Sustainable at home: The 10 things in your home that can definitely be recycled!

How much do you know about recycling and having a sustainable movement in your home and workplace? Most of us have probably actually done it by sorting our trash and saving the ones that can be used for other purposes, but have you adopted techniques on being more sustainable in your house? 

Before we get down to list the ten things in your home that can definitely be recycled, let’s talk about the benefits of practicing it. As we all very well know, recycling is beneficial for many things, especially for our environment. It does not only save valuable space in our landfills, but it also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, it helps us to use fewer natural resources such as water and energy to turn them into other usable items. Last but not least, recycling helps us to save money! 

Now, it is time to set down the household items that you can actually recycle. Read on!

Junk Mail and Cards

This one is one of the most common household items that can be recycled. To make your work easier, place a small recycling bin next to the door you use to retrieve your email. That way, you won’t forget to recycle them as you walk back inside. After all the junk mail and cards are collected, you can sell them to a recycling facility. You can also start to go paperless at home if it is possible. 

Toothbrushes

Toothbrushes are made of mixed materials, which makes them impossible to be recycled along with your curbside plastics. However, before you toss them in the recycling bin, you might want to hold up. You can always repurpose your old toothbrushes by reserving them for scrubbing hard-to-reach areas such as around sink handles or into grimy corners. 

Books

Most of the time, you find it challenging to get rid of your book collections from your home, even when you no longer read them. However, it is important to donate or sell the books you no longer need or read. There are people out there who value your collection. For book collectors, for example, your outdated books often mean vintage to them. 

Cardboard

Cereal boxes, pizza boxes, cracker boxes, and other types of paper packaging are vital to be recycled. Not recycling these times causes a negative impact on the environment. Find the nearest recycling facilities to store the unused cardboard.

Disposable Plates and Cups

In a time like this, when disposable plates and cups are being used more than ever, it is crucial to have some more responsibilities. Don’t toss these disposables in the trash. There are many ways to recycle them. Most plastic cups and plates can go in the recycle bin, and you can compost paper plates. Or, you can shred them and put them underneath your mulch, around the base of your plants or flowers. Once the paper plates break down after several weeks, they are able to help retain moisture and provide nutrients for your plants! 

Batteries

Do you know that the toxic materials in the battery have a negative impact on our environment once they break down in our landfills? Yes, batteries greatly contribute to pollution, so it is essential to recycle them. The good news is that it is quite easy to recycle household batteries, especially when you are able to find any recycling facilities or organizations near your places!

CD and DVD Cases

You might want to check the untouched corner of your home where you put all your CD and DVD collections and started to consider doing something with them in order to save more space. Well, consider to burn digital copies or your CDs and put your DVDs into CD collection cases. Then, you will see a pile of plastic cases that can be recycled! 

Ink Cartridges

Have you heard that there are many ink cartridge brands that provide a program to recycle your old ink cartridges? Most printer ink cartridges contain toxic materials that are dangerous if you put them in the trash. Take the old cartridges with you whenever you want to purchase a new one, and they will help you to do the recycling job. 

Plastic Bags

There are so many movements around us when it comes to reducing plastic consumptions. The steps are actually easy: always carry your own bags to the grocery and farmer’s market, and refuse them whenever possible. The problem is that sometimes you still need, or end up, with a plastic bag. Fret not, as there are ways to reuse them or even recycle them at home such as lining your wastebaskets with the plastic bags you have in your house instead of buying plastic bin liners. You can also save them to wrap fragile items for storing or shipping. 

Aluminum Foil

This material is also a common household item. There are loads of ways to repurpose them, as long as you make sure it is clean and free from any food debris. You can turn it into a reflector, utensil sharpener, jewelry cleaner, and dryer ball so that they have a new life before we put them in the trash. 

Sometimes recycling can be difficult, but it doesn’t always have to be a challenging chore. Once you know what to sort out and which ones are impossible to recycle, it is easier to decide the next step. Sometimes you can repurpose things, or seek help from the recycling facilities nearby. So, are you ready to actively recycle your trash? We hope so!