One of the first things you can do, is see if your town/city has a recycling truck that comes around, just like a regular garbage man. If not, then check your yellow pages and see where the local recycling facility is, their hours, when you can drop off, etc.
Also, I would like to add that it isn't just about paper, pop cans, etc. and the obvious things.
**Wal-Mart has a bin in the front of their stores for their plastic shopping bags. You can also reuse them for other things, such as bathroom trash bags, you can use them as the "pooper scooper" bags when you walk your dog, and so on.
**Another thing you can do is give things away to Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. rather than just throwing it away-especially if it is something decent (maybe that you just don't want...) that someone else can use. It is another form of recycling.
**Recyle electronic equipment, such as cell phones. Most Best Buy stores, and similar places, have bins that you can put them in at the entrance of their stores.
**Look up Freecycle online. It is an online community where you can post something that you want to get rid of, and people are more than willing to come and pick it up-and take it off your hands.
In an archaeology class I learned that somewhere close to 90% of all material in landfills is paper. Material in landfills doesn't break down because it's oxygen deprived, old landfill sites from the 50's have actually been dug up and the newspapers deposited there fifty years ago are still legible, they're so well preserved. So I am fanatical about recycling, especially paper. I have a separate garbage can for plastic, glass, and metal (we don't have to sort in my municipality), and I have a drawer that I put recyclable paper in. I transfer the paper into a cardboard box or paper bags on pickup day. I also save all my grocery bags and reuse them or take them to the grocery store that has a recycle bin.
I recycle a lot I have a box for cans and glass, and one for paper and one for plastic, etc.. its easy once you get in the habbit, our community has a truck that comes, and theres also bins near our shopping center to drop off at. Good for you for wanting to do something good for the environment, every little bit we do helps.
**Wal-Mart has a bin in the front of their stores for their plastic shopping bags. You can also reuse them for other things, such as bathroom trash bags, you can use them as the "pooper scooper" bags when you walk your dog, and so on.
Freecycle is GREAT -- there are def people who want anything you're throwing out, from old sofas to awnings, keeps them out of the landfill!
Also in my town they have periodic days where you can bring old electronics. Doesn't everyone have at least one old VHS player or something, taking up valuable real estate in your house? Ours is at a community college at the end of the month, it's really bad to throw computer stuff in the landfills - lead and other poisons will eventually find their way into the soil and groundwater.
Always check the recycling logo on the bottom of your plastic food containers, then find out if your local recycling center takes it. I've also started buying only packaging that I know my local recycling center will take. For example, our center only takes PET 1, but many foods come in 2-5. If I can, I'll choose glass, then I rinse and take straight out to the recycling bin when it's empty.
If I have to choose a non-recyclable container, for example yogurt cartons are not accepted in my area, then I try to get a lot of use out of them before I toss them by using them to store leftovers.
Every piece of cardboard, even thin types, get flattened and recycled. It's amazing how how much more space there is in my trash can without any type of box in it. I read the news online, so I don't have to worry about newspapers. But I get a lot of junk mail and I'm trying hard to get off of various mailing lists. In the meantime, I recycle.
I also think twice now about everything I put in the trash can and ask myself if it really needs to be in a landfill. I've started donating things to the Salvation Army thrift store. I also stopped throwing away broken electronic items, since learning that those can be sent for recycling, and anything damaging is disposed of in a safer way. Our local city takes those types of items a couple of times a year, so I stash them in the attic until their time comes.
I really need to get a compost bin, so I can dispose of fruit and veggie trimmings, and lawn trimmings in a better way than putting them in a landfill, too.
I have a box in my hall closet where I put dead batteries that are not rechargeable, and I plan to take them for recycling. I'm pretty sure Radio Shack collects them.
My town doesn't collect cardboard, so when I moved I had to get a permit at the dump to recylce it. I now take most of my stuff there, including all paper and cardboard, which leaves me with very little actual trash.
The other cool thing is that the dump actually has a book swap that is open on the weekend and you can drop off books and take a few for free.
There are tons and tons of things that can be donated-childrens books to local health departments and doctors office waiting rooms, for the children waiting in the lobby to play with, or to pediatric wards in hospitals.
You can take samples from the mail, or unused toiletries, etc. from hotel stays (the little shampoos, etc.) and donate them to pediatric wards in the hospitals (to give the parents something to clean up with if they are staying with their ill child, etc.) or to women's shelters-because a lot of women have to leave their homes with just the clothing on their backs.
Another thing for those worried about landfills-there is a fabric softener dryer sheet called EcoSelect, and they are not any more expensive than regular brands-but they break down so that they don't end up in landfills. Every little bit counts-I use these. They sell them at Wal-Mart.
(It's off topic of recycling...but I also choose to use laundry soaps that are vegetable based, instead of petroleum based. Arm & Hammer Essentials, and seventh Generation are two brands that I use instead of traditional petroleum based detergents.)
When I first moved to my small town about 20 months ago, there was NO recycling. Since then, the city (at the citizens' requests) changed to another disposal company that now has recycle dumpsters at the post office every Saturday. It accepts paper, plastic, aluminum and etc. and also has a hazardous waste disposal area.
If you're in a small town far from other municipal areas, it may be hard to get recycling in your area. Petitions work, as do attendance at municipal government meetings. The citizens responsible for initiating the change of contracts started having 50-100 people present at meetings (which is a lot with a pop. less than 6,500) months before the proposed contracts were reviewed. Get people involved and you can do anything - although it may take a while!
Don't forget your local schools, preschools, etc. They always need magazines, egg cartons, clean meat packages (those styrofoam ones) cleaned well are great for kid's painting, pie tins, paper towel/toilet paper rolls, old t-shirts for painting smocks, etc.
Does Anyone Recycle?
