Recycling

What It Means

Recycling is collecting materials that have already been used, such as paper, cardboard, glass and some plastics, and sending them to be processed into new products. At home it usually means a separate bin picked up at the curb or taken to a drop-off site. What that bin accepts is decided by your local program, so the rules change from one town to the next.

How It Sounds at Home

• "Is this number plastic recyclable here?"
• "Bags go back to the grocery store."
• "Recycling day is Thursday this week."

The Breakdown

How to do it

1. Find your local program's list. Your city, county or hauler sets what the bin takes, and the EPA's guidance keeps pointing back to it.
2. Put paper and cardboard in the bin. The EPA says most community programs accept paper and paper products.
3. Check which plastics your program takes before you put any in, since some types aren't accepted.
4. Put glass in if your program takes it, and check whether it wants colors kept apart. The EPA says most curbside programs take mixed glass and sort it at the facility.
5. Keep plastic bags and wrap out of the home bin. Many retail and grocery stores collect them.
6. Leave out anything you're unsure of. The EPA warns that one wrong item can contaminate a load and get the whole lot thrown out.
7. Keep leftover household chemicals out of both bins and ask your local environmental, health or solid waste agency how to get rid of them.

Try it today. Look up your program's accepted list and tape it to the inside of the cabinet where the recycling lives.

Make it a habit. A second bin or bag right next to the kitchen trash makes the right choice the easy one, which is Buhata's own suggestion.

Good to Know

What goes in a recycling bin is decided locally, and the EPA's guidance keeps sending you back to your own program, so its accepted list is the one to follow, and it's worth rereading now and then. For items that don't go at the curb, such as plastic bags and film, the EPA points to drop-off sites at many retail and grocery stores.

Related Terms and Categories

• Composting

  Turning food scraps and yard waste into a dark, crumbly soil amendment by letting them break down in a managed pile or bin.

• Trash can cleaning

  Washing out a kitchen or outdoor trash can on a schedule, with a method that suits what the can is made of, to stop smells and grime building up.

• Decluttering

  Clearing out what a home no longer needs by sorting belongings into what to keep and what leaves the house, one small area at a time.

• Garage organization

  Sorting a garage into zones with a set place for tools, gear and supplies, and storing hazardous products safely in their original containers.

• Household bill split

  Dividing a household's shared bills, such as rent, utilities and internet, among the people who live there, and settling up who owes whom.

Chores, cleaning and home care