Perhaps not around the home, but recycling consistently can be really, really hard to do for a lot of people.

Just think about it. When you’re out and about, and need to dispose of something that you would recycle at home, how often is there a bin for it? In some areas that’s pretty unusual.

I know in my area things are good in some places. I sometimes see parks with bins for recycling glass or plastic bottles. Recycling bins for paper are less common, but considering that a lot of people have trouble keeping trash out of the other recycling bins, that makes a bit of sense to me. The criteria for recycleable paper can be stricter, so I kind of get it.

While I work at home, I also understand that you’re lucky if a business does more than paper.

One of the key things I do is try to avoid having to recycle when I’m out and about. If I can plan ahead, reusable makes much more sense than recyclable. In most situations I’d have to carry the item back home anyhow.

At home, if you have kids around you can teach them what can be easily recycled in your area, and have them responsible for at least a part of it. My kids know that paper goes in the recycle bin, as does metal, but plastic they have to ask since our area only recycles #1 and #2 plastics that are bottle-shaped. At 2 and 5, they’re both pretty good about it.

Away from home certainly takes more of a conscious effort for everyone involved. The best solution is for more locations to make the changes to make recycling easier. That means more recycle bins in parks and other places, and workplaces making it easier for their employees to recycle.

It also requires local governments to take more of a role. They need to make recycling more appealing than throwing things in the trash. That can mean giving a discount on trash service if you recycle as well. It may complicate the bookkeeping a little for whichever company handles waste disposal, but how else are we to encourage it?

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