We often throw things in the trash and never think of that waste again. But maybe we should think again before dropping something in the bin and closing the lid.

Recycling Today for a Better Tomorrow

The amount of waste thrown out each year in America is estimated to be 254 million tons. The amount of that waste recycled comes in at about 34%. Americans need to do better, even it starts small.

Ways to Reduce Consumer Waste

According to the University of Southern Indiana, about ⅓ of the waste in a dump is packaging material. If possible, condense your personal deliveries to reduce the amount of packaging needed, and reuse packaging to send your own items through the mail.

Small businesses often take on the task of zero-waste packaging, so shopping small instead of via big box stores can reduce how much packing material ends up in the landfill. Other changes to shopping habits can include buying some food in bulk. Doing so allows you to avoid contributing to packaging waste by never throwing it away in the first place. Instead, bulk foods can be stored in glass or plastic containers once you get them home, eliminating the need to purchase individually or pre-packaged items.

In addition to creating so much trash, packing accounts for about 10% of the cost of every item you buy, and it’s roughly 65% of what is thrown away in households. So not only will modifying your shopping habits positively impact the environment but your wallet as well.

Did you know glass is 100% recyclable? This makes it a great option when considering renewable resources, and it could be used in manufacturing and consumer goods instead of other materials, such as plastic for food and drink containers.

Some states provide glass container recycling within the community, or glass can be dropped off directly at a facility. If you’re lucky, there’s a deposit for recycling glass, and you can get a few coins for your efforts.

Ways to Reduce Food Waste

Organic waste can be composted instead of being sent to a landfill. When food waste or other organic material sits in a landfill, it not only takes up valuable space, but it produces large amounts of methane gas.

How to Recycle Electronics

Electronics contain compounds that cannot be sent to landfills or regular recycling centers. You can visit Call2Recycle.org to find a dropoff location near you, or that will accept a mail-in. If your device still works, consider donating it to a non-profit or someone in your community.

Harmful Metals in Electronic Devices

• Lead
• Mercury
• Cadmium
• Brominated flame retardants

These elements can pollute soil and groundwater if disposed of improperly.

Make sure you either mail or take your electronic waste to designated facilities certified by the Environmental Protection Agency. Whether it’s part of a rebate program or just responsible recycling, it benefits everyone.

Businesses with Recycling Programs for Electronics

• Amazon
• Apple
• Best buy
• Office Depot
• Staples
• HP
• Epson
• Canon
• Sprint

Can You Recycle Batteries?

Did you know that depending on where you live, it may be illegal to throw away batteries? That’s because they’re another waste product that contains potentially harmful substances which shouldn’t be buried in landfills.

Single-use batteries, such as AA, 9-volt, or D-cell can be thrown away in the regular trash. Rechargeable batteries, such as those found in cellphones, cameras, and laptops, cannot be discarded in your home trash can. The heavy metals in rechargeable batteries are hazardous and should be recycled so as to avoid contaminating soil and groundwater.

While there may be fees for recycling single-use batteries, there are usually free recycling programs for rechargeable batteries. Home improvement stores or Call2Recycle can help you properly recycle your old batteries.

Recycling Batteries

Single-use batteries should be stored in a container that doesn’t conduct electricity, and the ends of the batteries should be covered to protect against current conduction. You can seal each individual battery in a plastic bag, or simply stick a piece of tape on the positive and negative ends of each battery.

Rechargeable batteries should be removed from their electronic devices prior to recycling and, as with single-use batteries, the terminals should be covered to avoid a current transfer. Once you have your batteries properly stored or packaged, they can be mailed or taken directly to the recycling facility in your area.

Travel and Trash

Surprisingly, statistics show people produce less trash on a daily basis when they travel. Hotels estimate that the trash produced per person daily is about two pounds. In contrast, the personal trash a person produces at home is double that at four pounds.

A 2008 survey by American Hotel and Lodging Association reports that 40% of hotels implement recycling programs, and many hotel guests are aware of and asking about recycling programs when they travel. However, it’s no simple feat to offer recycling in hotels. Guests often have good intentions when trying to recycle in receptacles provided in their rooms or the lobby, but items may still need to be sorted and stored on-site before they can be transported to the appropriate facility for processing.

It’s worth the effort, though, because recycling reduces costs to dispose of waste, as it is often less expensive to recycle material than it is to transport it to a landfill or incinerate it. When hotels successfully recycle their paper products, those savings could add up and cut the cost of waste disposal in half. Smaller hotels will see less significant savings, but it’s still worth noting.

So, how are hotels helping people produce less waste during their stay than they produce at home?

Ways Hotels Reduce Waste

• No individual newspapers for each room
• No more individual toiletry items in each bathroom
• Providing filtered water in rooms (to reduce plastic water bottle use)
• Composting uneaten food
• Breaking down cardboard for recycling (which can account for as much as 40% of a hotel’s waste)
• Donating unused items to philanthropic organizations (vs throwing them out)
• Putting recycling receptacles in high-traffic areas with labels for what goes where (paper vs glass vs plastic, etc…)

Hotels are trying to make recycling uncomplicated, as are companies that accept your electronics, batteries, and glass. Making the resources readily available means Americans can shift from only recycling ⅓ of their waste to something much more significant.

Do you recycle regularly?

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