Organizing Recycling/Trash

[monkeywrangler71]

For those who have to separate, particularly those who separate into multiple different streams, how do you organize your trash?

Here we have a green bin for organics (food waste & paperboard), a compost pile for vegetable waste, a recycling bag for cans/milk containers/plastic/foil/etc., a recycling bag for paper, a separate bag for recycling drink containers with a deposit, and a garbage can for anything left over. That's 6 different garbages!

The green bin is the easiest, it's just outside and stuff tends to be dumped into it immediately. The various recycling stuff is just thrown together in the closet and then taken to the garage every few days to be sorted - not a very good system, but there isn't room for it in the house. I usually don't even bother with the compost, it's in the woods and by the time I clean up it's dark out and I'm not going there - I just throw it all in the green bin. I'm not sure the point of the compost anyway, seeing how there is no garden anymore.

We looked at a house that had one of those big drawers that you pull out with the different bags to sort in. I thought it was cool, but it smelled. I don't know if that happens to all of them, or if this particular family was not very clean. Maybe it is better to have less space and have to take it outside every few days?

[Libby]

We have a big bin for cans, glass & paper and a 2nd smaller bin that sits on the counter for green bin items. Both get emptied into the outside larger bins as needed. Not a big fan of the drawer concept for recycling/garbage/green bin - outta site, outta mind type thing. KWIM?

Would something like this work for you? (Except the green bin which should get emptied as necessary and directly outside.) Would you consider having this in your kitchen in plain sight?

[savvy_sniper]

I have a big box in my office for paper and cardboard. When it gets full I take it to one of schools that has paper recycling bins.

I have a big plastic coffee container with a lid on the kitchen sink for compost stuff. I take it out to the compost pile when it gets full. We also put leaves and grass clippings in the compost pile. I use the compost on my plants, flowers, and yard.

I have a tall kitchen trash can in the laundry room for tin cans. I cut the tops and bottoms out of them and flatten them so they take up less room.

I have a bin on the back porch for plastic (1-7). I flatten all the plastic containers so they take up less room.

I have a large trash can in the garage with a large trash bag in it with a can masher attached to it. All aluminum cans go in it. When we get 2 or 3 bags of aluminum cans we take them to the aluminum recycling place and get paid for them.

The tin cans and plastic are taking to MILs house about every two weeks. She is in the city limits and earns gift cards to stores and restaurants for the weight of her recycling bin.

It all takes a little extra time and effort in the beginning. But once it becomes part of your routine it is no big deal.

We put approximately one 13 gal tall kitchen bag of trash to the curb a week.

[MomToTwoBoys]

I have two recycling bins that I got from Ikea. They have enough room in them for me to only empty them twice a week into the large blue bin that's picked up on Fridays.

I take my recyclables and wash them out if they're food cans and milk jugs and glass jars. If they're cardboard, I flatten them and tuck them between the bins and the walls. I usually stack them to a reasonable size and then tie them up with white twine.

When I put everything in the blue bin that's going in, I make sure that I put the cardboard on the sides and then the glass/metal goes in the middle. I then put my shredded paper on top in tied grocery bags.

[mndtrp]

If you don't have a garden, the point of composting is to keep the waste out of the landfill. I use my compost on my lawn.

As far as recycling, we have a mostly single-stream recycling center close to our house. I scored an industrial-size trash can being thrown out of a hotel remodel that I put most of our recycling into. The cardboard is stacked behind that bin, and the paper is in a small rubbermaid tub that used to house worms.

Inside the house, I have a Sams Club sized animal cracker container in the fridge for compostables. The other recyclables, I just pick out of the trash at the end of the week. It got to be a hassle trying to get the wife to take care of it during the week, so I just let her throw stuff away, and then I sort it later.

[Jeanna]

We actually have to take our own recycling off to a recycling center. I have two small tubs that I put recycling in in the kitchen and then I converted an old changing table, that has 3 "shelves" in it into my recycling center in an alcove of my carport. I would put the recycling bins shown in my kitchen if I had the room though.

[bumplett]

I also take my recycling to the recycling center myself - approx once a week, every two weeks if I can stretch it that far -

I just use plastic totes to sort - they stay in the garage, near the door, so you just have to 'toss'

compostable stuff goes in whatever container is close, and gets dumped after dinner -

I have a paper bag (it's an office max ad) in the office to put all paper scraps into - I'll toss it in the garage when it's full, or when I'm on my way to take a trip to recycling - but I'll reuse the paper bag.

We don't have garbage service, so I try to take my one bag of garbage at a time to my mom's house. It's approx one bag per week.