Most people have a general knowledge of things that can be recycled: glass, paper, metal cans, certain plastics, etc. However, there are several other items you most likely have around the house that you should also look into Recycling, even if your local checklist will not allow them to go into your curbside recycling bin.

Plastic Grocery Bags– This is one of the plastics you should not throw in your curbside recycling bin, but you can still recycle them. Most major grocery store chains will accept them and they usually have a bin at the front of the store where you can deposit them. Other big retailers like Target also have bins in many of their stores so you can drop off your plastic shopping bags. Once you’ve cleaned out your plastic grocery bags, remember to buy reusable tote bags so you won’t need to worry about plastic bags again in the future.

Printer Cartridges-Before throwing your used ink cartridges away, check with the manufacturer to see if they have a refill program. In some cases, you can ship the cartridges back to them and they will refill them and make them available for purchase again. Some charitable organizations also collect empty printer cartridges because they can get a refund on them that helps fund their cause. You may also want to check with your local office supply stores to see if they have a recycling program.

Medication/Medicines-Throwing old medications in the trash can cause serious environmental issues or the prescriptions could end up in the wrong hands. Flushing medicines down the toilet is also bad for the environment and can cause serious issues with the local water supply. Many municipalities in the area have a quarterly or annual program where you can bring your unwanted or leftover prescriptions to a local depository so the drugs can be disposed of properly.

Join Bay Disposal & Recycling in finding new ways to protect our environment and to keep excess trash from reaching our landfills. If you’ve got some tips on how to reuse, repurpose, or recycle, send them to us. We may even share them in our blogs.

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