Recycling may not be something that has just started, but it is finally getting the attention that it deserves. While people used to make fun of the residents that had out there little blue buckets, now people are looking for new and creative ways to make recycling more prevalent in cities. Instead of wasting money, recycling in the city is now a way to lower taxes and give citizens all kinds of benefits.

The one thing that fails to register with a lot of people is that recycling is good for everyone and everything. When trash is not recycled, it goes into a landfill. When a city puts their trash into a landfill, they get charged outrageous fees that come out of the taxes that the citizens of that area pay.

Cities can save significant money by not having to pay the landfill fees that their trash generates. One major city that is taking an aggressive stance is Toronto. They recently rolled out a plan that will recycle over 50% waste generated and over 60% from single family homes. In essence, they want extending life of green lane landfill to 2034, Recycle enough materials to save 900 million kilowatt
hours of energy annually enough to supply all the electrical needs for 170,000 homes, junk removal disposal on environmentally responsible and community friendly option and other “green” benefits.

While tax benefits and incentives are great, there is also significant federal funding that gets tied up in the use of renewable energy and recycling. If a city or state does not hit their number, they can miss out on federal funding that is earmarked for them. While this money may not go directly into their pockets, it does benefit the community as a whole.

Where a lot of the success of these plans can take place is in the homes of the citizens of the cities. A great place to start is with the kids. Get them involved and used to recycling and the plans will be more successful. Because kids need something to keep their attention, make it fun and rewarding for them to recycle at home.

Once the kids are in line, it is time for mom and dad to start to look at the products that they are buying around the home. Are they made from recyclables and can they be recycled. The power of the almighty dollar cannot be overrated. Consumers can speak with what they buy and if they are concentrating on items that are made out of recyclables, more companies will be forced to fall in line.

Now there are plenty of companies that are doing this, but far too many of them are still making things the old fashioned way. 20 minutes recently did an expose on how much plastic is going oversees and just sitting there polluting the earth. If those same TV’s and computers were made from recyclable materials, this would not be happening.

There isn’t a community around that will not benefit from a recycling program. Cities in particular will do very well because of the large amounts of trash that they generate on an everyday basis. Cutting any of that out and turning into recycling saves money and makes the world a better place to live and breathe. There simply is no loser when that happens.

Recycling is something that has been around for quite some time, but there has never been a push like there has been over the last few years. Everywhere we turn, we are hearing about places that are going green and renewable energy sources that can save cities and individuals money. Here are some tips to keep some of those tax dollars in your pocket.

What most individuals fail to understand is that recycling is good for everyone. All of the trash that is generated by residents of a city has to go somewhere. When that trash is not recycled, the city has to take it a trash facility or dump. This does nothing more than fill our land with debris and to add insult to injury, we are paying to do it.

Landfill fees are extremely expensive and far higher than the costs of collecting and sending recyclables out. Recently, the City of Toronto announced a trash and recycling plan that the average recycling percentage for homeowners is now 60%. City staff, settled on the volume-based approach to garbage in part to raise the additional $54 million per year necessary to make that happen. That may not sound like a lot, but when you break it down, it is like putting food in the fridge for a month by doing nothing more than separating trash. The dirty little secret here is that diverting residential garbage removal (recycling, collecting organic waste, etc.) is much more expensive than burying all our trash in a hole in the ground.

In addition to the tax benefits that can be seen by residents, there is also federal funding to think of. There is a lot of federal funding that is based on the amount of recyclables that every area generates. If they don’t hit their numbers, the funding does not get released. That is a heck of a price to pay for not putting things in the right bucket.

Now as far as the homeowner is concerned, what can they do to make things work right? First and foremost, they need to instill the process of recycling in the children. Setting up separate trash cans for bottles, plastics and papers is a great start. Give the kids a small incentive and make the recycling fun for them so that they stick with it.

The next thing to look at is the products that are purchased for the home. For instance, are you buying recyclable containers for dish detergent, for laundry detergent? Checking different containers for the little recycling symbol will go a long way. If people are only buying items that come from recyclables, it will put more pressure on the corporate world to get more involved in recycling.

While there are some companies that have jumped in with both feet and use recyclables for everything that they can, there are others that are still ignoring the fact that recycling will play a huge part in the future of this world. The electronics industry is a perfect example of this. While entire TV’s may not be able to be made from recyclables, many of the parts can and there is no reason that they should not be.

Regardless of where people live, recycling should be a part of their life. For those that live in the city, this is even more important because of the congestion and sheer amount of trash that is generated. While it may not be our fault that the world is in the condition that it is, we are stuck with it and recycling is a way to start to get things pointed back in the right direction.

It is important that everyone does their part to protect the environment. It is a great idea and environmentally conscious to separate household garbage and not put everything into one large bag. Ideally, if it is possible, residential junk removal can be divided into anywhere from two to even six major groups. In some countries, such as Japan, the number of groups can be even larger.

