What % of your garbage do you recycle?
 

(No high-horsing here or 'holier than though' speaches please.)

I'm fairly new to the whole recycle thing and am looking for some benchmarks as to how good of a job I'm doing. I was psyched when I realized that I'd reached the 1:1 mark of bags of trash:recyclables (to answer my question - 50%) until I remembered that it was subscribing to the newspaper that tipped me over the edge.

How much of your garbage do you recycle?

0% good ole America

Not sure a % but I recycle newspapers, magazines, cardboard, plastics, glass, aluminum, etc. Anything that can be recycled I do. Makes me feel a little better about being such a fucking consumer of resources.

almost nothing - but bulky cardboard boxes and a few milk cartons do get dropped off at the local recycling center (this is a disgustingly liberal/hippie town in some respects, but that center is one the good points)

Good for you! ^-^ For me it's usually just newspaper, regular paper and cans/bottles. But newspaper takes a lot of space :p. So consider it 3:1.

We basically recycle everything that you can, like newspaper, cardboard, glass/plastic bottles, cans and so on. Quite often we have much more recycling that our regular garbabe, so i imagine quite a bit.

Does anyone else have a compost as well?
That cuts down on our garbage as well. Its also really good for the soil and so on.

0.10%

We have a carbonated beverage deposit in MI. Unless you want to lose your $.10 you'd better take that sucker back.

1/3 to 1/2. In Wellington, rubbish costs $1.20 a bag to get collected from the kerbside. Recycling is free for kerbside collection. So there's a bit of an incentive there.

a little over half. not bad for a state that doesn't have a bottle bill.

Nothing.


Americans aren't supposed to be nice to the Earth.

most apartment living isn't very friendly to recycling unless you have the space to hold all of that rubbish until you can transport it to a recyling centre. with that in mind, all of our waste simply goes to the dumpster. i don't have the time or the storage space to hold all of our paper, cardboard, plastic, aluminum, tin, and other recyblable rubbish

I recycle absolutely nothing.

cans and bottles for the deposit...newspapers and magazines to the recycle bin...

All plastics and all newspapers.

They give you these blue bins to put out along with that big ass rolling can they also give you.

Its there, why wouldnt you use? Takes maybe 2 more min out of your life to save some of the environment, no brainer.

Re: What % of your garbage do you recycle?
 

most of it. no choice really, here in Germany.
(altho i really don't mind, when i lived in the US i recycled most all i could)

How it works here -

our allowed garbage for the whole house -
(me + bf in our apt, plus landlord + her 3 older kids in the main house)

40 liters every 2 weeks.
(so, imagine 20 x 2 liter soda bottles)

or, approx 10 gallons.

that is the size of our garbage can.

(it's not so bad for everyone, my bf's parents for example where it's just the 2 of them get to make 70 liters of garbage. they live in a different but nearby town, and perhaps they pay more for it?)

so - what gets recycled -

drinking bottles (glass & plastic) -
have a deposit so they go back to the store

plastic. everything plastic. including tetrapacks (milk, icetea, etc)

paper. all paper, even used kleenexes. (not sure if that's 'supposed' to go in there, but we go thru so many, i've got no choice really)

metal, glass. such as tincans, bottles for various foodthings.
those we have to bring to big recycling bins ourselves, just a 1 minute bikeride away tho.

compostables. composted. all vegetable parts, coffeegrounds, eggshells.

so yeah, if it *can* be recycled, i recycle it.

it's a bit of work, and i think the garbage restrictions are a bit too tight, just because i do like to go on occasional super-clean throw-shit-out sprees...

but overall, i think it's a good thing.

and there honestly from what i've seen there's less 'litter' here than in the US.

:shrug:

curious@ any other europeans here - how is it in your country?

newpapers, bottles, cans and milk jugs. that's about it.

I recycle everything into the bin.

Isn't that where it's supposed to go?

Here's to the proud few of us who do not recycle anything, be we indignant, apartment dwellers, unconscious, or lazy.

I remain at 0.00% recycled output.

I'm also unsure of the %. We recycle anything and everything that can be recycled.

