No matter how great a haul you have in winning a storage unit auction, you will undoubtedly have a large amount of junk. Before you simply start lugging off giant trash bags to the dump, stop to consider a few of the items you can recycle. This way, you’ll reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions while preserving important manufacturing materials.
Read More: How to Start Selling at Flea Markets
Unfortunately, many consumers skip recycling or do it incorrectly, causing contamination, waste, jams and costly downtime at recycling facilities. We’re not entirely to blame, here. Every locality is served by a different recycling facility, and each location has different rules governed both by law and by the capacity of a given plant. Every time changes occur in the recycling plant, the list of acceptable items changes too, and consumers are rarely up-to-date.
Here’s the good news: we live during the information age. Earth 911 is a huge online, searchable database that allows users to find out:
- which items can be recycled at curbside pickup in their communities,
- which items can be recycled at other locations, such as plastic bag collection bins in supermarkets,
- which items can be shipped to or picked up by specialized recycling plants
If you are committed to recycling, the process is simple: search the item you want to recycle and enter your zip code. From electronics to old cans of paint, there may be a second life for unwanted items. You can also call 1-800-CLEANUP if you don’t have access to the website.