Each group of junk should be placed in their own container such as a garbage bag. Some of these groups and what should be in each are:

Biodegradable Material: Here should be placed items that can be broken down in the soil or compost heaps. In short, these are types of garbage that rot. These items include kitchen scraps like fruit peelings, foodstuff and other organic waste such as banana skins, potato skins, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, left over vegetables, and paper towels

In some areas, people use biodegradable waste solely for compost for their gardens. People who prefer to not use chemical fertilizers tend to use their kitchen waste as a natural form of fertilizers for their gardening needs. While this list can be very long, there are a few items that must not be included in this group. Items that should never be placed in your biodegradable garbage are: meat bones, diapers, wood, plastic bags, q-tips and similar items.

Recyclable Material: This group includes items that can be recycled such as glass bottles, cans, and newspapers. Some enterprising persons ensure that they turn in recyclable bottles, cans and other material, especially when there is some money to be made.

Non-recyclable Material: These items should be disposed of in special ways such as medicine, needles, and other material that can be hazardous to health. These are the kind of garbage that causes the most problems when handled incorrectly. They can get into drinking water and cause contamination.

There are other types of household junk that should also be disposed of separately from the above. Falling into this group are items that can be recycled such as cell phones, refrigerators, washing machines and television sets. In fact, this type of junk could be placed in a group called bulky items or any term that works for you. These items should be separated from the junk listed above and taken to your recycling center for disposal. One common factor with these bulky items is that they shouldn’t be left out with the regular garbage. Special arrangements normally have to be made to dispose of these types of junk.

If you really want to keep things simple when separating residential junk, you can create just two groups. These would be simply biodegradable and non-biodegradable. In most cases that is all that is needed. Two groups actually make it easier to separate garbage and take less concentration and effort. Despite it being a chore, over time everyone in the family will begin to learn to separate residential junk until it becomes a habit.  These days one can even purchase color-coded garbage bags so that biodegradable garbage can be easily separated from other types of junk.

Dividing residential junk for disposal is an effective of way of helping the planet. It will make you feel good knowing that you did your part to create an environmentally sustainable future.

Residential solid waste, also called urban solid waste and municipal solid waste, is refuse that normally comes from households. It is either in solid or semisolid form. There are five general categories of solid waste that include:

1)    Biodegradable waste: food waste and kitchen waste
2)    Recyclable material: paper, glass, bottles, cans, metals, and certain plastics.
3)    Stagnant waste: construction waste, dirt, rocks, and debris.
4)    Assorted waste: waste clothing, waste plastics,etc.
5)    Household hazardous waste: toxic waste such as paints, chemicals, light bulbs, spray cans, fertilizer and pesticide containers, batteries,etc.

Cities and towns generally contracts out solid waste removal services. They will submit bids, assess each bid, and recommend a company. The waste company will bill the city or town. These companies are privately owned so if a person has a lot of waste after a project such as home renovation, they can hire a waste removal company to remove the refuse.

Because of environmental regulations and a growing demand for a cleaner environment, waste companies are now performing the following services:

Recycling Programs: Curbside recycling is usually available to all residential customers. Customers will separate their recyclables according to paper and plastics for curbside pick up. Depending on the contract, this is normally done every two weeks. There can be special recycling programs such as Christmas tree recycling. The trees are then made into mulch. Other special programs a town or city can offer are Spring and Fall Clean Ups. They are designed to encourage residents to get rid of large amounts of garbage.

Hazardous Materials: Every year, millions of people accumulate such hazardous waste products as  batteries, paints and stains, cleansers and polishes, motor oil, antifreeze, pesticides and herbicides,etc. These are dangerous to the environment, people, and animals. A junk removal service is trained to remove these products safely and responsibly. They will sort and categorize the hazardous materials before storing them in containment units. The contracted hazardous waste hauler packs the items in drums and sends them to hazardous waste incinerator or other treatment facility for proper disposal. Some materials, such as used motor oil, lead-acid batteries and antifreeze, are recycled.

Compost Services: Many cities and towns offer a compost service. They will provide compost bins for people to place such items as kitchen food waste, newspaper, and other items that can be composted. A contracted waste removal company will pick up the compost left on residential curb sides.

Energy Recovery Plants: Plants that convert waste to energy are popping up all over the country. These plants burn waste to heat water which produces steam in much the same way power plants burn coal, oil, natural gas, or wood. The steam can cause a turbine to produce electricity. Waste removal companies that have energy recovery plants in their area will make use of these services.

Special Handling Waste Removal Services: Cities and towns will have a contracted service to remove large items such as tires, air conditioners, household appliances, and construction debris. Tires are sent to a recycling or recovery facility and household appliances, after chlorofluorocarbon gas removal, are taken to recycling stations.

Individual Contracted Waste Removal Services: There are situations where a person has too much waste to be removed by a city or town removal service. They will then enlist the services of a private company. They are trained and certified to dispose of waste, compost, and recycle residential goods. For a nominal fee, a company will come to your home and remove all of your excess trash.

Because of growing environmental concerns, most companies dispose of waste in ways that will have the least environmental impact. You will feel good knowing that you are doing your part to protect and conserve the environment.