I’m welcoming Kristina from The Greening of Westford back again today to highlight a few things you can recycle that you may not be aware of. Everyone assumes I write a “recycling” blog when they hear my blog name, but it isn’t what I spend a lot of time highlighting. I appreciate Kristina sharing this list of random recyclable items!
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. That old saying is in that order for a reason. It’s better to reduce first, then reuse, then, when all else fails, recycle. Jumping right in to reduce and reuse can be more difficult since it causes more changes to your normal routine. With certain items, it just may not be an option. Here are some easy items that can head to your recycling bin or local store instead of the trash.
1) Eye glasses The Lions Club has collection boxes in many locations or ask a local eye glass shop or eye doctor.
2) Brita Filters Every Whole Foods recycles Brita filters through the Gimme 5 program.
3) Cosmetic Tubes or jars Origins Makeup Stores and counters will accept any brand of cosmetic tube, bottle or jar.
4) Pizza Box Some recyclers will accept pizza boxes without too much grease. THIS IS VERY RECYCLER-dependent, so ask, it could ruin lots of other recyclables. Even if you can’t recycle greasy boxes, you can usually still recycle the top part.
5) Wine Corks All Whole Foods locations collect natural wine corks in conjunction with Cork ReHarvest.
6) Yoga Mats Recycle Your Mat will recycle your used up yoga mat. You can find a location near you or ship your mat.
7) Plastic bags Even if you bring your reusable bags everywhere, you probably still end up with a few. All #2 and #4 plastic bags/wrappers can be recycled at many grocery stores. This includes all grocery/store bags, produce bags, bread bags, toilet paper/paper towel wrapping, and bags for grapes, carrots, and cauliflower. Look for the #2 or #4 chasing arrows recycling symbol printed on the bag or wrapper. It’s on more than you might think! The bags must be clean and dry.
A little known fact: Trash pickup costs towns/cities big bucks! If you live in a city or town that pays any portion of your trash/recycling pickup, get in touch with them. They are very eager to encourage recycling where they can to reduce this budget and will be a huge wealth of information on reducing your trash in your specific area.
Do you know any more surprising items to recycle?
About the Author
Kristina Greene is the founder and editor of The Greening Of Westford blog. She focuses on practical eco-friendly actions anyone can do to save time, money, aggravation, oh, and the planet! Connect with her through her blog, facebook and twitter.
Amazing post and interesting too. we are here to help you. You enjoy the wine and CORKCLUB recycles your corks.Our objective is to increase the wine cork recycling by collecting your corks and donating money to help preserve the Earth. http://www.corkclub.com