In this series, “Back to Basics”, I am covering the essentials of “going green” by focusing on the basic principles of green living. First in the series was Reduce, the second was Reuse, and today we will cover Recycle.

The purpose of recycling is similar to reusing, except that recycling is usually done to create new products of old ones to not waste useable resources such as wood, plastic, glass, etc. This obviously reduces our need for virgin materials (such as wood or rubber) and allows us to give new life to our old items.

Today’s post will not have 3 tips each. Instead, being inspired by the simplicity of Earth911.org’s recycling site, I am giving their suggestions labels according to green dedication.

Newbie

This is super easy and I don’t want to hear any excuses!

Take five bags or bins and place them in a convenient location in your apartment. Label them “paper”, “plastic”, “aluminum”, “glass” and “tin/steel”. Sort your various garbage into these containers and once a week or two take them to your local recycling center for cash. Yes, cash. You save the world one can at a time and get paid for it!

Amateur Environmentalist

I’m assuming you already are recycling the “Big Five”, so now I’m going to ask you to take it a step further. Recycle your electronics – cell phones, old computers, televisions – as well as their various paraphernalia like ink cartridges, batteries, and even remote controls! Click on the item you’d like to recycle and it’ll take you to a link to find out the location nearest you (please note these suggestions are just one possibility, not an endorsement or sole choice for these types of programs):

• batteries
• cell phones
• CFLs
• computers
• ink cartridges
• various electronics

Certified Tree-Hugger

Finally, the ultimate recycling program is that of composting. You’re already sorting out the recyclable “Big Five” and have prepped other large items for recycling, but now we’re talking coffee grinds, lemon rinds and tea bags, baby!

In an apartment, there are several ways to compost. You can get a small composter like this one found on the Apartment Therapy website or you can go to the vermin: vermicomposting. It is the most hygienic and easy to maintain composting method while living in an apartment. There are better authorities on the subject than little ol’ me, so I’ll direct you to them: see Wikipedia, StopWaste.org, and Journey to Forever.

Also, you can purchase vermicomposting bins (“ideal for apartment dwellers”) at StopWaste.org’s site and around the web, including Amazon.

I hope you were inspired to get down to what matters by this “Back to Basics: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” series. I know it has made me re-evaluate and even measure my patio for a “worm box”. My kid is gonna love that one!

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Like the tips but have an even better one? Leave it in a comment!

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