The first time I visited Seattle, WA I noticed every place I went to had separate bins with signs saying what goes where. It's like I had to separate my tray at the restaurant into plastics, papers, compostable items, metals, and glass. I thought it was a bit excessive and got tired of it quickly. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and think it's a bit over the top?
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Do you ever find recycling to be a pain?
Started by erikc76, Jan 29 2012 08:48 PM
30 replies to this topic
#2
Posted 30 January 2012 - 12:05 AM
We're used to it now so I just don't even think about it. I think it takes time though. I may have been annoyed initially, but I honestly don't remember. It's actually easier recycling at home these days because most recycle bins allow you to throw almost everything in one dumpster and they sort it at the recycling center. I remember the days of separate bins for separate recyclables, like you still find in restaurants and public trash bins, and that was kind of annoying. The thing is, you do something long enough and it becomes habit.
#3
Posted 30 January 2012 - 12:26 AM
Yeah, I can see your point. I was from Chicago visiting Seattle and we just recently got blue bins that all recycleables go into. So I imagine you do get into the habit of knowing what goes where, and this experience was all within a few day timespan while in Seattle.
#5
Posted 30 January 2012 - 03:31 AM
erikc76, on 29 January 2012 - 08:48 PM, said:
The first time I visited Seattle, WA I noticed every place I went to had separate bins with signs saying what goes where. It's like I had to separate my tray at the restaurant into plastics, papers, compostable items, metals, and glass. I thought it was a bit excessive and got tired of it quickly. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and think it's a bit over the top?
I wish there were restaurants here that had bins. Sad really. I doubt any compost their food leftovers. Waste.
As for recycling everyday items, it's such a habit now, I couldn't stop if I wanted to.
And I've met some really nice people at the stores that have the bins on the parking lot; and no,
Amarillo doesn't have pickups. It's on us to drop it at locations.
#8
Posted 30 January 2012 - 07:06 PM
I do sometimes, YOu have to rinse the containers, take the caps off, in some places sort it out. Throwing it away, dumping it all into one bin would be so much easier and less time consuming. BUT,once you get used to it, once you know what can and can't be recycled, what does and doesn't need rinsed, decapped, sorted etc. then recycling just becomes a way of life.
#9
Posted 30 January 2012 - 07:59 PM
We have bags for things that we could still sell on a junkshop. So we just put it in there and if seems it have weight enough, we just sell it to a junkshop near us. For the cans of foods like sardines, we will just rinse it and then put on the plastic bag we designated for it.
When outside, I just bring home the plastic bottles I use and put it on a plastic bag too.
There is money on garbage so there are some who collect those materials that can be sold to a junkshop in the small garbage dump area in our community since there are those who would just dump their garbage there and not "conscious" if they could recycle or reuse. And every night, the rest of those thrash are collected by the dump truck.
When outside, I just bring home the plastic bottles I use and put it on a plastic bag too.
There is money on garbage so there are some who collect those materials that can be sold to a junkshop in the small garbage dump area in our community since there are those who would just dump their garbage there and not "conscious" if they could recycle or reuse. And every night, the rest of those thrash are collected by the dump truck.
#10
Posted 01 February 2012 - 10:27 AM
I don't think it's annoying. It's just as easy as when you throw your trash away.. Put the recycling in the bin just like you would trash. I haven't seen toomany places here in AZ where you can recycle at stores or resturants.
#11
Posted 01 February 2012 - 03:44 PM
No, our recycling in our city is pretty basic. I was ticked when we FINALLY added glass to recycling. Bit by bit, our city is adding more and more to the recycling. The hardest part is to remember to put the aluminum cans in a separate spot. We cash those in ourselves. It would be great if AZ would recycle plastic bottles like CA does. Currently, I am saving mine for my nephew. He visits a few times a year, and he takes them back with him!
#13
Posted 01 February 2012 - 08:12 PM
erikc76, on 29 January 2012 - 08:48 PM, said:
The first time I visited Seattle, WA I noticed every place I went to had separate bins with signs saying what goes where. It's like I had to separate my tray at the restaurant into plastics, papers, compostable items, metals, and glass. I thought it was a bit excessive and got tired of it quickly. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and think it's a bit over the top?
I actually have the opposite issue. The first time I visited Vancouver, I was amazed at just how convenient it was to recycle. There were bins everywhere!! For where I lived, we didn't have bins anywhere and no pickup at our house either, so if I wanted to recycle, I had to gather everything myself and then drive a fairly long distance away to drop it off somewhere. Now that was a pain! I don't mind having to separate my tray into different categories because I love that they have the bins right there for me.
#15
Posted 02 February 2012 - 06:24 PM
The closest place for me to earn money off of aluminum cans is like 40 miles away so for us it's not worth it to save them for money. I wish it was though, that would be ideal- do my part for recylicing and make a few bucks back .
#17
Posted 03 February 2012 - 10:25 AM
MakingCents, on 02 February 2012 - 06:24 PM, said:
The closest place for me to earn money off of aluminum cans is like 40 miles away so for us it's not worth it to save them for money. I wish it was though, that would be ideal- do my part for recylicing and make a few bucks back .
Is there anything else in that town/city for you? Our recycling center was that far away, too, so we'd just smash the cans, put them in bags, and store them in the garage. Then, we'd go to that town once every couple months for other things (like shopping at the big grocery store there, etc).
#18
Posted 03 February 2012 - 10:27 AM
it's on the way to my in-laws house and we go there maybe twice a year. Maybe I'll see if I can save up the cans between now and the next time we go and see if I have space for them and it pays off. Good suggestion!
#19
Posted 03 February 2012 - 10:32 AM
MakingCents, on 03 February 2012 - 10:27 AM, said:
it's on the way to my in-laws house and we go there maybe twice a year. Maybe I'll see if I can save up the cans between now and the next time we go and see if I have space for them and it pays off. Good suggestion!
I highly recommend smashing them first because they take up a lot of room otherwise.
There are lots of ways to smash them to reduce space, like just by smashing them with your foot in the middle, and then smashing down each end to make them flat....or there are even can smashers you can hang on your wall. The easiest way we found was to actually just toss everything into a can and then every so often, line them up in the driveway and back over the rows, lol. Then scoop them all up and bag 'em, so they're nice and condense and don't take up much room.
#20
Posted 03 February 2012 - 11:46 AM
The only inconvenience to recycling for me is that we are required to clean out the cans and bottles before we put them in the blue bin. Its not too big of a deal. We don't have to sort it, it all goes in the same bin. Its nice that our city has a recycling program, because I know some still don't. A lot of my garbage is recyclable, so I'm glad I'm keeping it out of landfills.
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