How to Recycle

Recycle water in your shower. Most people like to run the water until it warms up before getting into the shower. Get a bucket to put in your shower and catch the water so that it's not wasted. You can use this water for cooking. Collect rainwater in order to recycle water. You can collect it in buckets. Or, you can catch rainwater from the downspout on your roof gutters. Attach a water butt to the end of the gutter or use some other kind of container that will catch the rainwater. You can use this water to water your vegetable or flower gardens. It's good to have in reserve also for watering your shrubs.

Separate paper into three groups: white office paper, newspaper, and mixed-color paper. Most curbside programs will collect it this way. Recycle all white office paper (usually from laser printers or copiers) together. Be sure to remove the wrappers they come in. These are a lower grade of paper and cannot be recycled with the white office paper and should be recycled with mixed-color paper. Take newspapers, and place them in brown bags, which can be recycled with newspapers, or tie them in bundles with twine (a natural fiber). Colored advertising inserts can also be recycled with newspapers. Be sure to remove rubber bands, plastic and anything that is not paper.

Rinse and recycle bottle glass of any color, including green, clear and amber through your curbside program if you have one. Most communities do not vary in the type of bottle glass they recycle unless it is a mixed color. Throw out anything ceramic, as it will contaminate the glass as it is being recycled. Discard mixed color and broken glass - it is hard to sort and can't be recycled. Also leave out mirrors, windows, Pyrex, light bulbs and glass tableware.

Contact a tire store to ask if it recycles tires. Usually, a store that sells tires accepts old ones. Big O Tires and Firestone have drop offs for disposable tires. Phone city hall and inquire about special recycle days. Many communities schedule a yearly drop off day for tires and other items that the regular garbage pickup doesn't accept.

Find out if your local curbside recycling program will accept plastic grocery bags. Drop off plastic grocery bags Type 2 and Type 4 at your local grocery store, if you cannot recycle them through your curbside program. Most grocery stores will accept plastic bags and have recycling bins inside the store
Exclude any plastic bags that are dark in color or bags that have handles or drawstrings. Plastic food packaging and plastic food wrap (Saran wrap) are also non-recyclable. Clean and dry bags thoroughly before recycling, making sure they are empty of any debris. This is important, since foreign objects will contaminate the plastic as it is being recycled.