NationStates Jolt Archive

I have noticed that recycling is on a diminishing trend where I live. It was all the thing in the '80s; now there are people who don't even know about it. Not just people not recycling as much, but the city itself offers less and no longer advertises (I think advertising is important, to keep reminding people).

Do you recycle? Please explain or extrapolate on your responses.

EDIT: Hmm... option #5 is kind of a repeat of #2, so please take it as:

I would not recycle, and there are no recycling programs where I live.

I recycle. I don't bother being told to do so. There's a nice gray bin for our recyclables from the city, so I might as well use it as it is needed.

I don't go on recycling binges though. I don't recycle every bloody paper on my desk. Random things around the house, soda bottles, glass, boxes, etc.

I attempt to try to attempt to recycle. I haven't done so in three months.

"I recycle, I sniff my own farts"

Hmm... option #5 is kind of a repeat of #2, so please take it as:

I would not recycle, and there are no recycling programs where I live.

Hells yes!!!
Recycling rocks my socks. I don't buy food in unrecyclable containers. Tons of water bottles aren't recyclable. Apparently there's a big problem with water bottles in landfills now, especially in California...
Recycle, compost, take public transit, then hug a tree.

Recycling for me, is a last resort. First, I reduce. I cut down so that I produce less garbage in the first place. The most effective way of doing this has been to compost organic waste. We've cut down our trash by more than half this way. I buy bulk to avoid excessive packaging. I don't buy a lot of disposable stuff. My biggest shame is that I use disposable diapers, when I should be using cloth...I'm sorry, Earth. I'm bad. But they'll be potty-trained soon, I promise!

I reuse as much as I can. I buy jars that are standard sizes so I can use them for canning later. I choose glass over plastic because you get more use out of it for storage and such. Empty 4L margarine containers become wonderful containers for crayons, stickers, and other crafty stuff. And clothes? Ha! Hand me downs and reused for the kids, mostly second hand for me.

Then I recycle. When it comes down to it, there isn't really much left TO recycle. A bit of unavoidable cardboard from time to time, metal cans mostly. It's a good couple of months before I need to empty my bins at the recycling depot.

I recycle.

My city provides a recycling bin to each home and then picks up the stuff every other week. I recycle because they've made it so convenient and easy to do.

Recycling for me, is a last resort. First, I reduce. I cut down so that I produce less garbage in the first place. The most effective way of doing this has been to compost organic waste. We've cut down our trash by more than half this way. I buy bulk to avoid excessive packaging. I don't buy a lot of disposable stuff. My biggest shame is that I use disposable diapers, when I should be using cloth...I'm sorry, Earth. I'm bad. But they'll be potty-trained soon, I promise!

I reuse as much as I can. I buy jars that are standard sizes so I can use them for canning later. I choose glass over plastic because you get more use out of it for storage and such. Empty 4L margarine containers become wonderful containers for crayons, stickers, and other crafty stuff. And clothes? Ha! Hand me downs and reused for the kids, mostly second hand for me.

Then I recycle. When it comes down to it, there isn't really much left TO recycle. A bit of unavoidable cardboard from time to time, metal cans mostly. It's a good couple of months before I need to empty my bins at the recycling depot.
That's awesome.

Walking by the local bin and seeing all the cardboard was what made me think of this poll.

YES

Awwww....your YES was green and everything....

Not yes, but HELL yes.

Recycling is a no-brainer. As in, those who don't or especially WON'T have no brains.

Awwww....your YES was green and everything....

yep
like my thumb and all the trees I hug

Not yes, but HELL yes.

Recycling is a no-brainer. As in, those who don't or especially WON'T have no brains.
Well... technically, if recycling is a no-brainer, then those who do... nevermind.

