I recycle my paper towels by using them to soak up grease and other liquids that I put in the trash. At mealtime, my husband and I use paper towels for napkins. I felt it such a waste to throw all these paper towels away so I started putting most of them in my recycle bag hanging in the kitchen. Whenever I need to soak up grease, I grab the used paper towels.
After unplugging my George Foreman grill, I place a big wad of wet paper towels in the grill while it is still hot. It softens the stuff that is stuck to the grill and makes cleanup much easier.
To catch the grease drip from our Holland Grill, I put paper towels in the bucket. It beats having to clean that bucket. We even cook sausage and bacon on this grill. When doing this, it takes a lot of paper towels to absorb the grease but I don't have to worry with having a container full of grease to dispose of.
Whenever I fry and have grease left in the pan, I soak it up with paper towels, tie them up in a plastic grocery bag and put them in the trash.
Please note that these are used paper towels I'm using to soak up grease. I also used to put my grease in a can and keep it until the can got full but now I recycle the can and jars and soak up my grease with the used paper towels which I can't recycle any other way. I really prefer to not put liquids in my trash even in a container because when it's put into the compactor or garbage truck, it gets squished.
I'm even saving the paper towels I use for cleaning my mirrors and windows. I let them dry before putting them in the recycle bag. I'm actually collecting more paper towels than I have grease to soak up and I use paper towels sparingly. Just don't want folks to think I'm wasting paper towels.
It's even thriftier if you use an empty tin can for collecting grease. Whenever I buy something in a large can, I save the empty can, wash it out and use it for a "grease can". I keep it in the fridge and anytime I have to drain grease, I just pull it out, pour the grease in, and pop the can back in the fridge. When it's full, it goes in the trash.
I agree that newspaper also works well for soaking up liquids. I inquired once about how to get rid of a paint can that had a little paint left in it and was advised to stuff it with newspaper before putting it in the dumpster.
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