RECYCLING PART I - AT HOME BASICS

I don't like the chore of recycling, but I am proud to say that I do it. Why?  Because I am doing my part to help the environment for myself, for my children, their children and so on.  Baloney you say?  Actually, no.  It's truer than you think.  

What Does Biodegradable Mean?
Biodegradable means that a substance or object is capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms.  Anything made of organic compounds is biodegradable.  The problem is how long it takes.  Unfortunately, some substances take so long (we are talking hundreds to millions of years) that they could be considered non-biodegradable. 

What Do I Know?
I know there are arguments for why recycling is a waste of time.  How it actually costs more money than it saves, etc.  Despite all of the arguments (and there are many), what I do know is this: 

1. The Earth does have limited resources (metals, water, fossil fuels, etc.). When they run out, at this point in time, we do not have the technology to make more within our grandchildren's or even their grandchildren's  lifetimes.  That leaves the 'future' populations high and dry for a lot of the things people currently use and take for granted every day.  
   
2. Certain products don't biodegrade at all, or, they do not biodegrade in any reasonable amount of time at the surface of the Earth (where most bacteria and water are present).  For example, a plastic container or a tire will probably still exist  a hundred or more years from now.  
3. Many products in landfills will generally NEVER biodegrade - they will literally LAST FOREVER!  What's that?  YES, FOREVER!  Landfills today are purposefully made so that nothing can leach into the groundwater and they are capped with clay (which is not permeable) to keep water out as well.  The decomposition that does take place creates methane which becomes trapped if they do not insert special pipes to release it (and sometimes use it to create electricity).

Some Questions:

• What is the right thing to do?  
  
• Is it right to just throw everything in the garbage and let it be someone else's problem?  
  
• Whose problem will it end up being?  
  
• Whose 'backyard' gets the landfill of garbage forever?  
  
• Do we just ship it to another state or country and let them deal with it?   

OR

• Do we have an obligation to be responsible for our own garbage?   
  
• Isn't it better if we recycle materials so they can be reused over and over again? 
  
• Isn't it better NOT to pollute the Earth?  
  

Should You Recycle?
YES! Obviously I believe that it is our personal responsibility to get rid of all our garbage in the most responsible way possible and this means recycling, reusing, repurposing, and polluting our environment as little as possible in the process.

Side note: It's practically impossible not to pollute.  Driving a car, burning fuel to cook and many other things all contribute to polluting the Earth whether you want to or not. 

The Basics of Recycling at Home: Metal, Plastic, Glass and Paper

STEP 1 - Know Your Town's Expectations
Where I live we only have to separate into three containers.  Metals, plastics, and glass all go into one, paper/corrugated cardboard goes in another, and regular garbage into the third. The bins were provided by my town (thanks to my tax dollars) and they really make it easy for us to recycle.  

If your town doesn't provide the containers then you need to provide them yourself.  You will definitely need to know exactly what they expect as far as sorting goes so you know how many containers to get.  If you don't know your town's expectations then either call them directly or google them online!

CANS PROVIDED BY OUR TOWN

STEP 2 - Know What Can Be Recycled
No matter what town you live in the basics of recycling are pretty much the same.  At this point in time pretty much every town recycles metal, plastic, glass, and paper/cardboard in some way.  However, not all metals, plastics, etc. are created equal.  This is why it's important to know exactly what your town accepts and doesn't accept.

Aluminum/Tin
These metals can be recycled endlessly.  If you do not recycle them, they can take 100 - 200  years to biodegrade!  In my town this includes all cans used for food and drink.  I just rinse them and immediately put them into the container outside.

In my town they do not accept hangars, pots, pans, utensils, or any other oddball metal items.

FYI - Recycle the cans with a 5¢ deposit separately!

Plastics
Soft plastics take about 100 years to biodegrade and hard plastics take up to 500 years to biodegrade.  Definitely worth recycling! If you look on the bottom of the container you will see recycling numbers in 'chasing' arrows.  Make sure you know what numbers your town is willing to take.  My town only takes numbers 1 & 2. This includes peanut butter jars, milk jugs, motor oil containers, butter tubs, coffee containers, and pretty much all other commonly used products that are packaged in plastic containers. I simply rinse the container and put immediately into the container outside. You can recycle with the caps on them as well. For more information on the numbers and what they mean check out Recycling Plastics Is As Easy as 1, 2, 3...

In my town they do not accept plastic bags, toys, buckets, coolers, bowls, utensils, or any other oddball items.

FYI - Recycle the plastic bottles with a 5¢ deposit separately!

Glass
Glads is not biodegradable at all (made of silica).  It does however physically weather over time into smaller and smaller pieces.  It is definitely worth recycling.  My town accepts all glass bottles and jars with NO LIDS.  

In my town they do not accept glass from windows, drinking glasses, kitchen bowls or tableware, ceramics, mirrors, or any other oddball items.  They also do not accept broken glass.

FYI - Recycle the glass bottles with a 5¢ deposit separately!

Paper and Cardboard
Paper and cardboard can take anywhere from 1 - 2 months to biodegrade.  My town accepts newspapers, magazines, junk mail, used computer paper, and corrugated cardboard (including boxes).  

In my town they do not accept milk cartons, egg cartons, food boxes, and any other oddball items.

STEP 3 - Get Rid Of It!
Ours is picked up every Wednesday.  The town has a schedule as to which Wednesday is Paper/Cardboard, and which is Metal-Glass-Plastic.  This is of course different everywhere.  My parents live upstate and they actually have to bring it to the local waste facility (dump) themselves. They have an option to pay for a local service to do this, but either way it is important to know where, when, and how to properly get rid of your recyclables!   Remember: you are doing a good thing!  Be proud:-)

Part II Coming Soon:  What about the oddball items?