From Guest Blogger Anina Ginsburg: Don’t Waste–Six Items You Didn’t Know Could Be Recycled

More people every day are becoming aware of the environmental problems our planet is facing. From conserving resources to recycling, millions of people have changed their lifestyle to become eco-friendly. However, it is possible for you to be more eco-friendly with simple changes. This is because many things you dispose of can actually be recycled. We all know glass, plastic, aluminum, paper, cardboard and tin can be recycled. However, the items listed below will probably surprise you. The next time you need to dispose of one of the following items, try your best to recycle it instead.

Bicycles

Everyone remembers the thrill of getting their first bicycle. Unfortunately, there are less fortunate people who can not afford to buy a new bicycle. Therefore, you can donate your old bicycle instead of sending it to the garbage dump, even if it needs a few repairs. There are organizations that specialize in fixing up old bikes and making them suitable to ride. The bikes are then donated to people with low incomes.

Athletic shoes

When shoes are worn out and have developed an unpleasant odor after years of heavy use, they are usually destined for the garbage can. There is no longer any need to have your old shoes taking up space in a landfill. Reuse-A-Shoe recycling bins have been distributed by Nike for the purpose of using these old shoes to create Nike Grind. This is a material than can be used to make zippers, soles for shoes, running tracks and much more.

Tires

Needless to say, tires take up a lot of space in a landfill and they will not decompose for a very long time. Recycled tires can be used to make new shoe products and construction products.

Crayons

Most children have a box of crayons when they are growing up. However, it may surprise people to learn that 115,000 pounds of crayons are manufactured in the United States each day. To avoid making the landfills a colorful place, old crayons can be given to the National Crayon Recycle Program. The old crayons will be used to create new ones.

Cosmetics

Many of the containers cosmetics come in can be recycled. Aveda, Origins, MAC and various other companies have their own programs.

Carpeting

Many communities have carpet reclamation facilities for people to dispose of their worn out carpeting. There are also recycling programs run by individual carpet manufacturers.

These six items are only scratching the surface in terms of items that can be recycled. Before you dispose of something, run a quick search online to see if you are able to recycle that item at a facility near you.

Informational credit to EG Tire Shredders.