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Recycling Resolutions for the New Year

Each year, we make resolutions to lose weight, save money and get more organized. However, what if we decided to put ourselves aside and help the planet this year? Changing your recycling habits may sound hard, but it’s easy if you keep your resolution simple. By simply focusing on being better at recycling and reducing waste, you’ll be on track to a successful new year. Below are some ways you can change your recycling habits in 2017.

3 Ways to Change Your Recycling Habits in 2017

1. Focus on One or Two Items to Recycle

To help you recycle better, just focus on one or two items to recycle at first. Think of the standard recyclable items to get started. Aluminum cans, plastic bottles, paper, and glass jars are the perfect items to help you begin recycling. Once you start to consistently recycle one item, it’ll be easier to recycle more and eventually become a natural habit.

 

2. Look Around Your House for Recyclables

Don’t just recycle the items in your kitchen! Check out your bathroom, bedroom or living room for other recyclables lying around. There may be an old can of soda stuck under your bed or an empty shampoo bottle in your bathroom that can be recycled.

 

3. Keep Yourself Accountable

Tell your family and friends your new goal for the New Year. This might help others follow your lead and change their recycling habits as well! Most importantly, it will keep you accountable. It’s easy to just give up on your resolutions, but this way you’ll stick to them with a support group behind you.

 

4 Ways to Reduce Waste in 2017

Recycling isn’t just about bottles and cans; it’s about reducing waste as well. There are numerous ways to reduce waste, but here are four easy and practical ways to get you started.

 

1. Shop with Reusable Bags

Don’t just use reusable bags in the grocery store. Use them everywhere you shop! If you’re going to your favorite clothing store or the hardware store, bring a reusable bag with you to store your items. This way you won’t be wasting plastic bags, which are one of the hardest materials for recycling centers to handle as they get tangled up in the machinery. It will also help you limit the amount of plastic bags you end up with in the long run.

 

2. Purchase Durable Goods

You can reduce waste by purchasing durable goods that you can reuse, share and repair instead of throwing them away. Durable products will help you prevent the overuse of resources and waste as well as save you money. Purchasing reliable products not only helps you, but also the overall economy.

 

3. Limit Perishable Food Items

You may not realize how much food you waste everyday, but about 40 percent of the food in the United States goes uneaten. That means we are throwing out the equivalent of $165 billion each year! Your uneaten food ends up rotting in landfills, and you end up spending more money than you need to. In order to prevent this, you can waste less food by shopping wisely, knowing the expiration date of food items, buying only the amount of food you need and eating more leftovers.

 

 

4. Reduce Unwanted Advertising Mail

Are you sick of getting unwanted junk mail in your mailbox? There’s a way to fix that! You can take steps to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive by controlling your exposure to junk mail lists. Try not to give out your contact information to subscriptions or opt out of mailing lists you don’t want to sign up for. You don’t always need to say yes at the store when they ask if you want to sign up for their rewards program. You can also limit unwanted mail by signing up for electronic statements or downloading smartphone apps that can enable you to unsubscribe from a mailing list.

 

Recycle Better in New Jersey with Jefferson Recycling

At Jefferson Recycling, we want to help you recycle better in 2017. Recycling not only benefits you, but the environment and our community as well. We are here to help you achieve your sustainability goals in the new year so that future generations have an abundance of resources. We offer reliable recycling services, roll off dumpster services and more to help get you started in NJ. For more information on how we can help you change your recycling habits, contact us today!