Recycling - A Big Mess - But I Do It Anyway!

Recycling - what a mess!

I do it and I will keep doing it for sure, but boy does it create a big mess!  I have bags of bags, bags of glass, bags of plastic, etc, etc, etc!

So I have my city recycle trash bin that I put out when it is full, but it is outside.

So I have several different types of bags going on in the house before I take it outside.

Another thing is that not everything can go into that bin!  I have a paper on what they will allow me to put in there and what not to put in.

Plastic bags of course is a NO.  So I have bags of bags waiting to be taken to the grocery store that has a plastic bag recycle container.  Do I ever remember them when I actually go to that store - NO.

And if you didn't know - plastic is not just plastic, is not just plastic.  Some plastic items are recyclable, some are not.

Plastic bottles, they don't tell me not to put them in there, but word is - they are not recyclable.  Oh the horror of that, I drink many times more water if I can drink the bottled water, can't explain it but I do.  And here's a kicker, the lids are a totally different kind of plastic that gums up the machines, so into the trash.  I still put the water bottles in the bin just in case, they didn't tell me not to.

And of course the juice and milk jugs can be put in there but not the waxy paper cartons, don't really use those much anyway.

Pizza boxes are not recyclable, most don't refuse them, surprise, they have been contaminated by grease in the pizza.  So they go into the regular trash.  What a waste!

Did you know that hand dish washing (even pre-dishwater rinsing) uses much more water than running the dishwasher?  I am the ultimate wash before washing person!

Oh and here is a biggie with me - mail!  I might appear to be a hoarder when it comes to paperwork, especially right now.  But the deal is that I cannot put a piece of mail, old bills, paperwork of any kind in the trash or the recycle bin.  That is until it is shredded.  Thus I have boxes of "To Be Shredded" paperwork.  Now I have a shredder, but I can no longer trust the straightline shredder that I own.  Man, this is so rediculous, it sounds borderline phobic!  So the deal is, I can never remember to buy a cross shredder, but I better do that soon, before the shred box takes over my house!!!

Also having lots of house plants is a huge air recycler/cleaner and it produces oxygen, we learned that part in grade school!  Well poor me, I did not get my mom's green thumb.  I am terrible and plants report me to the plant protection agency for abuse!

I do buy recycled paper goods whenever I can, printer paper, envelopes, coffee filters and other various items I find.

I am just one person, but we add up.

Since I have started really recycling, I can tell by just my piece of it how necessary it is.  Not until I started sorting it out, did I realize how big it is in just my own home and how much I use.  And how much just my part will make a difference.  When I think about it, it has kind of taken over, the necessity to recycle or the guilt of when I am in a run and throw something in the normal trash.

Truth is I miss living in the country where you threw food out to feed the critters and you had a burn barrel that completely destroys you paperwork in a way that meets the phobia of not being able to trash paperwork!

Recycle people - when you can!  It is a habit that will fast become part of your life!

I am sure someone somewhere with one of those big huge brains will figure out what we can do with all those water bottles!  Someday.