Recycling is the process of taking used or abandoned products and using them to create a new product. Recycling is a relatively simple way for anyone to help out the environment and conserve our resources. Recycling helps conserve raw materials and energy that manufacturers would use in making new products. Additionally, recycling saves money, saves energy and creates jobs across a wide spectrum of industries that process and sell recycled goods.

DID YOU KNOW ...
 

• Glass takes over one million years to decompose in a landfill?  Glass is one of the very few products that can be completely recycled over and over because it never wears out.
   
• Recycled glass can be used for new glass containers, fiberglass insulation, countertops, aggregate road beds, concrete block, paint formulas and glassphalt?
   
• It takes 80-100 years for an aluminum can to break down in a landfill? Americans throw away enough aluminum every three months to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet?
   
• A recycled aluminum can can be back on the shelf as a new aluminum can in 60 days?
   
• One single quart of motor oil that is not disposed of properly can contaminate up to 2 million gallons of fresh water?
   
• Motor oil never wears out -- it just gets dirty?  Oil can be recycled, re-refined and used over and over again, reducing our reliance on imported oil.
   
• Americans use 4 million plastic bottles every hour, but only 25% of plastic bottles are recycled and constitute close to 50% of recyclable waste in the landfill?
   
• The average time taken by plastic bottles to decompose in a landfill is close to 700 years?
   
• Recycled plastic bottles can be used to make hundreds of everyday products -- fleece jackets, carpeting, fiberfill for clothing, pillows, sleeping bags, paint formulations and lumber for outdoor decking?
   
• Americans use 85,000,000 tons of paper a year - or about 680 pounds per person?
   
• Recycled paper produces 73% less air pollution than if it was made from raw materials?
   
• To produce each week's Sunday newspapers, 500,000 trees must be cut down?
   
• There are more than 5,000 products can be made from recycled paper including masking tape, coffee filters, lampshades, dusk masks, egg cartons and paper money?

And at the other end ....
 

• A California company [HyperSeal] uses recyled glass and rubber in their seal coat for roofs. The tinted topcoat is filled with tiny hollow glass balls that deflect heat, layered over a waterproof undercoat made of recycled rubber tires.
   
• In 2010, Trex recycled over 3 billion plastic grocery bags to manufacture their deck boards.
   
• Sherwin-Williams recently won an award for innovation in materials/recycling - the company uses microscopic shredded plastic beverage bottles and soybean oil in some of their new paint products.

WHERE & HOW TO RECYCLE

The collection of recyclable materials varies in each community. Some recycling programs are mandatory and others towns offer them on a voluntary basis. The main methods of recycling collections are:

Recycling Drop-off centers
Buy-back centers
Deposit or Refund Programs
Curbside Pickups

1. If you don't already know what recycling opportunities are available in your community, do some research to find out what kind of recycling is available and what the "rules" are. Often the department you would want to call is the Public Works department. If there are no recycling programs in your area, try to encourage them to begin one!
    
2. Many communities require that you recycle items like glass, plastic, and aluminum and will provide the recycling containers for each household. If your recycling program is voluntary or needs to be taken to a drop-off center, you can purchase recycling bin organizers in many catalogs or you can buy inexpensive bins at your local discount store. Another idea is to use 5 gallon paint buckets [either recyled or from your local big box store]. Use one for each type of recycled material and label them to make it easier to find the correct bin. Many households find it convenient to keep their recycling bins next to their trash cans.
   
   
3. Keep a smaller container inside your home to make it more convenient to gather your daily recyclables. We found it very convenient to keep a smaller container next to our kitchen trash can. You will want to rinse out your containers before you place them in your recycling bin to to avoid smells and varmints. Once the kitchen container is full, take them  out to your recycling organizers.
   
   
4. Consider buying a good shredder for your home office to shred all those "mistakes" you print or junk mail. It is a great way to keep secure information away from prying eyes and you can use them in your compost pile. Note: don't shred the "shiny" ad circulars - they are not good for your compost.
   
   
5. Close the loop and look for products that are made of or packaged in recyclable material  Also look at the level of post-consumer recycled content in a product. The post-consumer recylced content is the material that has been collected from consumers and reprocessed in a product.
   
   
6. It does take some time to "re-train" yourself and your family to place your recyclable materials in your containers instead of just tossing them in the trash. However, you will be amazed at the volume of recycled materials that you collect in a week or two. Congratulations! You have kept all that out of the landfill!

Besides the basic recycling of paper, plastic, glass and aluminum, there are so many other things that we can recycle instead of throwing them out. We have a number of Recycle and Reuse Tips on our Living Green page that will give you some ideas on how to creatively recycle your used and uneeded household items. The link below for Earth911 or the 1-800-Recycle widget in the left-hand column are also a great resources for information on recycling. On both sites, you can type in your zip code on the site and find information to recycle all kinds of items in your geographical area.
 

Look for this symbol on products, containers or packaging
materials to help you identify products that are able to be recycled.
Variations of the symbol are also used on products to indicate that they have
used recycled materials to manufacture their product.

DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN RECYCLE:

batteries [including car batteries]
automotive oil and antifreeze
computers
electronics
printer cartridges
eye glasses
light bulbs
tennis shoes
sports equipment
appliances
tires
cell phones
eye glasses

See the link below for "21 Things You Didn't Know You Could Recycle"
and our Living Green page for more ideas on creative recycling!
 

RECYCLING LINKS

Earth911 -  an environmental services company that addresses solutions for products' end-of-life for both businesses and consumers.

Green America - 21 Things You Didn't Know You Could Recycle
 

YouRenew - Recycle your electronics and perhaps even get paid!


ecycler - a free match-up website to connect those who have things to recycle and those who are the collectors of recyclables.
 

1*800*Recycling.com - the recycling location search engine and is a dynamic recycling and green living-focused website that makes recycling, conserving, reusing and living wisely easy. 1-800-RECYCLING.com features comprehensive recycling location database that gives the user the ability to easily assemble a recycling to-do list.