It's Time to Recycle

My family has always recycled by using the barrels given to us by our waste management company. We never received any money back, but felt good about recycling. When my husband and I were newlyweds, we lived in San Francisco. One morning a week, we were awakened by the locals going through the neighbors recycling bins to recover any precious recycling items. They were up at 4 a.m. rummaging around and earning money. Pretty clever.

Now, my children have decided that they want to earn money by taking our recycling to the local plant. It may be a reality check for them to see how much is needed to earn even $1, but I think it will be a good experience for them. They can take care of the planet and earn a little money for the Dollar Store (to buy more junk!)

I recently came across an article from Real Simple Magazine. They had some great tips for recycling that I wanted to share:

Aerosol Cans: These can usually be recycled with other cans, as long as you pull off the plastic cap and empty the canister completely.

Crayons: Send them to the National Crayon Recycle Program (www. crazycrayons.com), which melts down crayons and reforms them into new ones.

Crocs: The manufacturer recycles used Crocs into new shoes and donates them to underprivileged families.