How can you dispose of your junk for recycling if your apartment complex doesn't have recycling pickup?

Question

I take my waste paper to work to dispose, but other types of waste I don't know how to get rid of in a way that is kinder to the environment than simple garbage pickup.

Answer 1

You can try http://earth911.org/

At the top is a recycling center seach. Just type in what you want to recycle like glass, cans, newspapers, etc. Then your zip code. Hopefully there will be a recycling center close to you.

You can also try http://www.recyclingcenters.org/

I live out in the country so I have no choice but to take the stuff to our local center.

Answer 2

We don't have local recycling.  I'm making monthly trips to the city to the recycling center there.  For it not to be a wash - energy consumption to haul it more than what is saved by recycling - I have to time the trip to coincide with other trips I need to make to the city, any way.  

Maybe you have a friend who recycles,and you could use his "pickup."  Or maybe you can make a trip to a center while you are out on errands, any way.  The biggest issue, if you don't have a place to do it at the complex, is storing the recyclables.  Get creative...waste baskets lined up in the spare room, perhaps.  I bought large trash-bins, but I have room to keep them in the back yard.

Be sure to wash out containers, and flatten everything except the glass. It will take up less space while you hold it for recycling.

Answer 3

Many cities have a city dump to which you would have to drive during their operating hours to drop off the sorted materials.  

Also, I have seen recycling stations that provide a place 24 hours a day to drop off sorted recyclable materials, and they are listed in telephone directories or whitepages.com.  (The neighborhoods nearby me are sometimes places you might not want to visit at night, though.)

Whole Foods in Irvine, California is the only place I have seen in a convenient location that offers recycling receptacles outside.  

I think it is ludicrous that other businesses that sell items in recyclable containers, and businesses in general that provide waste cans for the public, do not also provide containers to collect recyclable materials; particularly since they could profit from them.

I believe your question highlights one way our businesses are not adapting to the way some of our lifestyles are evolving, with much more time spent en route from one place to another, versus being home each night at 5:30pm in our detached home, reading the paper with our slippers on, while Mrs. Cleaver fills the table with a delicious home-cooked meal.

Answer 4

Some cities have drop off centers for recycling.  If your community does indeed recycle, then they may have a place where you can drop your recyclables off.  Check the web site for your city / community.

If they don't, then you'll still probably be able to find a place to drop off your aluminum cans, but your glass and metal could be more difficult.   Some supermarkets have aluminum can drop off.  Or you can collect a large amount (like a large garbage bag full) and take it to a metal recycler.  Check your local yellow pages for metal recyclers.  I don't know any way to recycle glass except through a community recycling center.

Sorry, but without knowing where  you live, it's hard to know where you can drop off your stuff.

Answer 5

Many places have drop-off centers for recycling plastic bottles and glass.  Try the grocery store, they may know.