Being frugal means being a good steward of your resources. What better way to be a good steward than to make sure your stuff doesn’t end up in the county landfill when you’re through with it?

Besides being a good use of resources, recycling can save you money. In Oregon we get 5 cents back for every plastic bottle we recycle. We get money back for aluminum cans, too, though I forget how much.

Recycling also saves money on your garbage bill. In our town, the sanitary department charges by the number of trash cans we use. By recycling, we’ve managed to pay for only one trash can per week, even when our children were in diapers.

It’s amazing how many things you can recycle these days. Until I looked at our sanitary department’s website, I didn’t realize how many things I was throwing in the trash that I should have been recycling.

Here’s the list of recyclables from our city’s website:

  • corrugated cardboard
  • frozen food boxes
  • magazines & catalogues
  • cereal & cracker boxes
  • opened mail & junk mail
  • office paper
  • paper egg cartons
  • shredded paper (strips only)
  • paper 6-pack holders
  • gift wrap (non-foil)
  • shoe boxes
  • telephone books
  • paper bags
  • newsprint & glossy ads
  • plastic bottles & tubs (yogurt, tofu, cottage cheese, etc.)
  • all metal lids
  • aluminum foil & tin cans
  • glass
  • used motor oil

Before you throw boxes in the recycling bin, make sure you take off any Box Tops for Education. You can donate the box tops to your local school, and they will receive money by redeeming them.

Another recycling tactic I’d like to try soon is composting. I know compost would be great for my new garden, but I don’t know exactly how to compost yet. Time to do a little research.

By reducing what you throw in the trash, you save the environment and a little extra money, too.

Do you recycle? Do you recycle as much as you could? Do you have any advice about composting to share? I’d love to hear about it!