficult but you have to have the right recipe

The Compost Recipe

Composting is a very basic process. You can simply toss grass clippings and leaves in a heap and let nature do the rest in its own good time... or you can help it along, by providing a balanced diet for the micro-organisms who'll do most of the work, as well as a home that meets their needs.

Just like us, these decomposer organisms have three basic requirements: air, water, and food.

Air provides oxygen and enables bacteria to carry out "aerobic" decomposition. Without oxygen, "anaerobic" decomposition of the waste may take place instead. This is something we normally want to avoid, since anaerobic bacteria produce the rotten-egg smell often associated with decay.

There are two methods of aerobic composting, depending on whether or not the pile heats up. A "cold" compost pile will decompose as surely as a "hot" one, but it'll take much longer.

Cold composting is slow but it's easy. Someone with more space for compost than physical energy and time to devote to it may opt for the "cold" approach. This could also be the method to choose if your primary concern is reducing waste, rather than making quantities of compost.

In contrast, hot composting is a fairly fast method of creating compost and makes efficient use of smaller spaces. It does take more physical effort than cold composting, but gardeners who want as much compost as possible will usually choose this method.

There are many variations of approach, as individual as the people who compost. You might pick one method to start with and adapt it, as you gain experience over time. Above all, keep your system simple, convenient, and suited to your lifestyle.


Air
Air penetrates only the first few inches of the pile, so it needs help to reach the centre. A vile smell around the compost tells you that anaerobic bacteria are moving in, and the pile may simply need to breathe. In hot composting, plenty of air is essential to develop the high temperatures that kill pathogens and speed the process of decomposition.





Turning
The most effective method of introducing air is to turn the pile with a garden fork. Lift the material from the top and sides, toss it into the more active centre of the new pile, then add the partially decomposed centre to the outside.


Stirring
If you would rather not do the work of turning a pile, try stirring it with a stick instead; this won't distribute the air as evenly, however, so the composting process will be somewhat slower.


Aerator Tools
You can buy an aerator, a rod with flaps on one end and a handle on the other, at a garden centre. You jab the tool into the compost pile, and the flaps unfold to loosen the materials as you pull it back out. The result is easier than turning and produces more air than stirring.


Air Stacks
Another approach is to build your compost pile around a perforated pipe, a bundle of long twigs, or a tube of wire mesh standing on end. This carries air to the centre between turnings. With air stacks, you can skip the turning, although the pile won't heat up as efficiently.


Elevated Compost
Most compost piles rest on bare ground, but you can build the pile on a raised platform of loosely spaced boards, allowing air to be drawn up from the bottom. If you elevate your compost, however, be sure to sprinkle garden soil through the compost to introduce those essential soil bacteria.




Water
Your compost pile should be as damp as a wrung-out sponge -- moist to the touch -- but no water should come out when you squeeze a handful.

Too dry?
You can poke holes in the pile and water it from the top with a trickling hose. Better yet, pull the pile apart and rebuild it, wetting each layer as it goes on. Very fibrous materials such as dead leaves may need to be soaked in a bucket for an hour or two.


Too wet?
A soggy pile should be turned so that clumps of material are broken up, letting air in and water out. If the compost is absolutely soaked, you can spread the materials to dry in the sun, or scatter peat moss through the pile as you rebuild it with the drier materials in the centre.


Food

Decomposer organisms work best with as varied a diet as you can feed them. The ingredients are all around us -- almost anything that once lived is a candidate for the compost, so try for lots of variety to get a good mix of textures and plant nutrients.

In composting jargon, woody materials that are high in carbon (autumn leaves, paper, peat moss, sawdust, cornstalks, hay and straw, etc.) are called "brown" ingredients. Materials like garden refuse, manure, tea and coffee grounds, feathers, hair, and food scraps are high in nitrogen, or "green." Some materials can actually be both: fresh grass clippings are "green," for example, but dried grass is "brown."

For successful results, you can use the simple rule that compost needs to be about half "brown" and half "green" by weight. Don't bother to weigh your ingredients, though: an estimate is fine. Composting soon becomes a matter of instinct, like the cook who bakes without a recipe. If the pile doesn't heat up, you know there's not enough "green" in the mix, while a smell of ammonia means it needs more "brown."



Materials To Use
Green


Algae
Bone meal
Coffee grounds
Eggshells
Feathers
Flowers
Fruit and fruit peels
Grass clippings (fresh)
Hair
Manure
Seaweed
Tea Leaves
Vegetables and peelings
Weeds

Brown


Buckwheat hulls
Coffee filters
Corn cobs
Cotton/wool/silk scraps
Grass clippings (dried)
Hay
Leaves (dead)
Paper
Peat moss
Pine needles
Sawdust
Straw
Tea bags
Wood chips
Wood ash
This list is far from complete. Anything organic can, in theory, be composted -- some more easily than others. But common sense suggests a few exceptions. The following materials may cause problems in a backyard compost pile.

Materials To Avoid

pet wastes can contain extremely harmful bacteria;
meat, fish, fats and dairy products are likely to smell as they rot and may attract four-footed visitors;
insect-infested or diseased plants may persist in the compost;
materials contaminated by synthetic chemicals or treated with herbicides or insecticides should never be used;
weeds with mature seeds, and plants with a persistent root system (like crabgrass, ground ivy, or daylilies), may not be killed by the heat of the compost;
leaves of rhubarb and walnut contain substances toxic to insects or other plants so most people choose not to compost them.


And then there's more
Building a Hot Compost pile

Also there is worm composting
Worm Composting

Here is great inexpensive book to get you started
Amazon.com: The Rodale Book of Composting: Easy Methods for Every Gardener: Books: Grace Gershuny,Deborah L. Martin

There are many things you can compost. But you cannot put those corn made utensils or cups on there you have to take them to a special place.

Hope this helps!

__________________
The political system is broke and it's a joke.

We recycle our aluminum cans, glass, and newspapers. We have a recycling bucket and the city collects it once a week. I also belong to Freecycle and try to give things away that others can use. ~Lisa

I just remembered something else we recycle -- We recycle our ink cartridges at Staples. They'll give you $3.00 for each used cartridge!

Mom2, does this pertain to generic cartridges as well as namebrand? I use ink that I get off of eBay for about $2/cartridge. It would be nice to *make* money. Thanks for the info.

I'm not sure, but they never look at them. Today I took one in a plastic sandwich bag and the other one was in a labeled envelope that was in with the cartridge when I first bought it. (I had sealed it and they didn't even open it). You could probably go to the Staples website and see what they accept.

But, like I said, they never look at the cartridges. Today I just said that I had two cartridges, handed them to them and the clerk threw them in a big bag of used cartridges.

The last time I was there, it was only LexMark, HP, and Dell cartridges, and they looked at them. This was in March.

__________________
Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

I guess it depends on your local Staples as to whether they look at them or not. Like I said, one of mine was in a sealed envelope today (usually they are sealed), and they've never looked at them.