How to Recycle
by B. Dear

Recycling is a great family activity that allows you to make our environment better and more enjoyable at the same time. It is fun to brainstorm new ways to use items we would otherwise throw away, and may help you save money too. It will also minimize the amount of trash you have to haul out to the curb.

So how can you recycle? It all depends on what you use and what you are willing to do to contribute to the recycling effort. I have listed some things that I do below, that may get you started.

First, figure out what items you can reuse yourself. For examle, many items, such as wood from renovated decks and buildings can be reused to make birdhouses, etc. Metal cans can be cut up with tin snips and used as sheet metal for small projects.

Second, locate the nearest recycling point in your area and get yourself some information on how their process works. Most programs ask you to separate your recyclables in separate bins for pickup. One for glass items, one for metals, and one for paper. Others will require you to drop these items off at a pickup point. In some cases, you might even be able to sell your these recyclables to companies that use them for raw materials.

• Metals: Aluminum cans and other aluminum products can be melted down to make new products. In some states you can collect money for the cans you bring in, which is even better. You can actually get paid for improving the environment.

• Glass: Glass bottles and jars can be melted down and new ones can be created from them.

• Plastics: Milk jugs and soda bottles can be reused for storing liquids, (when appropriately labeled) or placed in the recycle bin. I also fill them with water and use them as weights to hold down tarps and pool covers. (The handles make great tie points for ropes.)

• Paper: Newspapers, cardboard, old paperbacks and other forms of paper can be pulped and made into new ones. I also use shredded newspapers in animal cages and in my compost pile since they are absorbent and break down quickly.

• Books: If you are like me and can't bear to throw away books, pass them on to a friend after you have read them. Books can also be donated to your local library. Setting up a "book swap" in your local book club or library will get a lot more use out of those books you've read. It's better for others to use them than let them take up space in your house.

• Cardboard Boxes: I always seem to know someone who is moving and moving boxes are expensive. By breaking down your boxes when you move, and storing them in the garage, you can pass them on to a friend when they need boxes, eliminating the need to buy new ones. This can save someone a lot of money.

• Old Computer Components: If you remove the hard drives,  the rest of the computer can be donated safely to a charity or  passed on to a friend. Computers that aren't powerful enough for gaming, still make great machines  for surfing the Internet or writing. I pass on my old computers to my children for writing papers, doing schoolwork or playing computer games.

• Cell Phones and Cell Phone Batteries: These can be turned in at many electronics stores or other places that collect them for recycling. Please don't throw these in the trash, they are really bad for the environment.

• Old Clothing:  If there are clothes that you don't wear anymore, pass them on to another family that might need them. If you don't know anyone that needs or wants old clothes, take them to the Salvation Army or a similar charity.

• Old Toys:  If your children outgrow toys,  put them out in a yard sale. If they don't sell, take them to a local charity.

• Leaves: Leaves can be used for compost, mulch and I even feed them to my pet goats. They love to eat  them.

• Grass Clippings: I use a mulching mower and let the clippings go back into the lawn. if you don't want to do that, you can add them to your compost pile.

• Sticks and Tree limbs: I feed these to my goats, then  when they clean all the vegetation off, I chop them up and put them on my woodpile. Then they are used to heat my home in my wood stove.

• Plywood and 2X4's: I have an area on my property where I store leftover lumber. I use  the wood to build chicken houses for my chickens, forts for my kids... you name it. I also go to construction sites and get permission to remove junk wood for free torecondition for new building projects.

• Furniture: Old furniture can be sold in garage sales or  given to the Salvation Army or any other charity.