As much as I can, but don't let this make you think I am environmentaly responsible. On the contrary, I could give a rats ass. However, recycling is free whereas garbage costs a buck a bag. That's almost a coffee per bag! I'm a cheap fucker.

I recycle about 60% of my trash.

Bottles, paper, leftovers, tincans and plastic containers...

I'm another of the "too lazy" camp. I'd recycle if I saw recycling bins next to my apartment complex's dumpster, or if it there was a strong incentive to, like for SiN or rogerd. :(

Back home in Michigan, we recycle all our pop bottles and that was about it.

We Americans suck. We know it. :(

The only thing our city picks up at the curb is paper, plastic and tin cans. I try to recycle as much as I ca, but everything makes it there.

Reason: I'm just to lazy for the most part. :p

Probably 1/3 to 1/2 depending on the week. In wa state, it used to be free for the recycler trucks to do their thing, but now we have to pay for their gas or something....it still keeps the trash can from being overstuffed.

O.000000000000%

I recycle around . . . . . . . . 0% of my garbage.

i would say around 5 - 10% of my garbage is recycled

recycling is bullshit. The garbage men throw everything in the same pile and burn it anyways, so why bother?

When I lived in Tacoma WA and curbside recycling was free, I recycled everything I could. Then the city decided we had to clean everything first, no problem, I still recycled everything i could. Then the city decided to start chatrging for curbside pickup, with no reduction in garbage rates. So I stopped recycling altogether, because it was going to hurt my wallet. Now I live in OR and my apt. doesn't offer recycling so I only recycle carbonated beverage containers (there is a 5¢ deposit).

Zero. I wouldn't mind recycling if not for the environazis trying to force me to do it.

In fact when I lived in the People's Republic of Maryland, you could actually be fined for putting soda cans and other recyclables in your trash. Fuck that, I just used black opaque trash bags and threw non-recyclable crap on top. One time I had a bunch of glass so instead of risking a visit from the recycling gestapo, I took it along when I visited a friend 150 miles away and chucked it in the dumpster at his apartment complex. No fucking communist is going to tell me how I can and cannot dispose of my trash, dammit.

probably in the range of 70-80 %

paper , plastic , packaging, newspapers , etc

basically anything non biodegradable unless it has contained food
which my recycler wont accept.


its also important to RE- USE I Re- Use tons of household items for other uses. and re use things like padded envelopes , boxes,
elastic bands, jars, plastic tubs etc.

0% i am so nice..............

I recycle everything I can. Here in Vancouver we have some pretty good recycling programs. We recycle all paper products..extra plastic bags go back to Safeway or are re-used somehow.

The only problem is plastic containers. All drink containers can be returned to a bottle depot but other things like plastic food containers are more difficult. The recycling bin only recycles numbers 1 and 2 so we are looking for where to recycle all the other plastic.

I don't suck. Speak for yourself. :hmm:

60 - 75% I love the pacific northwest. We have curbside recycling with all recyclables mixed together (except glass). Goodwill workers sort it and we all benefit.

A lot of U. S. recycling is a sham (no this is not a flame)

I recycle zero and not ashamed.

Anyone who knows the truth about paper and cardboard recycling (and probably a lot of the rest) knows that it is a complete sham.

I used to be paid good money 8 years ago for truckloads of paper and cardboard that I recycled. Now I have to pay to have it hauled away and sent to landfill or incinerator because there is such a glut of the stuff. Really, this is true - Now that everyone is recycling there isn't anywhere NEAR the market for this stuff and a lot of it is a big waste of effort and costs towns a lot of needless money.

I even know a town very nearby that spent tons of money building recycle center and passing nazi laws requiring recycling, etc. After two years the place was filled up and they found they didn't have the money to haul it away and had to just bury it. It was a travesty! This is about the crunchiest town in Mass. too.

There is a vast oversupply of some recyclables. I'm all for recycling if it is legitimate and does some good. I would be in favor of giving real incentives to businesses to use the stuff, or better yet - how about to not produce it in the first place? duh!

I'm a "liberal" but I'm not an ignorant idiot. I don't blindly believe in things that feel "fuzzy" and sound like the right thing to do without real proof of the facts.

