Organizing Recycling

[Noah's mommy]

We just moved to a new area where our recycling isn't collected at the curb. We need to haul the recycling to a different area and sort it. I'm looking for ideas on how to best organize a recycling system so that everyone remembers to recycle the items and it is easy to haul and sort when the time comes. Any ideas?

[root*children]

We did that for a few years living rurally in CO. I didn't want to be collecting the stuff for a long time, nor did we have the space to do so. We just tossed it all in paper bag under the sink, next to the trash can, and I sorted it out at the drop-off place.

[koofie]

When I lived in an area w/o curbside pick up, I cbought several pop up laundry hampers. These I used for the different types of recycling. I have a large back porch just off the kitchen so storage wasn't a problem. When one filled, I just took all down to the nearest drop off location. When not in use (orwhen I had company coming) I jus folded them flat and stored them out of site. The greatest part was that they were for laundy, so if they got damp they dried fast. A friend used a laundry sorter (3 bins in one) to sort hers.

HTH

[rabbithorns]

We were totally spoiled for three years while we had curbside pick-up, but now we've moved and have to take it to the recycling dumpster at the library. We don't have to sort it so we just put it in an old plastic crate that I made a liner for. I just used an old vinyl tablecloth and cut it to fit insude the crate and tied it one, so spills and bit of paper don't fall through the crate holes.

[srain]

We are short on near-the-kitchen space, so we put everything in one bin (except paer) and haul it to the basement when it's full. In the basement we have separate containers for everything. We keep paper in a big drawer, and when the drawer is full it too goes in the basement. (The dump is 20-30 minutes away so we save up all our garbage and recycling for 3-4 months and haul it all in a trailer.)

[simple living mama]

Originally Posted by root*children

We did that for a few years living rurally in CO. .

Yep, my buddy Root*children lived here until we lost her to the east coast!!!
Hi Root*children!

What we do is have 5 trash cans with wheels. We have them out on the side of the house. Inside we have an area on the sink where we put our cans and glass. When it starts looking cluttered, out they go in to the recycle trash can area. When they get full, the lids get put on, ducted taped down, in to the truck, and on to the recycle center they go. This happens about three times a year. Once you get used to it, it's a good system.

[sammysmammy]

I just wanted to add that we don't have recycle pick up at our house either(rural area)but I've found that sorting out and seperating the recycle stuff before we take it to the center seems to make us more mindful of what we're doing this for.I'm actually kind of glad,now,that we don't have pick up here at home!

[Hatteras Gal]

We have curb side pick up now but we didn't always. We bought 2 large rubbernaid containers and they sit one of top of the other next to the trash can. We put all paper/chipboard/cardboard in the one on top and metal/glass/plastic/etc go in the bottom one. Once the bins get full we take them into the living room and separate the stuff out (even for the curbside, they require us to separate). So we separate it all and put it in plastic or paper bags and put it out. Our dds love helping separate the recycling! And having the bins next to the trash can makes it less likely that we'll throw the recyclables away.

[sapphire_chan]

We used a tall trash can (no lid) for paper (now used for wrapping paper) and a paper bag each for cans and glass.

Definitely set up a dedicated place to toss stuff in, and definitely have it be something you can lift by yourself. What size/shape of container will depend on where you'll be keeping it and how much of each type of item goes into it between trips. My preference is for a system where you don't have to sort things later.