Since starting this blog, I’ve started to realize my impact, my “carbon footprint”, my ability to do something on an individual level and hopefully, educate others to do the same. One of the first things I did was to incorporate a new recycling system in our home. I investigated Loudoun County’s recycling requirements
Materials Accepted | |
Plastic Bottles and Jugs* | Glass Bottles and Jars |
Aluminum Cans | Steel Cans |
Newspapers | Magazines and Catalogs |
Cardboard and Paperboard | Phonebooks |
Office Paper | Junk Mail |
*Leesburg Recycling Centers accept most plastic containers #1-7 | |
We have multiple stations at our house and I’ve become semi-anal about it, but I think it’s very important to not chuck something just because we’re being lazy. There are too many people in this country with that mindset.
- Cardboard
- Office Paper
- Newspaper/Junk Mail/Magazines & Catalogs
- Plastic, glass & aluminum (cans and foil)
- Styrofoam
Other Recyclables:
- Plastic bags: grocery bags, Ziploc – zipper top cut off, bread bags, etc (reuse some for doggy doo bags; recycle the rest most grocery stores)
Because we’ve been disappointed in our community’s “Recycling” area, we take it to one of Loudoun’s recycling centers. Even then, however, we’ve been sad to see people dispose of materials which are not recyclable (Big Wheels? Fake trees? DVD Players?) or carelessly putting them in the wrong containers (it's marked CARDBOARD ONLY for a reason). It discourages us a bit, but doesn’t deter the overall purpose.
Since we have such little control on where our recyclables actually go, I think the quickest contributions are in the form of reusing and reducing. Of course recycling is of vital importance, but I feel that by reducing the amount of energy I use or by reusing items which I would normally toss, is a fast way to see results and feel good about my contribution to our society of indulgence and selfish wastefulness.
My next post is how I stopped using plastic water bottles, permanently.
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