Finding places to recycle your newspapers, cans, and bottles can be difficult if your city does not offer curbside recycling. I know it isn’t easy in the area that I live in and I do not believe I have ever seen anyone in my neighborhood have a curbside recycle bin ready for pickup. As a result, I have had to look elsewhere to participate in recycling. Here are some ways that I have found over the years.
Donate to a school or charity that collects recyclables
Sometimes a school or charity may run a recycle program as a fundraiser. The school that my children go to offers a paper-recycling program that helps the school earn money. It is convenient since I can load the back of my car with paper items such as newspaper or office paper that I don’t just want to throw away and drop it off when I get the kids from school.
Offer things on websites for free like Craigslist or Freecycle
Post on Craigslist or Freecycle that you have cans or bottles. There are people out there who would love to take them off your hands. They know the local recycling companies and often collect and sell the recyclable items for extra income. I have gone this route before and often see two different families that go through my neighborhood on a regular basis looking for things they can take to recycle.
Check with schools or charities that use things for projects or shelters that may use newspaper
I have donated various items to the art teacher at my children’s school of items that would have ended up in a landfill. They often need newspaper for paper mache projects or plastic containers for paint. I have seen animal shelters advertise that they could use newspaper for their kennels.
Look for recycling containers at local parking lots
There are many parking lots in my city that have recycling bins. Some are for charities looking to raise funds and others are just recycling companies offering a way to make it easier to collect those recyclable materials. I have found them in the parking lots of grocery stores and shopping malls.
Let kids use recyclables in their play before you recycle
Before I put paper into the recycle bin from my printer, I print on both sides of the paper and will sometimes give it to my kids for them to play with. This weekend they built paper airplanes out of the paper I gave them. Once they are done, we will recycle them. Saves me in buying toys and gets them to be creative.
Finding ways to recycle things are possible if you do not have curbside recycling. Sometimes it just takes an open ear to see who might be asking for items or getting a little creative in coming up with ways to keep things out of landfills. If we all do our part though, we will be able to take care of the earth together.
