Our Recycling Project

Over the years, I've experimented with different ways of handling my recycling. I'm sure that I've spent an inordinate amount of time and energy working on my recycling project, so, in the spirit of trying to save others some time and effort, this is what we're able to recycle and how it is organized.

Under our kitchen sink we have 7 separate containers (from left to right) for compost, mixed recyclables (glass, plastic, and metal), corrugated cardboard, paper, newspaper, grayboard (paperboard), and magazines.

In case you were wondering, those are milk boxes. I just took three half gallon boxes, washed them thoroughly, cut out some sides, and taped them together with gorilla tape. The containers under the sink provide a convenient location to sort recyclables without having to take everything to our larger recycling bins in the garage everyday. (Our trash can for what can't be recycled is separate and located elsewhere in the kitchen.) I empty these small containers into our larger recycling bins in our garage once each week where they stay until we take them to our community recycling program once each month.

This is about a month's worth of recycling.

In addition to the categories I mentioned above, I also have separate containers/bags for batteries, electronics, grocery bags, telephone books, and printer cartridges that I keep in the garage.

The key to successful recycling is finding a system that works for you. It must be simple, clean, and out-of-the-way. This system only requires a few minutes every week. I've never actually weighed our trash, but I'd say we recycle roughly 75% of our household waste.

Resources for Recycling

I think for many people, recycling is the fundamental and most representative act of environmentalism. A friend, Frank Stearn -- who is a township supervisor in St. Thomas Township, once pointed out that recycling really is about conserving our natural resources for future generations. I believe this basic idea is why recycling remains so central to environmentalism.

Recycling curbs landfill growth and prevents toxins from leaching out of those landfills into our groundwater. Recycling protects forests from unnecessary logging, and it protects lands and waters from the dangers of mining for new minerals. In most cases, manufacturing a raw material into the finished product requires many times the energy used to recycle a waste material into the same product.

My personal goal is to reduce my waste stream to as close to zero as possible. For a family of three, we currently generate only a couple pounds of trash every two or three weeks. It's probably the equivalent of one small, plastic, grocery bag full each week.

We’ve come a long way since the days when newspapers and aluminum cans were the only recyclables, but finding out where you can recycle and what your local recycling programs accept takes a little effort. Call your local government office. That could be the borough, township, or county. Ask if they have a list of the recycling programs in your area. Check your phone book and search the internet. If your municipality has a recycling program, please support it by recycling everything possible with them. Some items, like aluminum cans, are more valuable than others and recycling everything (rather than taking the cans to a separate facility) generates revenue that helps the program remain viable. Here are a few phone numbers and internet resources I've found in my searches. Most of them are for Cumberland and Franklin Counties in Pennsylvania, but a few are national:

Earth 911. Great site with a lot of information about recycling and recycling programs across the country: http://earth911.org/

The Environmental Protection Agency's information on recycling: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/recycle.htm

The Franklin County Coalition, a grass roots organization with a list of recyclers in Franklin County: http://www.celdf.org/fcc/recycle.htm

Franklin County Offices (717) 264-4125; http://www.co.franklin.pa.us/franklin/cwp/view.asp?a=1448&q=463277&franklinNav=27585

Freecycle, an international resource for giving away and getting second-hand stuff free. Membership is free as well. Imagine the classifieds but bigger: http://www.freecycle.org/

Greendisk, a national company that recycles "technotrash," computer-related waste: http://www.greendisk.com/

The Internet Consumer Recycling Guide. Once again, a great resource with tons of info: http://www.obviously.com/recycle/

Solid Waste Authority of Cumberland County (717) 240-6489; http://www.ccpa.net/cumberland/cwp/view.asp?a=1619&Q=465622

I have to make a special note about where we recycle: New Hope Recycling. They're a volunteer group that is sponsored by the Solid Waste Authority of Cumberland County. They accept recycling at the Hopewell Township Building in New Hope Pennsylvania on the first Saturday of the month. You can find more information about them on the Earth 911 website or you can contact Pat Franklin at 717-423-6224, patfred@earthlink.net. The volunteers are friendly and helpful, and the recycling program accepts almost anything you could want to recycle. We are only left with a few items like household batteries, some electronics, and grayboard to recycle elsewhere.

Post any other resources, websites, comments, or ideas that you may have about recycling.

Coming soon... ideas about organizing household recycling, composting, reducing waste, and giving things a second life before they become trash.