I recycle at home but nothing like they recycle here in Ontario. Holy smokes! So many rules, I’m still trying to figure out what goes where and I keep getting it wrong. So all this recycling had me searching the internet for some alternate recycling options because really I’ll recycle anything as long as I can contain it all in a lovely way 🙂 Recycling takes up so much space (and we only have so much room under our kitchen sinks) so I specifically wanted something that would go vertical and that I could maybe keep out in my carport. I found these neat products and although I haven’t tried them it looks like they would certainly do the job of storing a lot in a small amount of space while keeping the recyclables contained and hidden from view. Finding the products in Canada is a whole different story though….sigh.
Pet Food Tower that could also be used for recycling.
Would love to hear what works for you when it comes to recycling and if you’ve got a great system going on send me a picture!
MotoMom says
My husband designed and built a recycling station for me. I has 3 shelves – the bottom one is open and holds the recycling bins, the top two are divided and just large enough to hold a paper grocery bag. Not only do we recycle the grocery bags, but it is easy to sort newspapers, milk jugs, etc.
Dana a/k/a Sunshine says
Oh, I would LOVE that dog food station, but actually FOR dog food and the like! I also do recycling, but I just use a trash can in my kitchen in addition to my normal one. Here in our town, all the recyclables go together so no need to separate them except from the regular trash.
Maja says
IKEA has a really neat box called Sortera. Big plastic box with lid, stackable, and you don’t have to unstack them to open them. Check them out! I’d post a link if I knew how to 🙂
Tammy says
My city provides two bins – one for paper and the other for glass and plastic. The bins are too large to store inside, so we keep them in the garage. I have a large cabinet in my kitchen, and I bought two trash cans for this space. I did splurge a little and bought the “pretty” ones. =) They work well for me!
Barb, sfo says
I don’t have any products that I use. I have an old dishpan that we put the cans and bottles in. It is kept under the kitchen sink. When it’s full, the kids take it outside and dump it in the bucket the town provides.
I keep a paper bag for recycled paper under the sink as well. Full ones go to the garage until collection day.
So, a very low-tech way to go here–it’s all recycled! That dishpan would have been trash if I didn’t use it to hold the recycled cans. And the paper bag goes out with the paper that’s in it.
Rebecca says
I’d love a recycling tower of some kind but we don’t have the space. For cans I have plastic bags under the sink, when the space is full I bring in the cans. For our paper/cardboard I keep a paper bag on the dryer and take it out to the recycle bin when it’s full. Someone picks up that for us. I know, it’s not so cute but it works for now. When I have a house of my own I’d love to have a ‘recycle station’ in the kitchen or garage. A counter with cabinets below & roll out bins for each category – paper, aluminum, & plastic. If it was in the garage I could use the counter as a folding table. Yeah, I think that’s what I want. I’ll add that to hubby’s list!
Susanne says
We have a detached garage so to have to walk recycling out there is not an option because we don’t park our everyday car in there. Nobody would ever do the recycling because it would mean a special trip out to the garage. We just keep a big rubbermain bin on the back deck and just throw things in there. It doesn’t get sorted. I can’t say it’s pretty though.
Cindy says
A friend of mine uses several Rubbermaid bins to sort his recyclables. He keeps them in his kitchen under what was designed to be a desk. Here in the city though, we don’t have to sort them, so I just throw them in the bin the city provides. Now if I could just figure out the recycling schedule the city uses…….. lol
MotoMom says
I ran across this aricle and though of you. 😉
Not Tonight Dear, I’m Cleaning the Closet
http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20000314_closet.htm
Multitasking Mama says
I use a three-bag laundry sorter for our recyclables — one bag for plastic, one for glass, and one for bi-metal cans. Hubby takes aluminum to a scrap yard for cash, so we keep that saved up elsewhere. Newspaper is in a clear plastic bin on the floor next to the laundry sorter. Cardboard goes in the back of my car because it’s flat and doesn’t really take up much space; plus it’s the sort of thing I’m likely to forget to take when I go recycling.
My laundry sorter system works great as everything is sorted and I don’t have to take it all at one time — I can take just plastic and newspaper if they are full without worrying about the rest of it. The mesh bags are big and flexible, with drawstring tops, and I think they work very well for bulkier items like big plastic jugs.
HOWEVER, my recycling system is not much fun to look at. I’m thinking about switching to the type you posted even though I know those bins are much smaller than my mesh bags, which means more trips to the recycling center. The laundry sorter just isn’t much fun to look at.
Tealady Tammy says
A friend sent me your blog address as she thinks I am organizing junkie…but I think you have me beat. I will be droppig by for tea more often. The only thing I can’t seem to organize is what I am cooking for dinner. Have a blessed evening.
Christian Homekeeper says
We just use large shopping bags (the ones with the handles) and they work great for our recycles!
I love your blog….however it takes a very long time to load and sometimes my computer will freeze when I visit your blog. I’m not sure why?? I have high speed…..so it isn’t the connection. Anyway, you inspire me to organize! =)
Laane says
I think it’s a great idea.
I’m all in favor of recycling, but there needs to be a good way to organise things.
The Estrogen Files says
WONDERFUL! I wish there were more recycling facilities here. I also wish my house had more room for this kind of thing…
Qtpies7 says
I have a friend who used the vertical recycling station like that. She’s been using it for probably 10 years, that I know of. Its a good idea.
Ali says
I have just stumbled onto your blog and think it’s great 🙂
I look forward to reading back through older posts later today!
Amy says
My system isn’t pretty, but it works! At the end of our kitchen island are two tall kitchen trash cans with lids– one white, one blue. White is for trash, blue is for recycling. We don’t have to sort our recycling… everything just gets put into one red tub at the curb on trash day… so this works well for us.
Jenny says
We signed up for the curbside recycling and at first we were putting things in bins. We have to put the recyclables in a clear lawn bag so I’ve just been cleaning the recylables and putting them directly into the bag. Once the bag is full I tie it up and I start a new bag.
This has been the simplest solution for us.
Christie says
I have the 3 bin stacking one that I LOVE and have it in the garage just outside my laundry room door. Our city requires separating so I put paper in one, plastics (1 & 2 only) in one and aluminum in one. I have two large bins that I line with blue recycling bags beside it – I put glass in one and other # plastics in the one…these I have to take with me when I head to our nearest metropolitan area (2 hours away) because our city doesn’t do those. I love my bin sorter as it keeps everything neat.