I live in an apartment complex that doesn’t have a recycling program. What can I do to still do my part?
Unfortunately, the odds of finding an apartment/condo complex that has a recycling program are slim to none. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t recycle on your own. A lot of times there are newspaper and/or aluminum can recycling drop off bins in grocery store/retail parking lots. If you notice one of these bins nearby, start small and just commit to recycling all of your newspapers, for example.
If you feel like you want to do more, find out everything that you can recycle in your local community and start keeping a separate bin next to your trash for those items. Use Earth 911’s recycle locator, or call 1-800-CLEANUP, to find out what is recycled and where to bring these items. If you feel like you can’t go any longer watching your neighbors dump all those beer cans in the trash, start your own complex-wide recycling program (http://earth911.com/recycling/start-recycling-program/)!
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The below comments are closed and are listed for historical purposes.
cupofjoe
posted on October 5th, 2007 at 9:10 am
I have the same issue. I resolved it by just canceling my newspaper delivery and get my info online. As for items such as aluminum, plastic, glass, and tin I just put everything together in heavy duty plastic or reusable bags and store them in my carport storage area. Then after a few weeks I gather all the items and take them to the local recycle center. I have found this method quicker because the guys there weigh the recyclables as apposed to the “one at a time” centers found in grocery store parking lots. The one I go to takes just about everything except for some reason they do not take plastic bags, those I drop at the local store. It is a bit of an inconvienience, but I feel it is worth the extra 15 to 30 minutes it takes to haul the recyclables to the local center, because I usually walk away with about 20 bucks. You do the math. ;0)
Gurpreet
posted on February 17th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
If you live in a condo, you most likely have a Home Owners Association fee. Go visit your regular meetings for HOA, and request that your complex get a recycling service. It worked with my condo, and everybody in the complex loves it!!!
Remember it only takes one person to start a big change :)
Evelyn
posted on December 6th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
Hey Earth911 – I’m looking for the resource mentioned above:
“If you feel like you can’t go any longer watching your neighbors dump all those beer cans in the trash, start your own complex-wide recycling program (http://earth911.com/recycling/start-recycling-program/)!”
Any ideas where that link was supposed to go?
Thanks!