I was throwing out the trash today and I literally cringed at the bags of bottles, plastic, and cardboard in the dumpster bins. I realized it’s hard to sit there and dig through your trash to separate them.

But why not turn recycling into a routine? Growing up, my family did not recycle. At some point in high school, I started pointing out the fact that if they made use of recycling bins, no longer would there be the days of  “oh gosh there’s no more room in trash can!” … we had those tiny trash cans, not the larger ones. Additionally, we used to spend so much time and energy reducing the actual size of cardboard boxes – tearing them into tiny pieces or folding them a certain way – so that they can fit into the trashcan with all the other smelling things. Eventually, my family and I started watching each other, making sure that no one was “being lazy”. It was difficult even for the adults to get into the habit of walking out to the recycling bin every single time… BUT…

It wasn’t that hard to change an old habit.

Now, we’ve established an unbroken routine. We take out any piece of recycling immediately if it’s not raining or too late at night. Otherwise, it sits on the side of the garage reminding us to throw it out the next morning when someone starts the car. We never let it pile up in the garage. Last night’s recycling always gets taken out that morning before we head off to school and work.

Nearly every week, our recycling bin is filled to the top and our trash can now has plenty of empty room. It makes me feel like we’re producing less waste

I understand that for every family to force younger children to walk out to the trash all the time is very difficult. It’s like trying to pry them away from an episode of Pokemon or Yugioh so they can start their homework. It’s not difficult, it’s nearly impossible! It’s not just children, when you’re living in a location that requires a long walk out to the trash bins, how often are you willing to walk out there 10 times a day to do the right thing for the environment? I know I had some trouble coping with that myself, because I did not want to go out so many times a day, but I also did not want to let my recyclables pile up.

This prompts the question: why not have a recycling bin/can inside the house or right outside the back doors? You don’t have to walk far, or even really step outside. Recyclables do not rot and smell so you can wait until the bin is filled before dumping it out (of course I wouldn’t recommend a gigantic bin… unless you have the muscles to lift it ;D …) I don’t understand why we have to be so inconsiderate of our environment if there are simple solutions that does not even require us to not be lazy. So you throw the plastic bottle in a different bin right next to the trash bin. WOW… you know that is oh-so ridiculously difficult!

Does anyone else have different recycling routines they would like to share? Perhaps different routines work better for different people.