I rolled my recycling bin to the curb today—for the first time in 2019! If I take it out only four times this year, I’ll be pretty proud of myself 😀
I think of recycling as a last resort and only for items I can’t refuse, reduce or reuse. Recycling works well for paper and metal, but it’s not a good solution for plastic waste. That’s because plastics can only be recycled once or twice before they end up in a landfill or the natural environment 🙁 Once there, they last forever and leach toxic chemicals 😢
Since adopting a zero waste lifestyle, I avoid plastic packaging, which greatly reduced my trash and my recycling. I also cancelled my Publisac deliveries last year, which reduced my paper recycling considerably. My recycling bin now is mostly full of cardboard and unusable paper. I reuse my glass containers and return aluminum cans to the grocery store for a deposit 😊