Recycling your newspapers at home as well as white paper at the office
will indirectly reduce the demand for both tropical and temperate timber.
15
Composting is nature's way of recycling. If it's prepared right, organic
material will break down into a rich "soil" that can be used as
fertilizer or mulch. You can do it in your backyard. 20
Before you get into recycling, consider precycling. Change your
buying habits to reduce garbage, or buy what can be recycled in your
community. For example, plastic soda bottles can be recycled, but if there's
no place to take them in your area, it's better to stick with aluminum or
glass containers. 25
The easiest way to tell if something is made of steel: Use a refrigerator
magnet to test it. Check the body and the lids. Steel is magnetic,
aluminum isn't. Also, if it has ribs on the side, it's steel. 35
Look for refillable bottles. They're the most energy and material efficient;
they can be sterilized and reused up to seven times before recycling. 41
Consider using white paper for all office forms including legal pads,
which don't have to be yellow, and message slips, which don't have to be
pink. That will reduce sorting, and make the scrap more valuable. 48
If cardboard recycling is not available in your area, consider taking
your materials to a local grocery store. They have balers and reclaim all
their cardboard; they may let you add your boxes to theirs. 51
The easiest way to recycle grass: "Cut it high, let it lie."
Keep grass at 2-3", taking off a little at a time. In a few days, short
clippings disappear between the blades and naturally fertilize the lawn.
This method also keeps soil cooler and wetter. 74
Recycle your Christmas tree. Trees are collected and run through "chippers"
that turn them into mulch- a present for plants. If Christmas tree recycling
is not available in your community, consider buying a living tree. Buy a
tree in a pot, and plant it after Christmas. Talk to a local nursery to
find out how. 78
The most efficient way to recycle your clothes is to donate them in season.
If you pass on unwanted sweaters at the beginning of winter, for example,
they'll be on the racks at thrift stores when they're most needed. 81
Throwing your oil in the trash- even in an airtight container- is just
like pouring it on the ground. The oil will seep out and leach into groundwater
when containers are crushed. Recycle your oil instead; motor oil never wears
out- it can be re-refined and used forever. 90
There are several oil recycling kits on the marker. Generally available
at hardware or automotive parts stores. They come with containers that double
as oil-draining receptacles and carrying cases for transporting the oil
to a recycling center. Don't confuse these kits with the ones that make
it easier to throw your oil away (they come with a kitty litter-type material
that isn't recyclable; it all ends up in a landfill instead). 91
Source: The EarthWorks Group. The Recycler's Handbook. EarthWorks
Press, Berkeley, CA. 1990.
E.I.C
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