Top 5 Recycle Tips for Beginners

Top Five Recycling Tips:

 Recycling is now the law. Starting July 1,2015, Vermont's Universal Recycling law bans listed recyclables from the landfill. For some central Vermonters, this won't change how they do things. But many people will be recycling for the first time. These Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District top tips can help you get started. 
 
1.    Make it easy: place a recycling bin beside every trash bin in your house. Don’t have enough bins? You’re better off having fewer trash cans, and making sure the ones you do are paired with a recycling receptacle, than having too many trash cans. This applies even in the bathroom: shampoo bottles, toilet paper tubes, toothpaste boxes – these all go in the recycling, too.

2.    Label it. At CVSWMD, we prefer recycling bins to be blue, simply because it’s become a color widely associated with recycling. To be successful, designate your recycling bins either by color, or with a “Recycle” label. You can purchase bins; your hauler may provide them for free; or you can just use a cardboard box and label it with a sharpie.

3.    Show, don’t tell. Hang a poster of mandated recyclables near or on every recycling bin until it becomes second nature in your home. CVSWMD has recycling flyers available for download, or stop by our office at 137 Barre Street for hardcopies. For people who have never recycled before, it helps to get a visual reminder of what goes in the blue bin.

4.    Clean it: you don’t HAVE to rinse out your recyclable bottles and cans, but you should. No need to wash and sterilize, but rinse that yogurt cup or bean can before tossing it in the recycle bin. It will keep your own bins pleasant, and the people who have to sort it later at the Materials Recovery Facility will appreciate the consideration.

5.    Talk about it: your hauler or facility operator handles recyclables every day. They can answer questions, and so can staff at CVSWMD. Call us if you have any questions about recycling or the Universal Recycling Law, 802-229-9383 x102.

Already recycling and want to do more? Check out the CVSWMD Additional Recyclables Collection Center. We can reuse or recycle three dozen hard to recycle items.

 
Cassandra Hemenway, Zero Waste Outreach Coordinator