Recycle, It’s Easy!

So you’re walking around school drinking the water bottle you bought from the bookstore about an hour ago. You finish the water and go to throw the bottle in the recycle bin. Wait, where does that even go?

I found myself asking the same question, which made me want to do a little bit of research. Where do all the recyclables go? Why even recycle? How much am I actually helping?

Well, it turns out trash is the worst thing for our planet. Go figure. Trash that is thrown away is later sent to a landfill, which is piled up and pollutes our planet. Runoffs from these landfills pollute our water.

Here are some tips to make recycling easier around the home:

  1. Label your recycling bin with the recycle symbol numbers: This can help you and your guests remember what goes in which bin. I use this strategy at my house!
  2. recycling bin
    Photo credit: Sarah Schroder
  3. Clean your bottles and tins before recycling them: It will prevent flies and other bugs from traveling into your home while waiting to take the recycling out.

  4. Use plastic bags for recycling: This will prevent anything from ripping or leaking in your recycle bins.

  5. Use mason jars for everything: Mason jars are the most awesome thing! You can use them to store anything in your fridge, bathroom, kitchen, or even bedroom (depending on what you would like to store). They’re easily washed and last until you break one. Also, if you don’t want them anymore, they can be recycled!

  6. Recycle your batteries, CDs, print cartridges, etc. through Associated Students: A lot of people don’t know what to do with these items so they end up throwing them away. Visit the Associated Students Recycle Program at 417 Cherry St. and get rid of them there!

For more information on recycling and how you can help our planet visit the Associated Students or Earth Easy.