For example, most tree huggers think that nuclear power is dirty and dangerous - so we shouldn't build any nuke plants. Well, the old, existing ones are bad but there are standardized safe cheap approved nuke plant designs now that default to non critical and could eliminate shitloads of coal and oil smoke belching into the air and killing 10's of thousands. What's better, safe clean nukes or being dependant on terrorist muslim oil states and what we have now? If you don't know all about these plants then don't just give me some ignorant dogma instead of actually researching it first and making up your own mind from facts and logic.

I would have to guess about 1/4 is recylcing. Basically all my newpaper and all the clean glass and plastic (e.g. soft drink cans and bottles). I don't have the motivation to clean out dirty glass and plastic containers. They just go in the trash, because we are only supposed to put out clean recyclables.

i recycle everything that i can.
our council gives us massive bins for both rubbish and recycling. so i'd say 60% of all my waste here is recycled.
and i compost all food scraps (except meat products - because that attracts rats).

I'd say 10% or less, we just recently started recycling. The city gave everyone special bins and pick them up after the garbage every week.

at home we recycle paper, plastic, glass, cans, etc.. and for a while we had a compost heap that we put like veggie scraps and egg shells in

my dad is makin a new compost heap so we should do that again

edit: At home we can only recycle plastic #1 & #2 so #3 thru like #8 cant be recycled.

It varies alot. I was getting ~C$100/tonne for corragated last fall in BC.

maybe 2%

0%

If only there were recycling facilities at our apartments, and we have no car to drive to one.. We'd like to recycle, heh.

I don't know an exact percentage, but I recycle all my cans and plastics. I need to find somewhere to actually recycle them though, I have a couple sacks just sitting in my closet...

We recycle everything we can, inclduing cardboard, newspapers, normal paper, glass, aluminum, and other stuff I'm forgetting. We also compost, though I think its pretty nasty and wouldn't do it myself (bin behind the house holds all the rotting food matter and turns it into dirt). We have a bigass rolling bin and then tons of little square boxes to put the recyclables into for disposal every Wednesday, so it makes it really easy and I don't know why people wouldn't bother recycling their stuff, though I understand that other communities you actually have to take all the crap to the recycling center yourself, which seems like a lot of work to me unless you have a trailer or something and could do it once or twice a year.

Thanks everyone for responding. I've recently become a landlord and was SHOCKED at the cost of garbage removal. They don't charge to pick up recycling here. Based on many of your comments, it sounds like if I set up good recycling bins for the tenants, some of them will likely use them, saving me $$$. That'd be a good thing.

The newspaper subscription is ending soon and I don't think I'm gonna renew (too many days go straight from the front porch to the recycling bin), so I'll see what my real % is.

We recycle all of our cans all of the time, and occasionally papers when we think to do it. Other than that, not much is goin' on in my family's household to save Mother Earth.

probably 90% or more of our waste is recyclable here.

we have a HUGE bin for recyclables & a tiny bin for the pure garage (oxymoron), which we rarely even half fill.
all of out yard debris is put out on the street & scooped away by big catepiller things.

I'd say 50% at least.

Recycle all plastics, milk containers, bottles, newspaper, and pretty much anything that we can. The biodegradable food scraps go into the compost in the garden.

0%

Most recycling uses more resources than just making new stuff.

I'd say 20-30 percent. mostly the big things like glass bottles, cans, plastic bottles.

I'd say about 50%!!

Its our City Ordinance to Recycle. We're paying for it, so it makes sense to actually do it. Not that I don't mind it. I just wish they'd accept more than what they do now. There are some numbers they don't accept. :( I have noticed that my family only puts out about one trash can a week now... we have 2... as we used to use two... :)

When I am in Ottawa it's 50% or greater - including paper, plastic, organic.

In Montreal it's 0% :( because the apartment complex I am at is just too small to have the bins laying around. I talked to the Super and he said that they did have a recycling station set up before, but people were just throwing anything into it - makeing it a pain in the ass to sort out.

0% and damn proud of it.

This is not a rant about why you should recycle, but I feel compelled to offer a little background information, based on my experience.

