One thing I always forget to mention, and is a good habit to get into, is paper recycling. We’re fortunate in NEOhio to have these green bins for paper collection located all over the place; often at local schools. The bins accept any clean paper based material including mail, paper, corrugated board and chipboard (i.e. cardboard).
Green paper recycling containers
I create a pile in my studio of all the paper “waste” our household generates and when the pile becomes more than I want to look at, I drive it up to our local middle school for drop off into these bins. I figure I go once a month, and pretty much fill up the back of the RAV4. My unscientific calculation is that we recycle between 200-300 cubic feet of paper annually.
Our household is zero (clean) paper waste – ALL of it is recycled. This reduces the amount of trash we haul down to the curb. In fact often our huge trash bin only has a bag or two of trash per week.
Additionally we recycle nearly 100% of our metal, glass, and plastic. Pretty much all of which is collected by our local curbside pick up. Plastic bags are cycled at the grocery store.
Consider increasing your recycling in 2015.
Info on paper recycling for fellow NEOhioans here: click me
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Some info copied from the River Valley website:
Recycling Facts
Making new paper products from your collected scrap paper results in significant energy savings and water use. The EPA has estimated that 41 percent of solid waste is paper.
* For every ton or 2,000 pounds of recycled paper produced:
- 7,000 fewer gallons of water used to manufacture recycled paper than new paper.
- Approximately 4,100 kwh less energy used to manufacture recycled paper, than new paper.
- Recycling paper helps to conserve our forest and by making one ton of paper from recovered material saves 17 pulp trees.
- Almost 60 pounds of air pollutants that would have been produced from new paper production are kept out of the atmosphere.
Benefits to Your Organization
- Save on the costs of solid waste disposal.
- Divert paper from local landfills, and extend the landfill life.
- Help in the reduction of air, water and land pollution.
- Provide the community with a convenient drop-off location.
- Provides your organization with fundraising opportunities.
Accepted Items for the Recycling Program
- Newspapers
- Phonebooks
- Office and School Paper
- Magazines
- Brown Paper Bags
- Catalogs
- Cardboard
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