The problem I have with recycling is I let it stack up . . . and this drives me absolutely nutty. Because we don’t have curbside pickup where I live, when the pile in the garage just gets too large I start getting lazy. I won’t take the time to wash out the ketchup bottle or take the label off and rinse the tuna can. I ask myself . . . is this worth it? Am I really making a difference?
Before we began recycling as a family of five we were filling two 90 gallon stainless steel dustbins to the top each week! I have to admit my first motivation for recycling was not the environment. It was much more selfish than that. I didn’t want to pay for two stainless steel dustbins. The immediate results from recycling cans, cardboard, plastic and glass shocked me . . . we weren’t even filling one 90 gallon stainless steeldustbinin a week! This really got me thinking of just how much one family – one family can recycle in a week!
Our family is not the only one doing their part. According to the EPA today the US recycles 32.5 percent of its waste, a rate that has almost doubled during the past 15 years. 52 percent of all paper, 31 percent of all plastic soft drink bottles, 45 percent of all aluminum beer and soft drink cans, 63 percent of all steel packaging, and 67 percent of all major appliances are now recycled.
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not perfect at this. One of the easiest things to recycle is paper and I’m horrible at it! Sure, I recycle the Sunday paper, but I’m talking about paper from my job (I go through reams in my home office,) junk mail and graded school papers. Cleaning out my filing cabinet in preparation for my tax appointment and emptying what was currently in my office stainless steeldustbinI shredded an entire 20 gallon bag of paper. I am challenging myself to improve my paper recycling efforts.
You have probably been recycling longer than me. If you have not started yet and you want to make a go of it, here are a few things I have found helpful. If you have any tips for me, leave me a comment and share them. Together we can make a difference.
