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‘Daily Duties to Help Recycle'Z

The simple truth is we need to recycle, we need to pay attention to what we throw away and start reversing the effects of our consumption of the earth's natural resources. If you and your family or even your business or place of work, have not traditionally recycled before, the best way to start getting everyone on the same page is by making it fun, simple, and rewarding to slightly change our daily disposal habits in the home and workplace.

This is where we can make a huge difference, by all of us doing the smallest of tasks at home and work. According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), almost 60% of our waste can be recycled. We are all guilty of not recycling and I hear most people saying they would recycle if it were easier. Well it can be and here's how!

Plastic - (Including all plastic bottles, milk cartons and wide mouthedcontainers, yogurt and margarine tubs, for example).

Aluminum - (Including all aerosol and aluminum cans as well as aluminum foil)

Glass Bottles and Jars

Steel Cans

Corrugated Paper - Cardboard

These products are ones we use daily and can easily identify as recyclable. We need to get our minds programmed to recycle these products without thinking. As simple as putting an apple core in the trash can without thinking, we need to do the same with the above products in the recycle bin.

This is most definitely a project, so we are going to give you some simple to follow step by step  instructions to make this project interactive, fun and sure to help you in reconditioning your trash habits.

Ok, so let's get started recycling.

1.  Buy a recycling bin.

If you do not have a recycling bin, it is very easy to pick one up at most home improvement stores, or order online. Most bins start from $5.99 and up, depending on which size you would like. You can buy separate bins for separate items, or one large bin for all items.

2.  Designate a person as recycling monitor.  Change the monitor weekly to make sure everyone is involved. The monitor will check that everyone is putting their products in the correct bins, switch out the trash that was disposed of in the incorrect bins and put the recycled trash out on the correct recycle days. You can reward for good recycling (maybe a treat for a member of the family, or let a member of staff have an additional day off, just as examples), whatever it is, make it fun and memorable. Remember, for every one item you recycle you are making a huge difference to the planet, for example, according to the EPA, it can take up to 1,000 years for one plastic bottle in a landfill to biodegrade fully. How many did you throw out today?

(Check out our ‘Did You Know' section for more interesting facts.)

3.  Start simply. For the first week, concentrate on 1 product, for example soda cans, or whatever your household or business uses the most of, and hold a meeting at the beginning of the week to let everyone know what you are going to recycle that week.

4.  Monitor how much trash you collect and review the amount with your family or staff. You will be astounded at how much recyclable trash 1 family or 1 business or even 1 office, have been throwing away each day.

5.  Try and reduce the amount of these products that your family or business and staff, use every day. This will in turn reduce the amount of recyclable trash collected as well. For example, plastic bottles are very bad for the environment. Not only do they take almost a millennium to biodegrade, they also need oil to produce them. We use precious resources to produce them and then use up much more by having to store them in landfills and have them take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade.

6.  The goal is to make everyone around you aware of what to recycle, make it easy for them to recycle, and instill new habits into them by doing so.

For more advanced tips on how to recycle, check out other subjects under our ‘Recycle' section. Please use the ‘Help Forums' if you have any questions or need further assistance. We are here to help.