Working or living somewhere without a recycling program? Follow the steps below and you can spearhead your own, and do your part for the environment.
1
Conduct a waste audit
What items typically make up your trash? Paper, food containers, packaging? Eyeballing the contents of your trash and keeping a record every day for two weeks is usually enough to get a general picture of your waste stream. This does not have to mean reaching into the trash and getting your hands dirty.
2
Find out what is recyclable
Check with your local recycling center, municipality, and waste hauler to find out which materials are accepted in your area and whether they offer pickup services. Earth911.com is a good place to start looking.
3
Decide what to recycle
Now that you’ve done your waste audit and know what’s recyclable in your municipality, you can focus on exactly which items you want to divert from the waste stream. If you’re a business, note that some states now mandate plastic bag and e-waste recycling. RecyclingBin.com offers receptacles to make collecting each of these easy: bottles and cans, paper, e-waste, textiles and clothing, and plastic bags.
4
Set up recycling bins
It usually helps to place recycling bins and trash receptacles alongside each other for convenience, so participants can sort and dispose of everything in one place. Our multi-sort recycling stations make this fast and efficient.
5
Educate, educate, educate
Educating participants is key to a successful program. It prevents contamination of recyclables, maximizes recycling rates, and keeps the process running smoothly — contamination can end up costing both the recycler and you money. Ask participants to rinse out food or beverage containers before recycling them to cut down on contamination and pests. Labels and signs help direct people to the right bin.
6
Monitor the recycling
Keep bins clean and dry, and make sure they never sit full or overflowing. A clean recycling area encourages others to keep it that way. Liners sized to fit any bin make this easier for whoever’s servicing them.
7
Inform the staff
Make sure maintenance and custodial staff know your recycling practices — where the bins are and when they should be emptied.
8
Share the results
Send participants monthly updates on the program’s success (bags of paper recycled, cans and bottles collected, etc.) to keep everyone engaged and encourage continued participation.