Do you have any old or unwanted items lying around your home? To help you do your part for planet Earth, we have provided you some helpful tips for how to recycle your household items rather than hauling them out to the curb to be picked up as trash.
1.Batteries
You may not be aware that recycling some batteries can be illegal depending on the type that they are. Nickel cadmium (Ni-Cd) and lead (PB) batteries for example are both illegal to be disposed of in your regular trash. The nation’s largest battery recycling program, Call2Recycle, has drop off locations throughout the country, especially at Lowe’s Home Improvement stores. Check out this link to find a location near you!
2. Plant Pots and Trays
For those annual plant lovers out there, you probably throw away those plastic pots and trays that come with them. They are actually recyclable and accepted by most companies curbside recycling pick up or you can take them to any Home Depot or Lowe’s.
3. Lighting
So many of us keep our Christmas lights in storage until the following year, but then when it comes time to use them again there’s always a few strands that do not work anymore. Simply take them to a nearby Home Depot store and recycle them for free. They also accept any other form of lighting as well.
4. Shoes
Shoes can get worn down quickly and get thrown away when they are not wearable anymore. If you have any old Nike shoes that you do not wear anymore take them to the store and they will melt them down and create new products out of them. Since Nike only accepts their brand of shoes you can also donate any different brand of shoes to North Face and they will give you a coupon for $10 off of your $100 purchase
5. Electronics
It is important to recycle electronics because they are not easily broken down in the landfill. There are many retailers who take back old electronics when you go to purchase a new one. Some retailers like Apple and Best Buy will offer credits back from your recycled laptop, TV, or Phone.
6. Clothes/Jeans
If you have any wearable clothes laying around your house that you don’t wear anymore you can go to your local Goodwill outlet or shelter and drop them off as a donation. You can also donate wearable women’s business clothing to DressforSuccess.org, which gives them to low-income women as they search for jobs. If you have unwearable clothing and towels, you can donate them to local animal boarding and shelter facilities, which often use them as pet bedding. Lastly, if you have jeans of any brand that you do not wear anymore you can donate them to Madewell and they will turn them into housing insulation and you will get $20 off a brand new pair of jeans.
7. Carpet
If your home is getting remodeled or updated before you put your house on the market, a realtor may suggest that you purchase a new carpet to be installed. There are carpet reclamation facilities that can use this old carpet and turn it into a brand new carpet.
8. Crayons
If you have kids that have unused or broken crayons laying around anywhere throughout your home, you can donate them to The Crayon Initiative nonprofit where they can be melted down to create new crayons. Here they will donate the new supplies to children’s hospitals all around the nation. This link provides directions to ship them.
9. CDs and DVDS
With new and advanced technology today, we have been left with useless CDs and DVDs lying around the house. Instead of throwing them away when you go to clean out your home, go to The CD Recycling Center of America online and print a shipping label to donate these items. There they will break down any old compact discs and DVDs to create a plastic used for automotive and building materials.
10. Sports Equipment
If you or you kids have any old or unwanted sports equipment laying around the house you can resell them on Facebook or trade it at a local Play It Again Sports outlet or Goodwill.
Questions? Give us a call us today at 614.855.8700!
