Recycle, Freecycle and more

We see it everyday, RECYCLE, but where does all of that stuff being recycled go?  Is it really helping anything to separate the plastics, paper, cardboard and glass from regular "garbage".  The short answer: sorta...the longer answer, it depends on what happens to it once it leaves your neat little recycling bin.  A better way to make sure things that can be recycled  do not wind up in the landfill or potentially adding to waste and pollution is to deliver the items directly to people, programs and businesses that can use them.

A very popular and not-so-new way to keep items out of the landfill, from mattresses and furniture to tv's and cell phones to notebooks, art supplies and more is Freecycle.  You can find your local freecycle group on Facebook and Yahoo!  Join up and you'll get offers and wanted emails for everyday items.  You can join a daily digest or individual emails.

The good:

•  The items are kept out of landfills and put to good use
•  You can get some great stuff, especially if you are handy and know how to refinish or repair items
•  It is FREE!
• You can get rid of things that you no longer want or need and feel good about giving to someone who does want and/or need it.

The bad:

• You have to be careful of the sanitary nature of the items you get
• Be careful and don't give out too much information, you are talking to strangers that you do not know anything about
• You need to be quick in larger, metro areas because items go FAST!

My personal experience has been a great one!  I've got some great bookcases, a vintage style desk, floor lamps, an aquarium with a fish, bunk beds, a bread maker, printers, hard drives, shower curtains and so much more.  Plus the hunt and competition or "Pick me!" syndrome is fun.  


Another idea is very new to me, but I am looking into it as a way to provide funding for my children's schools.  It is called Terracycle.  It is a fabulous business idea that I wish I had thought of!  Basically, the idea is this: Kids drink tons of juice equivalents that come in pouches, those pouches get thrown away and sent to a landfill.  Instead of allowing all of these to go to the landfill (we know every bottle or pouch doesn't get put into the recycling bin) or simply recycled into new products; collect the pouches, send them to Terracycle and they will send your charity 2 cents for each one.  I don't know about your kids' schools, but mine go through a LOT of juice pouches, soda bottles, candy and bar wrappers, etc.  Once Terracycle receives them, they give them a new purpose in life from tote bags and purses to bird feeders and more.  I'm hoping to make it a new part of my kids' school habits...just gotta get through that red tape :-)  Maybe you wonder why this is better than simply recycling, well the first reason is educating children to be conscious of their environment and making use of all parts of a product and losing the "disposable" mindset.  Second, raising money for the ever money-crunched schools.  I think it is far better than purchasing overpriced candy, nuts and wrapping paper!

So what does happen to all of that recycled stuff that we put in the neat little blue crates?  I've heard rumors that some "recyclable" materials meet their demise in a landfill, even after all of our careful efforts to sort and send to be recycled.  However, this is not the case in all areas.  I suggest checking with your locality to find out if your recycled items are really being treated as such.  Many cities, counties and states have programs in place to keep the recycling organizations in check, however it never hurts to check and make sure your jurisdiction is behaving responsibly.  If you find out they aren't, contact the local authorities or media to make sure our efforts are for nothing.  



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