Recycle @ Home
Recycling at home is very important. The amount of waste that comes from one neighbourhood on a daily basis is enormous.

The more we recycle, the more we can cut down waste generated and your local council can cut down on waste management expenditure.

What can be recycle @ Home
Paper
Newspapers, office paper, printer paper, magazines, brochures are some of the things that can be recycled. Collect these items and, whenever possible, try to separate them according to their grade.

Plastic
There is abundance of plastic that we can recycle. Everything from drink containers, detergent bottles, food wrappings, ice cream boxes and others are recyclable.

Corrugated Containers (Cardboard)
Whenever we buy new electrical equipment, or sometimes furniture, we usually get them in these cardboard boxes that no one seems to know what to do with other than throw away. Why not recycle them instead?

Glass
Jam containers and certain food items are still packed in bottles. Recycle these bottles or reuse them to store other food items.

Clothing
Old clothing can be reused or donated to the needy. This way, you reduce landfill space, and you give the less fortunate something nice.


How to Start Recycling @ Home
Like we have said before, it takes time to cultivate a habit of recycling. What you can do to develop this habit is to start small. The best place to start is at home. Here's how…

Separate your waste
The easiest thing to do is to separate your waste. Put the recyclables in one bin and other wastes in another. Your recyclables can then be separated further according to their categories. Make sure you clean them properly before handing it out to the relevan collectors.

Reuse old things
Instead of throwing them away, try to reuse as much of your old things as possible. Mineral water bottles can be used to store water, or cut in half and used as pots. Your old curtains can be cut and used as rags, or donated to charity.

Reduce
Stop buying items that are packaged in non-recyclable materials. You might even want to start buying in bulk and use containers to keep your things fresh. Buying in bulk not only reduces the need for unnecessary packaging, but it helps you save money as well.


What Can You Do @ Home
Kitchen Containers
Recycling kitchen storage containers is a good idea. Wash them by filling bags three quarters full with hot water, add a squirt of dishwashing detergent, close tightly, and shake, shake, shake. Rinse thoroughly, then wipe or allow to air dry. If raw meat, fish, or poultry has been stored in a bag, it should be reused for nonfood items only, even after washing.

Wrap it up
Rediscover the artful interest of newspaper and recycle it, turning it into giftwrap. We gussied ours up with some fanciful sticky edging and pretty rayon ribbon. When travelling abroad, collect newspapers, magazines, candy and gum wrappers, and any other graphic imagery that strikes your fancy. Bring a big envelope to gather it all in. The stylish designs and foreign typefaces will look great used in giftwrapping, tags, and collaged cards. Oversized letters and interesting pictures in black and white newsprint create focal points and ' patterns.

Re-use Bottles
Bring your own bottles and food containers when you take away soya milk, sugar cane or food. This helps eliminate the need for new containers. You could also re-use mineral water containers or soft drink bottles to store drinking water. Ice cream and other food containers can be used to store cakes, keys, small toys and others. Beautiful and colourful alcohol bottles can be reused as vases.

Get Your Family In On The Act
The best way to ensure that your recycling programme at home is successful is to get everyone involved. Get your kids on the act, or your housemates, or your parents. Get your neighbours in on it too if you can. The more the merrier. Show them the benefits of recycling and how it'll help the environment. Once they know the immediate benefits, they will be more than happy to pitch in.

Empty milk and drink cartons can also be reused creatively in a number of ways around the house and garden. For example, you can use cartons:

• for growing seedlings
• as tree guards
• as pencil holders
• for craft activities
• Bring your own bags when shopping. This eliminates the need for    plastic bags.
• Empty plastic liners from cereal boxes make good freezer bags or    wax paper. Use for lunch bags also.
• Use both sides of printer paper, whether it is to run through the    printer again, or other purposes.
• Save and Recycle "Plastic Peanuts" (those Styrofoam pieces that    come in packages sent in the mail). Use them at the bottom of    planting containers instead of rocks or gravel for water drainage.


Tips for Recycling @ Home
• Buy in bulk if you can.
• Reuse plastic containers (drink bottles, plastic food containers) to    store food and water.
• Bring your own grocery bag when shopping.
• Don't let the faucet run when brushing teeth or washing face.
• Old clothes can be donated to the needy instead of being thrown    away.
• Reuse old newspapers for wrapping things up. This is especially    useful if you want to store something for a period of time. Instead of    buying paper for wrapping, use old newspaper instead.
• Bring your own food container when buying food. This eliminates    unnecessary packaging, especially when it comes to styrofoam.
• Unwanted and old wooden furniture could be sold to a wood    processing plant instead of thrown away. They would then process    the furniture and it would be used for many beneficial things.
• If you receive a lot of gift hampers that contain canned food during    the holiday season, donate some to charity or food bank. It would be    better if the food went to people who would really have a use for it    rather than be shelved for a year until it is no longer good.
• Donate some of your children's toys to charity if they no longer need    it. This is better than just throwing those toys away.
• Avoid Disposables - we pay a price for convenience: Use the real    thing--cloth diapers, napkins, towels and handkerchiefs;    rechargeable batteries, reusable plates, glasses and cutlery and    other durable goods.
• Share your newspapers, magazines and books. Recycling is good;    reusing is even better!
• Most supermarket shopping bags are made from a form of plastic    that is not currently recycled in household quantities. You can assist    in reducing the numbers of these bags in circulation by taking your    own re-usable shopping bag with you to the supermarket or at least    reduce the demand for other products of this type by re-using    shopping bags as rubbish bags at home or work.
• Use old toothbrushes to clean between bath ties, around faucets.
• Use old curtains to make cushion covers. Or you can use them as    rags.
• Rather than buy new tapes, why not reuse some of the old ones. This    not only saves you some money, but you’ll also save space from    having too many tapes.
• If your eyesight gets worse, or the one that you have now is no longer    in style, and you get yourself a new pair of glasses, donate the old    one. They can be cleaned and made available to people who can use    it.
• Damaged CD's can be repaired, and repair or reuse is definitely a    better environmental option than recycling. Small scratches can be    fixed with toothpaste. Apply on the non-label side, and work your    way out from the centre. If you don’t like the CD, give it away.
• These too can be donated to charity homes or they can be given    away to appliance storeowners to be used as parts.
• Batteries can’t simply be thrown away because they are bad for the    environment. For things that allow them (like remote controls,    walkmans, radios, digital cameras), use rechargeable batteries. They    might cost a little more, but the amount of reuse that you get more    than makes up for it.

 

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