Recycle More with Waste Solutions 123

Be Mindful

Our first tip for keeping your recycling pledge is extremely simple to execute:

Think first, as you buy new things or take single use items, ask yourself “Do I need this or do I have something that will work?”. You might just find you can reduce the waste you produce  by being mindful about what you purchase or take.

To make it easier to keep “using less” top of mind, here are some of the most common single-use items that can easily be replaced with reusable ones:

• Plastic Water Bottles: Do you have a reusable bottle you can use? If not, why not buy one instead of using the disposable version?
• Plastic Sandwich Bags: Do you have reusable containers you can use for your lunches? Can you repurpose items like empty butter containers etc. into reusable storage containers?
• Produce Bags: Why not put that produce straight into a reusable shopping bag?
• Paper Coffee Cups: Why not bring a mug to use at the office? Or ask your favorite coffee shop to fill a travel mug for you?

Be Creative

One of the most fun ways to recycle more is to break out the glitter glue before you break open the trash can:

Get crafty, before tossing an item in the trash or recycling, is there a way you can turn into a beautiful art project? There are loads of examples on places like Pinterest where you can turn trash into treasure!

From plastic bottles to the bigger stuff, creating something beautiful out of potential trash can be a fun and fulfilling way to keep your recycling pledge. Even if you’re not the crafty type, there are plenty of simple and practical uses for many of the items we usually throw away.

Be a Good Neighbor

Just because you can no longer use a certain item doesn’t mean that someone else can’t:

If you can’t use it, donate it. Don’t let usable items go to waste. Donate usable items so they can love on and don’t end up in the landfill.

Remember that donation isn’t just for clothes and housewares. There are organizations out there that will accept donations of all kinds of materials:

• Building-focused charities that will accept items like paint, tools and other remodeling materials.
• Child-focused charities that will accept craft items, toys and electronics.
• Education-focused charities that will accept books, notebooks, folders, writing implements and electronics.

• Hunger-focused charities that will accept unused food.

Be Bag-Savvy

Plastic bags are an environmental menace. Ensuring that we’re recycling more of them than we’re throwing out requires us to broaden our thinking a little:

Plastic bag and wrap recycling, along with plastic grocery bags, recycle the bags from your dry-cleaning, bread and newspaper. Don’t forget about the wrap around paper towels. Remember to take clean, dry bags and wrap to grocery stores with plastic bag recycling bins.

Be an Over-Achiever

One of the simplest ways to recycle more is to make it easy for you to do so no matter what room you’re in:

Recycling beyond the kitchen, don’t trash your detergent and shampoo bottles just because you don’t have a bin in your bathroom or laundry room. Add a plastic bag or small recycling bin under the sink to capture your empty bottles.