My family started recycling last week. And YES, we should have been recycling years ago. Better late than never.
Aside from the fact that I’ve known for some time now about our responsibility as stewards of creation . . . I took this a bit more seriously when I participated in a survey about how many earths it would take to sustain the world’s population if everyone lived like me. I discovered it would take 7.5 planets!!! You can take the test at www.myfootprint.org.
Recycling is a bit of a pain. We started with 3 bins and really need 6. If we mix things up a bit we can get by with 4.
When I carried out our first bag filled with recyclable plastic, I must admit, it did feel good contributing to caring for the earth God has entrusted to us.
Got any great recycling tips?
No tips, just encouragement. You'll be amazed at how much easier it is to manage the rest of your trash once you are in the habit of separating out the recyclables. It's nice to see a Christian living as if Jesus could come tomorrow, but not treating the planet as if he's already left it. :-)
Google "recycle reuse household items" without the quotes, amazing ideas from all over. Great way to repurpose all kinds of things that would normally end up in the trash. Even things that aren't recycle program items. Also saves money.
Get 4 bins: one for glass, plastic, paper, and cardboard. Have the kids sit on the milkjugs and 2 litter bottles to flatten them out and have some fun.
Make a cart from PVC with wheels to wheel, not carry, to the curb.
Make sure Julie reminds you each day to take out the recycling. Just kidding.
Jackson Township has arecycling center on Wales Ave between Fulton & Mudbrook that takes this stuff.
Lately I've been saving/reusing all kinds of containers. It saves money and hassle!
For example:
1) The little tubs that you can get lunchmeat in I use to store odds and ends around the house like batteries, nails, Qtips or beads.
2) I wash out the big 5 gallon icecream tubs to use for temporary food/water dishes when we travel with our dog or for other items.
3) I save the gallon ziplock bags that I used for any type or dry or non-messy food to use again for something else that is dry/nonmessy. (For example a bag that had dry pasta could be used for pretzels, and again for crackers etc.)
My favorite use of these containers that I wash and save is for sending food or leftovers home with family/friends and they don't have to worry about returning them!
It only takes a few minutes and you can save a lot!!!
Sarah
Once in a while, I leave my reusable grocery bags at home. This way, I can get my groceries packed in brown paper bags. I then take a paper bag and place it beside my kitchen trash can. All miscellaneous papers, junk mail, receipts, cans, bottles, etc go into this bag instead of the trash. On trash night, we put the whole paper sack in the recycle bin. Many times we have more recycled trash than regular trash. Also, when we shred our personal documents, we put the shredded paper into paper sacks and tape it shut to put in the recycling bin. Every little bit helps. God Bless!