One of the drawbacks of living in a small town is that we don’t have a recycling collection program. There’s a recycling drop-off location on the other side of town, but in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s easy to forget that it even exists! But one of my resolutions for the coming year is to make more of an effort to recycle what I can. To get myself started on the right foot, I thought it would be a good idea to brush up on what I should (and shouldn’t!) be sorting into my recycling bin this year.
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Related: 25 Things You Can Recycle You Might Not Know About
While brushing up on recycling, I learned about a lot of different things I can recycle, both at my local recycling plant and through special dedicated programs. I also learned about a few things that I didn’t know I shouldn’t recycle. I thought I would share what I learned with you today, in hopes that it might be beneficial to you with your own recycling efforts in 2018. Recycling is an easy way that we can all work toward a less wasteful future. :-)
DO Recycle…
Milk Cartons
In the past, recycling centers didn’t have the equipment necessary to process these waxy cartons. But that has changed in the past few years, and now many recycling centers will happily accept milk cartons, broth and soup boxes, and other waxed paper products.
Plastic Bags
Plastic bags can cause jams in standard recycling equipment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t recycle them! Just keep them in a a cupboard or drawer until you have a sizable collection, then take them to a local grocery store. Most stores now have a dedicated drop-off bin where you can recycle your plastic bags.
Water Filters
Your local recycling center might not be equipped to handle spent water filters, but many filter manufacturers have their own recycling programs. For information on recycling Brita filters, see the recycling page on their site.
Batteries
I put all my used batteries into a small box when I replace them. When the box is full, I just zip over to my local Walgreens to drop them off at their battery recycling boxes! If you don’t have a Walgreens nearby, check your local drug stores to see if they offer battery recycling.
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Mattresses
Instead of sending your old mattress off to sit in a landfill, find out if the manufacturer of your mattress offers a recycling service. Recycled mattresses can be used to make materials for clothing, foam products, and more!
Prescription Drugs
Throwing away or flushing your old, unused prescription drugs can have seriously negative effects on the environment. A more environmentally-friendly option is to take advantage of local drug take-back programs. These programs offer a place for people to drop of unused medications for safe and proper disposal. Use the search utility on the DEA website to locate a disposal location near you.
Apple Products
If you have an old iPhone or iPad taking up space in a drawer somewhere, consider returning it to Apple. You can receive Apple Store credit or gift cards for turning in qualified devices. Apple will either refurbish your old devices to be resold, or recycle it. Get more information about recycling your old Apple devices on their recycling page.
Christmas Lights
If you’ve been considering upgrading to new Christmas lights, you can send your old ones in to HolidayLEDs to be recycled. In return, you’ll receive a coupon for 15% off anything on their site, so you can get a great deal on new energy efficient lights! The program is available year-round, and you can get more information on the HolidayLEDs website.
Eyeglasses
You can take your old eyeglasses to be recycled at many major eyewear retailers, including LensCrafters, Sears Optical, and Pearle Vision.
DO NOT Recycle…
Ceramics
Unless your recycling center has a program for processing bricks or concrete, they generally won’t be able to accept ceramics (like mugs, plates, bowls, etc.) If your old ceramics aren’t broken, consider donating them.
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Spray Bottle Parts
When it comes to spray bottles, the bottle itself is generally recyclable. However, the sprayer mechanism usually has a metal spring inside that could cause problems. Remove the sprayer from the bottle before putting it in your recycling bin, and either toss out the sprayer or keep it for future use!
Polystyrene Containers
You probably know these containers by the brand name Styrofoam. A lot of restaurants have switched over to compostable food containers, but a lot of places still use polystyrene containers. These containers are technically recyclable, but the programs that accept them are often hard to find.
Small Items
The problem with small items (even when they are recyclable materials) is that they tend to slip right through the recycling machines and end up in the landfill. In order to make sure those items get recycled, bunch them up together or place them inside other items.
Shrink Sleeves
A lot of store-bought food items have labels called “shrink sleeves” that are perfectly shaped to the bottle or carton. Shrink sleeve labels are not recyclable, so make sure to tear or cut them off your containers before you put them in your recycling bin.
Broken Glass
Glass is recyclable, but broken glass can pose a danger for the people who sort and handle glass at recycling centers. If you have broken glass, put it in a paper bag and toss it out rather than recycling it.
If you’d like even more information on what to recycle and how to do it, How2Recycle is an excellent resource!
There are artists and crafters who may accept broken pottery, ceramics, and household glass. I found someone in my neighborhood who makes mosaics, and will use all I can provide. I’m not a fan of plastic in general, and especially for food storage, so I use mainly glass and stainless steel. Of course, glass tends to break. It takes FOREVER to break down, and ideally should not go into the landfill. It might take some searching to find a taker. Try craigslist & too good to toss in your area.
Great tips! Thanks! I’m always looking to improve our recycling efforts. I recently learned our city has this cool program…check to see if your city has one too. http://simplerecycling.com
Best Buy has bins in their entry way for printer cartridges, rechargeable batteries, any electrical wires and plastic bags.
some place s recycle ink cartridge airing aide batteries
Staples does; if you join club / open account w/ just name & ##; the site then totals your points or whatever, they will send you notices in email or regular mail, $$$ to spend there. Take empty cartridges there.
But, it amazes me they don’t have a bin for batteries. We know they sell so many e,ectronics and games that take multiple batteries.
The same for all big box stores, like Walmart, BJs, Costco, most sell giant packages of batteries, but don’t let us recycle them.
Thanks Debra!
Before putting used batteries in a bin to be recycled, put tape over the 2 top knobs on all 9Volt batteries. It was a fireman’s home that caught on fire and it was traced back to his bucket of batteries for recycling. The tops can actually start a fire if making the right connection with another battery.
Wow! Thanks for sharing!
Our local veterinary clinic takes empty prescription bottles, if of see-through plastic, and reused them for pet medicines!
Our church uses plastic grocery bags to make “plarn” mats for the homeless and to send to missions. The bags are cut into strips and crocheted into mats.
https://katkreations82.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/plarn-article.pdf
I didn’t know about the shrink sleeves. I had just assumed they were okay to recycle with the container. Now I feel bad.
Now you know! :-)
Thank you for this information. I have been holding on to my fathers medications who has passed away some time ago not knowing what to do with them. So now I will march my little self on over to my local Walgreens and give it to them. Thank you again.
Old eye glasses can be donated to The Lion’s Club. They distribute to people who are in need but unable to afford glasses.
Recycled batteries that are stored while waiting a trip to the battery recycling location should have a piece of electrical tape on each end. Spent batteries can actually still have a small amount of charge and if they are jostled, can spark and cause a fire. I actually read an account of man’s garage destroyed by fire. The fire marshal was able to determine the start of the fire from the box of batteries awaiting the trip to recycling.
Thanks for the tip!!