Recycling Tips

Recycling Basics

Steve Coe with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality explains the basics of recycling. Be sure to check out the related videos for more recycling tips and information.

Tote Bag for Bathroom Recycling

We hang a cloth tote bag over the door handle in our bathroom and put all the recycleable items in the bag. Quick and easy, and you'd be surprised how quickly it fills up.

By Lara from OR

Paper Bag for Small Recycling

I use paper grocery bags for my recycling, I put them in the corner in my kitchen and they collect paper, newspaper, cans, and plastics. When the bag is full I just throw it out into my large recycling container in the garage and open a new bag in the kitchen!

By jazzyjuls from Ellicott City, MD

After Christmas Eco-Savings

You spent months calculating and saving on the perfect Christmas gifts. Now, it's time to save a little after Christmas. Other than the usual after Christmas sales, think about environmental savings. It may not do much for your bank account, other than possibly saving on your garbage bill by putting out less trash, but it will do wonders for your future.

Recycle the Wrap

It's a Christmas morning tradition. Open a large kitchen garbage bag in the living room and fill it with wrapping paper and boxes while opening gifts. Try a little bit of trash management and save on your curbside pickup. Wrapping paper, most of it, is recyclable. Keep one bag only for wrapping and tissue paper. Then, create a separate pile for cardboard boxes. Many municipalities are collecting paper for recycling either during pickup or in bins at specific locations. Drop your wrapping paper there; you'll be surprised how much is collected. Corrugated cardboard and paperboard is usually collected at specific recycling drop-offs. Offer to deliver your neighbor's cardboard as well and save on gas emissions while encouraging others to recycle.

It Can All Go Somewhere

With the exception of ribbon and the clear plastic bubble-like forms that surround action figures or small electronic devices, most every packing item found under the Christmas tree is recyclable. Hard plastic such as the bars that hold twist-ties on toys and DVD cases are all recyclable with your household plastic collection. Make it a family event to clear out the living room once the gifts are opened. Assign a specific type of collection to each family member, and send them all on a scavenger hunt. You'll find very little at the curb Monday morning.

Consider It While You Wrap

After Christmas sales are the time when many gather next year's wrapping and bows. Think green both in money and environment while shopping the sales this year. While paper gift bags are traditionally reused by the recipient, cloth bags will definitely find another use. Purchase cloth gift bags in all sizes this year or decorative solid gift boxes made out of thick cardboard or wood for gifting. The more use they get and the guarantee that they'll find their way into a recycling bin when they're done will make for a better wrapping choice. Places like Oriental Trading sells bulk packages of tote bags with snowmen and mittens on the side - the perfect replacement for paper gift bags.

One large savings would be to forgo wrapping paper altogether. Opt to wrap in blankets, towels, or other usable items. With some creativity, newspaper and comics can be cute and trendy. Remember, no matter how eco-friendly you try to get, kids still like to rip paper from boxes on Christmas morning.

Do the Same for the Decos

While many of your decorations will be carefully boxed and stored, some are destined for the trash. Greens should be mulched using a hand trimmer and used to protect plants for the winter. If you have room on your property, lay your Christmas tree in a remote location to provide shelter for birds and small animals during the winter months. You can take it to the leaf and brush recycling pile in the spring. Any other vegetative decorations you may have purchased should also be left out for winter munching. Country-style decorating invites gourds, berries, and fruits to adorn greenery; these are all inviting snacks to small animals once they are too shriveled to be decorative.

By Kelly Ann Butterbaugh

Save Money By Recycling

Call your nearest garbage drop off to save money! I know some states pay for garbage through taxes, but for those of you who pay by bag, call the garbage facility in your area and ask about recycling. Usually they take recycling for free with a bag of trash. Once you get into it, you will realize most of the things you throw away are able to recycle. Cut your garbage bill in half (or more).

You can recycle almost everything: plastic (bottles, bags, jugs), Paper (newspaper, magazines, etc.), metal (cans mostly). That leaves you with leftovers (compost), junk mail (make a pinata), old clothes (cleaning rags), broken electronics, toys and "stuff". Save the earth and your hard earned money!

By Starchild from Lamoille County, VT

Pool Your Aluminum Recycling

I have recycled cans and bottles for years - but lack of space has made it harder and harder to collect enough to make it worth a trip. But throwing the stuff out made me so guilty! Solution - passing on our recycling to an elderly neighbor who is happy to get the added recycling revenue! Think about creative ways to pool recyclables for fun or profit!

By Pamphyila from Los Angeles, CA