I recycle. I most certainly would want thousands of sheets of paper, jugs that used to contain milk, boxes that once helf plastic-wrapped pizza, etc. in landfills to be MY fault. Besides, it pains me to see recyclables in the trash anyway, I'm not about to cause myself pain. :P

But seriously, there is NO reason not to. If it CAN be recycled, and you can't do anything else with it, what else will you do with it? Of course, my "reuse" strategies are:
Be willing to wear people's old clothes, if they give 'em to you.
Use paper for random things until nothing else fits on it(I've gotten lots of use out of many library due-date slips that way)

and my "reduce" tactics are:
Use every last bit of lead in that pencil until it can't be used to write anymore, no matter what you try
Keep as much stuff saved on the computer that I might want later, thus saving paper(although not disk space...)
Use as little fabric softener as humanly possible when doing laundry, using none at all if nobody's around to see(seriously, what's the point of that stuff? I've gone without it, and I didn't notice any sudden changes in the firmness of my clothing)
Keep all sorts of old things I don't use much anymore, but might want to use again, AND aren't obviously useless.
Never use napkins unless absolutely nessisary(ie. someone's within sight). Otherwise, just wash whatever it is off my face
Use as little soap as possible when bathing or washing hands, thus saving time and...soap...
Don't turn the lights on until you actually CAN'T SEE something you need to see

OK, most of those fall under "be lazy/stubborn and accidently conserve resources by doing so"...

.... My biggest shame is that I use disposable diapers, when I should be using cloth...I'm sorry, Earth. I'm bad. But they'll be potty-trained soon, I promise!

...
....

Don't feel bad. we used cloth for our second and they just don't work well.
I imagine if you are at home all day and have nothing else to do or can afford a laundering service then they'd be easier ..... but would still leak.
We use biodegradeable one's for our latest addition and they are the same price and work just as well as the leading brands, (and they have cute little leaves on them).

I recycle as much as I can. All the local councils here supply a recycling bin for paper, tins, plastics, bottles, etc.

Don't feel bad. we used cloth for our second and they just don't work well.
I imagine if you are at home all day and have nothing else to do or can afford a laundering service then they'd be easier ..... but would still leak.
We use biodegradeable one's for our latest addition and they are the same price and work just as well as the leading brands, (and they have cute little leaves on them).
What brands have biodegradeable diapers? I've never seen any on the shelves...

I do recycle.

Paper (newspapers, magazines - except for playboy, I keep those - bills and other stuff get shredded beforehand though, printouts, cardboard, boxes, pretty much everything
Glass (green and blue; brown and yellow; white - semicolons mark bottlebanks)
Plastics (bottles, bags, boxes - pretty much everything that isn't trash trash)
Cans & foil (Tin and Aluminium)
Styrofoam and all that.

It's not that hard - the only thing that bugs me is that the trash can in my kitchen isn't even half full after a week and I'm using more bags than before. Doesn't have to stink here (@Sinuhue: and there are some ants on the prowl!)

Anyway, the system is all provided for - it'd be stupid not to use it!

PS: Hug a tree when you feel like it - I do :p:p:p

If any of you guys get Showtime, you should watch Penn & Teller's Bullshit. It's a great show. And there's an episode on recycling. Quite surprising stuff.

Aye, I recycle - here in Portland we have weekly pickup, and have two very convenient bright yellow bins for both our paper and plastic... I'm not nearly as good as I should be about recycling metal, glass, and organic wastes, though. *embarassment*

I recycle alot. Our family actually produces little real waste. The whole area im in recycles on a large scale. They even burn the garbage that isnt recyclable in a power plant.

If any of you guys get Showtime, you should watch Penn & Teller's Bullshit. It's a great show. And there's an episode on recycling. Quite surprising stuff.


That was an interesting episode. I always hated recycling because it was such a pain in the ass before, but luckily I live out in the middle of god-forsaken nowhere now, so I couldn't recycle even if I wanted to :)

I recycle. Mostly paper because I'm clearing out my desk. Recycling glass isn't a big hit in Hong Kong. The government has separate bins for recyclables such as paper, plastics and steel, but you need great effort to find those bins.

In my community, the govt. is supposed to empty our little blue boxes every week, and take it to be recycled. Two things do keep my family from participating. First, we were never given a blue recycling bin like everyone else did (they are way to small, too). Also, a recycling truck does not come down my street, so nobody recycles on my street. The municiple govt. has the IQ of a sack of potatos so no one is surprised. However, we do return our empty our empty water bottles.

Edit: I learned in Socials a town in Japan recycles _everything_, nothing goes to a landfill. What they were unable to recycle they replaced. Has anyone else heard about this?