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When you really think about it, life is just a constant cycle of acquiring new stuff and figuring out what to do with the old stuff. And when there’s not a one-size-fits-all way to properly get rid of that old stuff, clutter happens.
Most of us have been conditioned to recycle some common everyday materials, but curbside recycling isn’t too helpful past paper, metal, glass, and certain types of plastic. Even then, a shockingly low percentage of recyclable items are actually recycled. I digress.
Other personal items, like clothes and shoes or electronics and batteries, are more confusing to deal with. Can they be recycled, or is throwing them away the only option?
Texas resident used Apple AirTags to track her recycling. It ended up in the middle of nowhere.
Perhaps you’ve Googled “how to recycle insert item here” just to be given some vague instructions like “Check locally.” You’ll quickly learn that most municipal recycling programs don’t cover much beyond trash-like recyclables. Past that, it can be hard to pin down actionable ways to downsize sustainably.
Fortunately, getting rid of hard-to-recycle stuff isn’t so mysterious. In many cases, there actually are solid options for recycling all of that junk crammed under your bed and into old shoeboxes. Once you hone in on a certain category — beauty empties, coffee maker pods, smartphones, old chargers — there’s usually a super straightforward answer for how to recycle said items. In fact, you can often find easy (and free) drop-off or mail-in programs.
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It just takes a little more effort than plopping them in the curbside recycling bin and hoping the recycling fairy whisks it away to the right place. That’s called wishcycling, or aspirational recycling, and I would definitely sleep better at night if I were still blissfully living in “everything can be recycled” ignorance.
So, to help you recycle electronics, clothing, beauty packaging, and other awkward items, let’s break it down in the most candid way possible.
How to recycle electronics
How to recycle clothes and shoes
How to recycle random household items
How to recycle beauty and bathroom stuff
