Plastics and glass are all well and good to recycle, but we already know that we can do that. Recycling has become more important than ever before, and, thanks to advances in different technologies, you can recycle more materials now than in the past. There are plenty of things you might not know you can recycle that you throw away all the time. Keep an eye out for these things, and you can make a larger impact on protecting our planet.
Clothing and Textiles
There are so many ways to recycle clothing nowadays that it doesn’t make sense to throw them away anymore. For clothing that you can still wear, donating them can be the perfect way to give them a new life. You can still recycle unwearable clothing so that someone can put the fibers to good use somewhere else, and they won’t end up in a landfill.
Rechargeable Batteries
Throwing away batteries has never felt like the right thing to do. They can leak and cause all sorts of issues. With so many devices having rechargeable batteries these days, it’s good to know that you can recycle them. These batteries have useful material components that can go into other devices and machines.
Printer Ink Cartridges
One thing you might not know are recyclable are printer ink cartridges. Given how much damage these cartridges can do if they end up in a landfill somewhere, it makes sense to recycle them. Especially since almost any office supplies store will take them off your hands.
Eyeglasses
Your eyeglasses don’t have to go in the garbage when you get new ones. In fact, you could provide someone with fewer means than you the opportunity to get glasses that can seriously improve their quality of life. You can repurpose eyeglasses with different prescriptions so that someone else can wear them.
Motor Oil
If you go somewhere to get your oil changed, they are likely already recycling your old oil. If you change your own oil, you don’t have to throw it away! Your local authorities likely have rules in place already about where you can go to drop off and recycle motor oil.
Washing Machines
As big as they are, it might be difficult to believe that you can recycle a washing machine. However, they have a lot of useful materials inside of them that people can reuse. Skip the dumpster for your washing machine and give it a new life as something else by recycling it instead.
Packaging Material
You can reuse a lot of packaging material as is after you open it up, but you can also recycle it. Lots of packaging material comes from plastic that won’t break down, so any amount that you can remove from that cycle is a good thing. Plenty of charitable organizations will take packaging material off your hands.
