I’ve been recycling for years, but I’ve taken a closer look at my recycling habits in recent months. In the past, I had only recycled plastic, glass, aluminum, and cardboard. A few months ago, I started recycling steel cans and mixed paper as well. I am actually amazed at how quickly the mixed paper accumulates. I have large plastic totes for each material in my garage. I get a ton of junk mail, which quickly gets filed into the mixed paper tote. Other items that are recyclable as mixed paper include catalogs, magazines, books, and paperboard such as cereal boxes and tissue boxes.
In an effort to do my part to protect the environment, I also began using compact fluorescent bulbs for all the indoor lighting. I haven’t really been using it long enough to tell, but it should greatly decrease the home’s energy consumption. And with the price of gasoline right now, I’ll take all the cost savings I can find!
If you’re not recycling and using CFL bulbs, it’s easy to get started with both. The City of Knoxville has a great recycling website that includes information on specific items that can and cannot be recycled. Compact fluorescent bulbs can be found nearly anywhere that regular light bulbs are sold. They may seem a bit expensive, but many of them are guaranteed to last from 5-10 years and save hundreds of dollars in energy.
May 24th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
cool blog. i’m very happy to see more knoxvillians going green. remember also to use canvas reusable shopping bags instead of getting plastic bags at the grocery store. most stores have reusable bags for only a dollar a very cheap price to pay to keep millions of plastic bags out of landfills.
May 24th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
If recycling is the smart thing to do, why do private enterprises engaging in recycling have to be subsidized to make them profitable?