A couple of years ago my Army Reserve unit visited Germany during our annual training. I remember being a bit stumped as we left the chow hall because we had to sort our trash depending on whether it was plastic, glass, paper or aluminum. Unfortunately, there were a couple items on my tray that seemed to fall in multiple categories.
Sometimes it’s hard to decide what items fit in the glass, paper, plastic or aluminum bins. If you’ve ever encountered this problem before, then you’ll be glad to know there are indeed items you can recycle that don’t necessarily fit into these basic categories.
To help you on your recycling journey, we’ve found five unusual things you can recycle.
- Brita Water Filters
- You’ve decided to stop using disposable plastic water bottles and drink filtered water instead. But be sure to replace your refrigerator water filter every 6 months. If you use Brita filters you can rest assured knowing your used filters have the potential to be recycled into a variety of eco-friendly products. Brita has teamed up with Preserve, which is a sustainable products company, to collect filters from over 250 locations across the United States.
- Bicycles
- If you have an old bicycle rusting away in your garage or shed, then you might want to consider donating it. Check out Ibike to find out all you need to know about donating your bicycle to someone in need.
- Running Shoes
- Shoes are often thrown into the trash once they’re worn beyond use. Rather than allowing these items to be buried in a landfill, you should take them to Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe recycling bins. This highly successful program accepts athletic shoes from any brand for recycling. To learn more check out their FAQ page.
- Carpeting
- Your old, stained carpeting is really getting on your nerves. You decide it’s time for an update, so you rip out all your out-dated carpet. Now that you’ve torn out all your carpeting you’re probably wondering, “What am I supposed to do with all this old carpeting?” You could throw it in your trash, but an even better solution is to recycle it. Learn more about why you should recycle your old carpet here.
- Resealable sandwich bags
- I’ll be the first one to admit I hate throwing away resealable storage bags. I always feel guilty knowing I typically only use them once before tossing them in the trash. Well, those plastic-bag recycling bins you see in your local supermarkets can also be used to dispose of other plastic bags such as sandwich bags. Pretty cool, huh?
Want to learn more about ways you can recycle? Check out the latest recycling trends sweeping the nation.
What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever recycled? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter!
As always get free shipping and returns on all discount filters include air and furnace filters, and refrigerator water filters.
