Here at Liv Northgate, we are committed to helping the environment however we can. Thats why we offer amenities like electric car charging stations, chlorine-free saltwater swimming pools, valet recycling services, and our community garden, while making use of recycled materials throughout our community, such as in our plank flooring!
But if youre looking for a little more that you can recycle to help the environment, here are a few items that most people dont know that they can recycle:
Holiday lightsit doesnt matter what holiday theyre from; if youve got a strand of burnt-out old lights, the folks at HolidayLEDs are eager to have them. You can simply mail them in, and they will shred them up and sort out the recyclable PVC, glass, and copper to be used for something new.
Mattressesbecause of their size, mattresses can often be difficult to dispose of. Fortunately, services such as 1-800-GOT-JUNK are happy to take old mattresses off of your hands. Recycling factories can separate the wood, metal, foam, and cloth to be used in various recycled products.
CDsbecause theyre made of polycarbonate, CDs wont decompose in a landfill. But you can send them to The CD Recycling Center, where theyll be shredded and then malted down to be used in automotive and building materials, or could even become part of the pavement in the roads you drive on!
ShoesThere are plenty of charities that take gently-used shoes to be given to those in need. But what about your shoes that have almost fallen apart from wear? Send them to Nike Grind, where theyll be ripped apart for re-use. The rubber is melted down for running track surfaces, the foam is converted into tennis court cushioning, and the fabric is used to pad basketball court floorboards. So far, theyve shredded over twenty-eight million pairs of shoes.
Crayonsdo you have a box full of broken, worn-down nubs of crayons? Send them to the National Crayon Recycle center, where theyll be melted down, remade, and resold. The program has saved over forty-seven thousand pounds of crayons.
Roofing Materialsyou might not be worried about roofing materials here at Liv Northgate, but if the day comes where you find yourself with a pile of old roofing materials, make sure you recycle them! Most roofing materialsincluding tile, shingles, asphalt, wood, clay, aluminum, and steelcan be recycled at AZ Native Roofing.
Fishing linefishing line is specifically designed not to biodegrade, so that it will endure years of use in harsh conditions. However, that also means that it cant be recycled in normal recycling bins. Instead, you can send it in to Berkley Fishing, where they will recycle the material (along with other recyclables) into fish-friendly habitats.
Wine corkscompanies like Terracycle and Yemm and Hart can turn your old wine corks into tile for flooring, walls, and veneer. Another company, Recork, passes them along to Canadian sandal maker SOLE.
Pantyhosemost pantyhose are made of nylon, which can take over forty years to decompose. But if you send them in to No Nonsense, they will grind them up into all sorts of new productpark benches, playground equipment, carpet, and even toys.
Were sure theres lots of other surprising things in our apartments that can be recycled. If you know of any, let us know in the comments. If we get enough, we can do another article to let everyone know.
Nine Surprising Things You Can Recycle
