Do you recycle, compost or 're-purpose'? And in what ways? What are the challenges you have encountered or tips you can share with others?
We do all of the above. City bins for both composting and recycling. Compost onsite for lawn and hedge trimmings to make for rich brown soil. Repurpose? of course! Keep anything long enough and it becomes on antique and quite collectible
We have a 95 gallon barrel from the city for recycling papers, cardboard, paperboard, bottles, cans, plastics, etc. The shredded pieces from mail or papers with info we don't want anyone to have get recycled at the local school, it's part of a fund raiser they have going on in the district. Randy devised me a waste water system that drains the washing machine into a side garden bed. I use an organic laundry soap so it doesn't hurt the plants. The local grocery stores all have collection barrels for plastic grocery bags, the heavy plastic that covers cases of bottled water and other assorted plastic wrapping that no one else will recycle. I use cloth bags, some I have made and some are store bought, for groceries and at other stores. Our trash is picked up every Wed and the recycle barrel is emptied every other Wed. Our recycle barrel is out there every pickup day but our trash barrel is only out there about once a month and then it is only half full. They also picks up yard waste for a large composting operation. I have a compost barrel but I am ashamed to have to admit that I have been ignoring it with the excessive heat this summer. Repurposing......if you could see my craft room and our back room your would see way too much stuff that we keep because one of us truly believes that one day we will need it for something else. And that doesn't count the stuff I hang onto for possible garden art.
We recycle all glass, plastics 1-7, tin and aluminum, card board, box board and papers..also all grocery bags. I repurpose used tires in my garden... I also transform tin cans into tinmen. We try to turn old things into a new again by using old parts and making new and interesting things.
I live in an apartment, but I recycle everything; plastic, paper, compost, metal, glass etc. I try to re-use as much as I can, but sometimes you have to throw away
Recycling and composting I have started to collect items for composting. My brother-in-law has been composting for a few years now. What kind of paper is safe for composting?
Here is a link that suggests what can be and what should not be composted. http://www.compostinfo.com/tutorial/CanICompostIt.htm
I do all three. I compost plant-based kitchen scraps and yard waste. I recycle just about everything that can be recycled. And I also repurpose. Wooden popcycle sticks become plant tags. Yogurt cups become small plant or seedling containers. The kitty litter buckets become plant pots. Even old clothes go into the compost if they're of natural fabric. I was putting cat hair into the compost bin, but I've decided to keep it and someday make it into yarn. I try to use grey water for garden or houseplant watering. If I cook rice or vegetables, I'll often pour the water into the compost bin. And I try to fill up water bottles out of tap water that comes out while I'm waiting for it to heat up.
We recycle paper, plastics, tin and aluminum cans, glass, cardboard at a city collection site. There are several private companies here, so it makes it easy for people to do. We routinely give used clothes (and anything else we have no longer any use for) to a veteran's center. We compost and use the great result in the garden! It is wonderful! Been doing it for years, sometimes I need help turning it! i love the way a good compost pile smells...
We practice 3R that is recycle, reuse and reduce. Just recently I found a place that reuse glass bottles and I am going to send my collection there tomorrow All that can be composted is being composted for my mini farm and others to a recycling center or being reused. Composting is recycling because we recycle our kitchen and garden waste into usable natural organic fertilizers. So the third factor of reducing is also very important especially wastage. :-D A short entry in my blog about our recycling http://kk-lifenmemories.blogspot.com/2008/08/recycling.html and a short message http://kk-lifenmemories.blogspot.com/2010/01/good-morning-2010.html
My town has a good recycling program and I compost veggie scraps, coffee grounds, filters, etc so I can recycle or compost most of the garbage I create. I try to be mindful of the packaging of products I buy. Last year I caught rainwater in a trash can to water one area of garden which worked pretty well. This year I am going to try to install a rain barrel near where I will have veggies.
