I am NOT going to talk about how to recycle plastic or metal or paper. How boring! Plus you know how to do all that already, right? I want to tell you about the fun and quirky ways to recycle things like grass, leaves, food, your old computer, your old clothes and rain water. Now this is interesting !
If you are a baby boomer like me, you remember that when you were a kid your trash and everything used, old and unneeded went one place – into the kitchen garbage can. Then in the 1980s recycling laws started getting put into effect. Now the actual trash I throw away has got to be at least one quarter of what it was in the old days. It is amazing what I recycle now.
So here is my list of the wackier ways to recycle you may not know much about:
Outdoor Composter
I started a composter bin in my backyard last spring to recycle my vegetable waste scraps into nutrient rich soil for my garden. It’s easy. I bought one of those large black compost bins for $50. Or you can buy a simpler one for $30, but you could just start one in a messy pile in your yard or build a simple wooden enclosure. I have a small covered bucket with a handle that I keep in the kitchen that I dump all my veggie scraps into, then take it outside. Composting has reduced my garbage considerably! Here is what goes into the composter: vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, some grass clippings and leaves. I stir it once and awhile and sprinkle a little water into it, and that’s it. Here is a good video on how to do it. What you get eventually is lots of very rich soil for your garden plantings. Continue reading
