Yeah, our recycling in Chicago is pretty much the pits.
I am pretty skeptical that anything we put in the recycling bin actually gets recycled, and that is why many people don’t even bother. I totally get that.
But recycling is a habit that I don’t plan on breaking.
We have a legitimate recycling bin in our house and it was one of my most favorite Christmas gifts. That’s right, I wanted and received a recycling bin for Christmas a number of years ago! I feel no shame!
Our bin gets filled up every week or so, depending on what is going on. When it is full, I take it downstairs and dump it into the recycling tote sans bag like you’re supposed to.
Since I basically recycle on autopilot, I wanted to actually pay attention to what is in my recycling bin by taking an audit of what’s inside.
Below is probably about a week’s worth of recycling.
We have:
- 1 dishwasher detergent bottle
- 1 cardboard beer caddy
- 4 glass bottles
- 1 aluminum can
- 2 plastic salad containers
- 3 cardboard boxes
- 1 plastic bottle
- 1 aluminum takeout container
- 1 milk carton
- 3 paper bags
- 1 pile of junk mail, envelopes, newspaper and paper
That’s not too bad. We can definitely do a better job of buying plastic-free lettuce, and we usually get milk in returnable glass bottles.
Each week is different and I am going to start noticing what goes into my bin more and see where I can make changes.
Up next, a waste audit! Yup, going to go through the garbage. Stay tuned!
waste not want not 