Tips for Easier Recycling at Home

[ThinkDwell]

We all want to separate our trash in order to reduce the waste we produce - hopefully. Sometimes it can be a major hassle, creating a smelly, disorganized mess in our kitchens. What kind of system to you use to promote recycling in your home? What products help out?

I'll start out with this stackable container system: It reduces the floor space needed for recycling and makes it easy to separate paper, glass, plastics and metals.

A small container for compost could be kept by the sink (small so that it needs to be emptied outside often- reducing the chances that it's going to get too stinky).

[Simon]

This is how my sink looks like:

The green container to the left is for the compost. The white one behind is for plastic bags and other "burnable" materials.

The green container in the middle is for various stuff that is going to be recycled.

But hmm.. what is it I see there! It's an can for an soda.. Hmm must be my little brother.. That one shouldn't be there. It should be in another bag and taken to the shop so me can get some money for it.

And all those cleaning stuff you see are all friendly to the environment. No need to go all medieval on me. :cute:

[Vera]

This is how my sink looks like:

The green container to the left is for the compost. The white one behind is for plastic bags and other "burnable" materials.

The green container in the middle is for various stuff that is going to be recycled.

But hmm.. what is it I see there! It's an can for an soda.. Hmm must be my little brother.. That one shouldn't be there. It should be in another bag and taken to the shop so me can get some money for it.

And all those cleaning stuff you see are all friendly to the environment. No need to go all medieval on me. :cute:

You are more organized than I am. And I dont have that much room under my sink. I use a plastic container for food scraps, that goes to the compost daily. We stack the cans and bottles on the counter and take to the garage (where the recycling buckets are) daily. All our paper, mail, cardboard, etc is kept in the garage.

Is burning plastic really safe? Seems to me it would be easier to use Reusable grocery bags, or take the plastic ones back to the store for recycling. Wouldn't burning them release toxins into the air? Burning anything but wood around here is illegal anyway. We can't even burn our leaves.

[Simon]

You are more organized than I am. And I dont have that much room under my sink. I use a plastic container for food scraps, that goes to the compost daily. We stack the cans and bottles on the counter and take to the garage (where the recycling buckets are) daily. All our paper, mail, cardboard, etc is kept in the garage.

Is burning plastic really safe? Seems to me it would be easier to use Reusable grocery bags, or take the plastic ones back to the store for recycling. Wouldn't burning them release toxins into the air? Burning anything but wood around here is illegal anyway. We can't even burn our leaves.

I don't have an garage as I live in an apartment. Where I live everyone must compost and recycle their waste. All these containers and stuff comes from the company that owns these apartments. I haven't installed any of them.

I dont use plastic bags, just reusable bags. The plastics I am talking about is "soft" plastics. You know, plastics bags that arent really bags (!) and plastic that is wrapped around food etc. These are called "burnable" materials here and is sent to be burn in a local district heating plant where they are used to create district heating. At least some of it is, I am not sure if everything is created into district heating or just being flamed to death, so to say.

Burning these plastics creates water and CO2.