In one lifetime, the average American will throw away 600 times their adult weight in garbage. For example, a 150-pound adult will deposit a trash pile of approximately 90,000 pounds.
When was the last time you recycled something? Was it last week—or last year? Whether you’re a well-trained recycler or have never thought about recycling before, it’s important to know the basics of the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
Here are ten tips that will help you master the recycling habit. Applying these tips will not only improve the environment, it will also help pad your pocket book!
1. Buy used items. Whether you’re looking for clothes, construction materials, or cars, used items are usually much cheaper and may last longer than new items will—many older items are made from more durable materials.
2. Look for items that you can reuse more than once. Rechargeable batteries are a great example of this.
3. Purchase items in bulk, but shop around to make sure you get the best price per unit.
4. Rent, loan, borrow, or share items that you don’t use frequently.
5. Maintain and repair products around the house.
6. Recycle used electronics.
7. Donate items to a local charity or cause.
8. Recycle your aluminum cans – recycling one can saves enough energy to run a computer for three hours!
9. You don’t need to wash out your glass bottles and jars before recycling!
10. Set aside a dedicated bin for recyclable materials such as paper, plastic, aluminum, and glass. If you have to pay for garbage removal, this will lower your trash bill!
Not sure where or what to recycle? Check out iRecycle, an app that lets you access over 1.6 millions ways to recycle. Download it here.