Reducing our carbon footprint and living a greener lifestyle is growing in popularity, but we still have much work to do. There are still many common household items that can be reused, repurposed or recycled that we often overlook. Below are five of them.
Aluminum cans
Are people still throwing these in the garbage? Aluminum that ends up in a Jacksonville landfill, or any other for that matter, can take up to 300 years to decompose. So start recycling it if you aren’t already. If you need to find a place to bring your aluminum cans, you can find a scrap yard near you with a simple Internet search. You could look up, for example “scrap yard Jacksonville” if you lived in Jacksonville.
Plastic
We’re talking about things like storage bags, plastic rings around a six pack, old toothbrushes. Plastic anything takes more than 400 years to decompose. That means that your great-great-great-great-great grandchild is likely to be gone before the sandwich bag you tossed away after lunch today. Limit the plastic you use by taking your lunch in reusable containers. What you can’t replace with an alternative, recycle.
Paint
How do we accumulate so many paint cans? Paint should never, ever be tossed in the garbage or emptied down a drain. Take it to a hazardous waste disposal company instead. They know how to get rid of it without harming the rest of us. Alternatively, donate full cans of paint to organizations like Habitat for Humanity, which will happily take it off your hands and put it to good use in someone else’s home.
Also Read : Recycle and Reuse: 4 Tips for Keeping Your Electronics out of the Landfill
Electronics
You may never play your six-year old handheld gaming system anymore, but that doesn’t mean it needs to end up in a landfill. E-waste like old cell phones, VCRs and printers add lead to landfills. Instead of throwing these items away, donate them for reuse or check into trade-in programs that allow you to return them to the company. Some now communities also have e-waste recycling days.
Motor oil
It is illegal to pour motor oil down a drain or even on the ground for good reason. The oil can easily contaminate waterways and impact the effectiveness of waste water treatment. If you change the oil in your own car, the only legal way to dispose of it is to store it in a clean plastic container, tightly sealed, and drop it off at a recycling center, automotive store or service station.
Also Read : Top 10 Hazardous Household Chemicals
There are even more opportunities to rethink what we throw out. Living a more eco-friendly lifestyle should be a priority for all of us on earth.
