Last week, I told you about an easy way to Go Green for Earth Month – how to make your cleaning products. It’s simple to do, doesn’t cost much to do it, and won’t take a whole lot of your time. We’re taking the Scott Brand 4 Week Test Drive this earth month – it’s a great (and free!) way to help your state win $50,000 in nature conservation.
Many people still equate being green with recycling, and recycling is a big part of green living, but did you know there are several other ways to get rid of things you no longer use, want or need? Just because something can’t be thrown in your recycling bin doesn’t mean that it has to be thrown in the trash!
Here are 5 other recycling alternatives.
Repurpose
Simply put, if you repurpose something, you use it in a different way. Let’s say your favorite coffee mug gets a crack in it. You can’t use it for coffee anymore, and you are bummed!
But you don’t have to toss it in the recycling bin – why not use it to collect loose change, paper clips, or plant a flower in it? That is repurposing!
Upcycle
Upcycling is very similar to repurposing…but the catch with upcycling is that you take something and make it into something of higher quality or value.
A perfect example of this would be taking old t-shirts and turning them into totes that you then sell at a higher price. I also recently featured a site here called Bottlecrafters; they take used wine/liquor bottles and turn them into unique glassware.
Donate
If you donate something, it’s similar to recycling, right? But you are giving items to people that need them and will be using them (in the most part) for the items’ originally intended purposes.
Reduce
According to the EPA: “The most effective way to reduce waste is to not create it in the first place.” This makes complete sense, but many people still don’t do it.
Reducing can be as simple as buying from green brands, buying only what you need, starting your own veggie garden, and buying/using sustainable products.
Compost
What about all that food that you can’t throw in the recycling bin? Food scraps like egg shells, banana peels, and other non-animal scraps can all be composted and magically turned into the best all natural fertilizer your garden will ever need!
Scott Naturals products are helping you make Spring Cleaning easier by taking the SCOTT Naturals™ Test Drive at ScottBrand.com or on Facebook.
You can even pledge to switch to SCOTT Naturals™ for four weeks. The state with the greatest participation rate will receive a $50,000 donation to be applied to local conservation efforts! Just think – if everyone tried SCOTT Naturals™ for just four weeks, we’d save over 2 million trees!
This post is sponsored by Scott Naturals brand which has provided product samples and compensation.
Photo Source: AuntOwwee
