Make-It Monday: Start a Recycling Center

Recycling has been a part of my family's lives for years now. In fact, I started recycling right after I was married. I live fairly close to a large trash dump. (No I can not see it from my house, but it is about ten miles away.) On hot summer days, when the wind is right, you get to have a lovely odor fill your nose! It made me think about what my children will be smelling when they are adults. It also made me realize that God gave us this earth to take care of. We take this for granted so often. We just assume there is enough land and space for everything.

Recycling is very easy, and after a while, it becomes second nature. The best part is that recycling can also become a habit for your kids. They will not know any different. Case in point, I went to throw away a water bottle last summer and my son stopped me - "Mom," he said "shouldn't we recycle that?" How awesome is that?

The first thing you will want to do is check your area to find out how recycling is handled. In my area, we have to separate all our items - paper, plastics, glass, cardboard, and cans. Then we have to take it to the recycle center and deposit in appropriate areas. Our family has created a recycle center in our mud room. I have a container for each item. Then when the containers are filled, which is usually once a month, we take a trip to the recycle center. In our kitchen, I placed a container to deposit all recycle items. When it is full we take it out to the mud room and sort. This is a chore my son is in charge of. He loves to figure out where everything goes.

If you live in an area like my mom, you are blessed! All you have to do is collect recyclables and place them at your curb once a week. You do not even have to separate items! This does make the process much easier.

Some other things to look into:
- Many local churches or schools collect paper. They then recycle it for funds. This is a great way to help out a local church.
- You can also recycle cans for money. This may be a good incentive for your family to get involved. Of course you will not get rich, but it is a little extra cash. This is also a great way for your family to collect money for missions. The money raised from saving cans can be donated to missions.
- Some hospitals collect the tops of pop cans. Again, another great way for your kids and you to help others. (Girlfriend Michelle just dropped off two gallon size ziploc bags to the Ronald McDonald House in Cleveland - a great way to give back to the organization that gave so much to her family when their daughter was in the hospital)

When you are recycling, it is interesting to know that only number one and two plastics can be recycled. The other numbers will not. You can normally find the numbers on the bottom of the containers. Should you just throw these containers away? No way! These are normally cottage cheese and sour cream containers. These containers make great Tupperware for your leftovers. Just keep a grease pencil handy to label the containers so you know what you are storing. We also reuse our wet wipe containers for all sort of fun crafts and storage. Be creative!

I hope this gives you some new ideas on how to recycle. Remember to try and keep it simple and do not overcomplicate the process. Your part will make difference!

Your Green Girlfriend,
Melinda