Congratulations! You’ve become a family that recycles. You put your bin out by the road each week, or you drive it to the Lenawee County Drop-Off Site. Now that you’ve settled into that routine – it’s time to think about how you can divert even more from your trash can and into your recycling bin.
Here are a few ideas on how to change your habits at home to increase the amount you’re recycling.
Bin here, bin there
There are no rules that say you only need to have one recycle bin in your house. If you have some paper in your hand…you may not always be in the mood to travel to the other side of the house so it ends up in the recycling bin. A lot of times, the temptation just to throw it in the nearest trash can might be too great.
One way to increase your recycling mindset is to put a small blue bin next to all the trash cans in your home. You can empty all these recycling bins into a larger one that you keep somewhere else. Increasing the amount of recycling spots in your home makes it so it is not out of sight, and therefor never out of mind.
Package opening station
Set aside a place to open all your shipping boxes – with a container or bin next to io it, so you can break it down after you are unboxing your online purchases. Have a box cutter handy to not only open the packages, but to break down the boxes immediately when you are done with them. This will get you in the habit of thinking of recycling every time you open a box.
Mail sort and recycle
Much like shipping boxes, opening your mail with recycling in mind can change the amount that gets put in the trash can. Instead of sorting through your letters and junk mail near the trash, do it near the recycling bin. Toss things in there as you go, pulling out whatever laminated or paper with additives that can’t go in the bin. Once you are done opening all your mail this way, you will be surprised just how little has to go to the trash.
Look at it this way. If you start by the trash can and set aside recycling…it is easy to get distracted and just toss that in the trash too if you’re in a hurry because it can go in there too, even if it shouldn’t. But if you start with recycling first and then just trash the leftovers, you are less likely to toss trash where it doesn’t belong, even if you are in a hurry. The recycling would already be where it is supposed to go.
Treat cans and bottles like dishes
While you are cooking dinner and opening cans and bottles of food and drink – instead of tossing them right into the rubbage or recycling bin (in their dirty state) – put them in the sink with your dirty dishes! That way, when you are washing your pans and tableware for the evening, you will remember to rinse out your cans and set them out to dry before putting them in the recycling bin. At that point, it will be harder to justify (to yourself) throwing them in the trash instead of recycling after you’ve already done the work of cleaning them.
Have bin, will travel
If you are doing a quick household clutter pickup, do a round throughout the house first with a small recycle bin. That way, loose school papers, crumpled up drawings, cardboard food packaging from snacks, etc., can go where it belongs, rather than being tossed in the trash!
Hopefully these tips help you and your family recycle even more this year. For more recycling tips, follow us online on Facebook or Instagram!