Cheap Green Tip 8: Recycle

Technically, this isn't going to save you a ton of cash. I guess, if I were really stretching the term cheap, I could say you save on trash bag cash. Or maybe I could argue that by recycling your batteries and newspapers and furniture that you're keeping items in circulation and saving money for the planet.

Hmmm. Not working. Well. Just recycle, that's why.

Just because we know you're busy blah, blah, blah, half of all communities have curbside recycling. It's really just as easy as tossing your plastic bottles in a container separate from your trash can. In my community, we have bins set up throughout the city that allows me to recycle at my leisure, which I kind of like.


And what I've noticed? My family of four never uses more than a single trash can each week. And once you get rolling, you can focus your attention on reducing waste before you bring it home.

For instance, I've just stopped buying water. Those plastic bottles are really a burden on the landfills. And I buy products with less packaging, which in turn produces less waste.

Amazing how that works.

Tip: Visit Earth911 for all things recycling. They have ways you can recycle the basics (cans, bottles and paper) along with other items you might not have considered like electronics and pharmaceuticals, although I'm unsure as to why anybody would throw Vicodin down the drain.