Do you recycle?

[Welshcookie 17]

Yep....we do. The council here have provided us with colour coded tubs and schedule to detail when each will be collected....

[Jasman0717 9]

Yes, we recycle

[eau_xplain 2]

We try to recycle. We have our newspapers/magazines tied up in huge stacks in our storeroom and big trash bags of crushed aluminum cans. Unfortunately, our county does not pick up recyclable materials so we have to find the time to drop them off at the collection centers. We've been living in this house for almost 2 years now and we have yet to find time to do it :lol: Good thing we have a huge storage area!!

Edited February 18, 2006 by eau_xplain

[LenJayUS 0]

Here in Lenior (well, actually it's Gamewell Township.. just outside of Lenior), NC it's not mandatory. When we had our trash picked up, we could put all of our recyclables in one bin... glass, cans, etc, etc... but we had to remove the lids off of plastic bottles, labels from cans, etc. They do make it a pain in the ###... yeah... over all it doesn't take that much more time, but still...

Now that we take our trash to a drop off point... we don't bother. If the misses wants to change that when she gets here... so be it... it's a minor issue to me.

[Texanadian 10]

This is something that is a complete difference for me between Canada and the USA.

In Canada, I recycle books, magazines, tin cans, bottles, milk jugs, paper (basically all my mail), plastic, all into giant yellow bags. Newpaper goes into blue bags. I put it out with the garbage can and it's done for. Easy peasy. With this system, I put out about 1 or 2 bags of traditional garbage a week (maybe less) and a ton of recyling. There is no limit to the amount of recycling they pick up.

In Texas, I asked why no recycling. They had it but got rid of it. Apparently it was too expensive. So living in an apartment with dumpers out back, we throw out SO MUCH GARBAGE! It seems incredibly wasteful to me. And everything is double wrapped then put in a paper bag and then in a bigger bag still when you order food to be delivered.

We used to have garbage picked up in Canada 2 cans every 2nd week and then 1 can every week during the summer (to keep it from attracting animals). Some places in the US stop at your home twice per week and pick up 2 cans both times. How can anybody make that much garbage?

I prefer recycling because it means I have to take the garbage out less often. In Texas, I have to take the garbage out every 2nd day. In British Columbia, it's once a week before the garbage man comes.

One thing I do like about Houston is that they have oversized pickup ONCE A MONTH! We used to get it once a year and then they changed it to 1 week where you could put your oversized stuff out on the street and everybody in the city can look around and if they like something they pick it up. At the end of the week, you have to bring back in anything that's still there (which is about 95% of the stuff you left out there)

I'm surprised landfills aren't more of a problem in the US.

My dad lives on an island where there is no garbage pickup. They have a free store (recycling center) where you can get old magazines, clothes, toys, furniture, lots of neat stuff. Everything else is recycled, composted (everybody composts) or burned. There is no litter there either.

Edited February 19, 2006 by Texanadian

[Sister Fracas 5]

Here in the city of Chicago, we have Blue Bag recyling...you put cans, bottles, and plastic in these blue bags you can buy at the grocery store and then just dump them in the bins with the regular trash. The sanitation workers take the blue bags for sorting and dump the regular trash someplace else. So we collect all the cans, bottles, and plastic in a blue bag and about once or twice a week (depeding on how much beer hubster has that week...hahahahahaa) take it to the garbage can on our floor. The beauty is, there is no set date for pick up, you just throw it away whenever you fill a blue bag. With the Blue Bag system, it's best to include even the things you aren't sure are recyclable, because it goes to a big sorting center and they'll determine what's ok or not.

We also collect magazines, cardboard, boxes, newspapers, catalogs, and any paper that doesn't have personal info on it. The garbage area on each floor of our apartment building has a big box for collecting all the paper goods, which they empty daily. Again, it's easy because you just take your recyclables out whenever you've collected enough...there is no once a week schedule.

So reclycling is very easy where we are...just a walk down the hall to the garbage room.

I'd say we only throw away "garbage" twice a week because we recycle A LOT.

[Fandango 1,439]

Yes, we recyle. Funny thing is, our glass bin was always filled with beer bottles...it used to be embarrassing to put the bin out

[Lou Lou 1]

Yep, Vermont is pretty good about recycling. We don't even have to seperate everything which probably means a grotty job at the other end but I'm sure it encourages everyone to do it. We also have a compost heap in the garden for all the veggie waste. We reuse envelopes and packing materials all the time by just putting a new labels over them...saves the planet (in a teeny way) and saves us money!

[Sister Fracas 5]

Yep, Vermont is pretty good about recycling. We don't even have to seperate everything which probably means a grotty job at the other end ......

Ewwww, yeah, I've thought of that too...but becuase I don't want to attract any kind of insect of ANY sort ...I rinse out all of the cans, bottles and plastic, let them dry out, and recap them before I put them in the bin we have for collection. I don't want critters...especially when the temperature is warmer.

Edited February 20, 2006 by Frances

[Cassie 8]

This is one thing that I have had the hardest time getting used to, little to no recycling.

I used to live in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, which has one of the most progressive and efficient recycling systems -- officials come from all over the world to check it out. We recycled everything possible -- cardboard, plastics, glass, newspaper, etc in blue bags, and we even had compost bins for yard clippings and food waste-- they would empty them once every two weeks, take it back to the facility, make and bag compost, and sell it to gardeners, etc. Ended up being very little actual garbage and has prolonged the life of the landfill.

Here, I *think* there's a recycling drop off point up the street, but I think it's just cans/bottles.

Hehe that reminds me -- when recycling was first being set up at home, people were having troubles (or couldn't be bothered) separating garbage. So they had inspectors go around and literally sniff the garbage bags -- if they could smell rotten food, the bags would be rejected, and repeat offenders would get fined. People got the hint quickly.

[Lou Lou 1]

Hehe that reminds me -- when recycling was first being set up at home, people were having troubles (or couldn't be bothered) separating garbage. So they had inspectors go around and literally sniff the garbage bags -- if they could smell rotten food, the bags would be rejected, and repeat offenders would get fined. People got the hint quickly.

That is happening in the UK. A few London boroughs are fining people if they don't use their recycling facilities and just chuck everything in the rubbish. I think it's a good thing

[almaty 19]

Yes, we recyle. Funny thing is, our glass bin was always filled with beer bottles...it used to be embarrassing to put the bin out

[Kajikit 65]

It took me a long time to get used to NOT recycling... our apartment building has a skip and doesn't recycle anything When I stop and think about it it feels like such an incredible waste of resources to just throw everything out, and we go through a HUGE amount of trash compared to what I'm used to from Australia!

In Australia recycling is very popular - everyone in our district has three big wheelybins. The one with a blue lid is divided in the middle - papers go in one side and glass goes in the other... The one with a green lid is for regular trash. And the giant one is for garden rubbish. The green bin goes out every week, and the other two alternate.

[Peter Miami 0]

Yes!

[Welshcookie 17]

Yes, we recyle. Funny thing is, our glass bin was always filled with beer bottles...it used to be embarrassing to put the bin out

Yeh.....I just make sure I put the black rubbish bin on top....