I work for a company that makes the equipment used in large recycling facilities and I can tell you that we are struggling to keep up with the demand for new equipment. As more goverments mandate diversion of solid waste, more and more facilities are being built to handle the load. Here in California, the most populous counties have target percentages of material that they must divert from the waste stream, or face stiff penalties. And those percentages are constantly increasing.
The current trend in recycling is called "Single Stream" which means you put all your recyclables in one container rather than separating them at the curb. This accomplishes two things. First, it makes it easy to do, which means more people will actually do it, and help the community reach its goals. Second, it saves a lot of money for the haulers. It's much more efficient than using segregated trucks, which have to return whenever one of the compartments is full.
But the various materials have to be separated, or it's just garbage. That's where our equipment comes in. We make machines that separate cardboard from paper, paper from containers, aluminum from plastic etc.
Now, an average facility can process 20 tons of material per hour or more. In one year, that equals over 80 million pounds of material that doesn't go into a landfill or an incinerator. That's just one facility in one medium sized community. There are hundreds across the country, and more being built. That also doesn't include the many tons of beverage containers processed by refund centers.

Never mind the trees that don't have to be cut down, the aluminum and tin that do not have to be mined, or the oil used for making plastics. At the very least, recycling will help keep us from one day finding ourselves buried under a coast-to-coast mountain of garbage.

And, to honor the thread topic, I recycle all my beverage containers. I take everthing to a refund center. I also live in an apartment that doesn't have recycling, so I try to sometimes haul my paper or other containers to the bins we have here at work.

other than giving my cans to the local animal shelter....NOT A DAMN THING!

maybe sumthin´like 35 - 50% average. sometimes i´m too lazy to carry many garbage bags , (i´ll put everything in one 150L plastic bag,) and i´ll dumb them all in one. not so friendly, but that´s how it is.

0%

Zero. Exactly zero.

On a street where there is an average of 3 bags of trash per house, and some as high a 7 for their weekly trash pick up, my house has the least. 1 bag of trash per week. Everything else is recycled.

We do maybe 30%, but that's a rough guess. We recycle plastic, glass, cans, paper and cardboard.

The local news aired some home video footage, that someone had sent them, of the local trash haulers just dumping the recycle bins in the back of the trucks with the rest of the trash. Now, I'm not washing this stuff out, just to have it end up in the landfill with the rest of the trash. But, my wife is pretty adament about recycling...so I keep washing out the bottles and cans.

Antagony and I consume enough Caffeine enhanced carbonated beverages to equal a football team, yet unless he is doing it behind my back, we don't recycle anything, sadly.

i probably recycle about half of my garbage. i used to recycle almost 90% of my garbage at my last apartment because they had comingled recycling bins. they don't have those where i live now, and they don't take as much stuff as my last place. it's kind of unfortunate i think.

I don't know how much I recycle but I do know that I take 2 cans to the dump once every 5-6 weeks. Not too bad for a fambly of 5.

0% because I'm a bastard.

I am new to where I live and don't know of a single fucking place to take it.

On the up side, bums always go through our trash so I know at least my soda cans are getting recycled. :)

save the planet 2k3
 

all bottles, cans, papers. other than that what else can i recycle. oh yeah plastic, i burn that hahahahaha!!!!!

I just recycle my soda cans, which make up very little of my trash. Probably 2%, tops.

As if one person can make a change

Cans, bottles, plastic, paper. I'll bet it works out to about 50% of the bulk and 70% of the weight.

Thanks for listening.

0 - 1 %

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Sleepyjack
Does anyone else have a compost as well?QUOTE]


I do, but it's in my backyard, on the edge of the "lawn" and a foresty greenbelt that goes back to a salmon spawning stream. I put all sorts of stuff back there in this huge pile, but I'm always afraid to put scraps of anything that resembles meat. This is because I have cats, and the last thing I want to do is attract coyotes or anything to my yard. Sometimes it's funny, because I tend to eat bananas for breakfast, and all the peels go out there. Well during times when I don't have a lot to through out there, it gets covered and looks like a giant yellow graveyard.

What are you talking about? Have you no idea of nuclear waste? And how it can not be disposed of properly and how it accumulates by the tons? If that's better I don't want to be any part of it.