Do you recycle at home? I grew up doing it, so the habit has stuck and it would never even occur to me to toss paper in the trash. Recycling can be a tough habit to develop though, especially if you aren’t used to it.
If you’re just getting started:
- Grab a bin and put it near where you look through mail or read the paper. Throw paper recycling in there when you are done.
- Put a small extra garbage can (with bag) under the sink. You can drop cans and bottles in there easily.
- I like having them separate because it gets sloppy and messy looking if you mix flat and round things.
Recycling old news?
Expand your recycling horizons. Do you recycle…
- Batteries? In Chicago, all Walgreens accept batteries for recycling.
- In the bathrrom? Shampoo bottles and toilet paper rolls are just as recyclable as their kitchen/office counterparts.
- Printer/copier toner cartridges? Staples pays $2 per cartridge…and carries the super cute Martha Stewart Organizing line.
- Gift wrap/paper towels/toilet paper/tissues? I hope not…none of these are recyclable, even if they are unused and totally clean. The paper isn’t good enough quality to use for anything else.
What’s your best recycling tip? Do you recycle at home? Learn anything you didn’t know here?
homemade•handmade 
Great reminder. We’ve slipped into the habit of only recycling our cardboard.
I love recycling! Really. When I was in college we did not have a recycling service at my sorority, so I actually hauled all our recycling bags over to the union building myself for a year until we were able to pay for the service at our door. I distinctly remember having to remind people that gum and hair is not recyclable….blech.
Chicago only recently got recycling, so I always piled it up and took it out to my parents when I went to see them…even from my classroom at school! No hair though luckily!
That’s surprising for such a big city. I’m from the suburbs, and we ALWAYS had recycling for as long as I can remember…Well, at least you have it now!
We do recycle and the thing that I am focused on right now is water. How much of the water that I use can be reused? Ideas?
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