6 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Recycle

There are a great many benefits of becoming more waste-conscious. We produce more trash than we know what to do with, and even when our no-longer-desired possessions don’t end up in landfills, they end up cluttering our houses, basements, and garages.

Enter recycling. We all know that we’re supposed to recycle aluminum cans, plastic bottles, glass, and newspaper – but there are other items (some of which are a bit unexpected) that can be recycled as well, both effectively de-cluttering your household and lessening the overwhelming burden on landfills.

Unexpected Items Fit For Recycling

Check out this list of lesser-known recyclable items to do away with the things you don’t need in the best way possible:

1.) Eyeglasses:

Places like Lions Club, Target, Walmart, and even public libraries offer recycling options for old eyeglasses. They’re sorted by prescription strength and distributed to people in need in developing countries.

2.) Sneakers:

Nike has a really cool program called Reuse-a-Shoe that has collected over 25,000,000 worn-out sneakers since 1990 to make basketball courts, running tracks, playground surfaces, and other sustainable sports arenas.

3.) Greeting Cards:

Displaying your greeting cards is sweet, but usually seasonal. Once you’ve put aside the ones you just can’t bring yourself to part with, send the rest to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children Recycled Card Program. Greeting cards are recycled and sold to support programs and services for abused, neglected, and homeless children and families.

4.) Wine corks:

Cork is a recyclable, renewable material, and you have some options when it comes to yours: simply take them to Whole Foods, or check out ReCORK’s website for drop-off locations near you. ReCORK is a recycling initiative that re-purposes wine corks into footwear and other upcycled products, and Whole Foods partners with Cork ReHarvest to reduce demand placed on cork plantations.

5.) Batteries:

Because most batteries contain metals such as lead and mercury that can leach into soil and contaminate groundwater, it’s essential that we keep them out of landfills. They can be disposed of with other household hazardous waste on collection days, or you can check out consumer electronic stores like Best Buy, Office Depot, Radio Shack, and Circuit City for used-battery receptacles.

6.) Hotel Keys, Gift Cards, and Credit Cards:

Old cards can be chopped up, melted into sheets of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and made into new cards – surely preferable to creating them from virgin materials. To clean up your wallet, check out Earthworks System. They accept all forms of plastic forms through a simple mail-back recycling program.

Providing you with expert information is just one of the ways Hazardous Waste Experts can help you. If you have other questions concerning recycling or hazardous waste recycling, give us a call today at 800-936-2311.