apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

"Anyone have any tips on how to be green in an area that isn't hip to recycling?"

- Start your own compost bin in the backyard.
- Re-use plastic containers and glass jars (for brown bag lunches, to grow seedlings, to store small items like nails, buttons, etc.).
- Bring your own mesh or canvas bags when shopping/refuse plastic bags.
- Get a group of neighbours together and arrange a weekly carpool to the nearest recycling centre.

Or, you know, don't buy a place in a gated community in Texas.

My husband I moved from Michigan, where the recycling was very convenient and now, to the Montgomery area of Alabama. Our recycling center seems to cause more littering than recycling -so sad =(. It's just the trailor of a semi truck and anything and everything is dumped in it. (Supposedly the prisoners sort through it.) I've started a small recycling program at work and some people bring their recycables to work with them.

Wonder if composting is also against bylaws in the community.

I am fairly anti-HOAs, but then again, in my parents' neighborhood, a woman started composting her own "waste" if you know what I mean, by using it as fertilizer on her lawn. As in human waste. And, not in the "composting toilet" kind of way. It stunk up a storm and there was little neighbors could do, with the exception of trying to pull some sort of health violation....and for some reason, that wasn't working.

- Walk or bicycle whenever possible.
- Grow your own vegetables.
- Buy secondhand (clothes, furniture, etc.).
- Install solar panels.
- Collect rainwater and use on the lawn.
- Plant native species instead of having a lawn that requires mowing.
- Plant trees (for shade, habitat for birds and other wildlife, to help with air pollution...).
- Use energy efficient lightbulbs, forego an air conditioner, if you must have a car buy a hybrid or something compact and fuel-efficient...

LA recycling may be convenient if you have a car. If you don't... It gets exciting. The recycling bins at grocery stores are not a legal requirement, so they're not universal over the whole city. And apartment buildings in LA are not required to have a recyclables dumpster. Not exactly green.

The best thing she can do is become more politically active (yes, it's a huge pain in the ass with a baby, but the need to be politically active about schools comes along with having children, so it's unavoidable). Curbside pick up works. It cuts down on some needless driving. It makes recycling easy, so more recycling happens. And it cuts down on the littering/public nuisance problem of having too small bins at public locations.

I live in Houston and the recycling issue is definitely a problem. I do not, however, live in the suburbs where the major problem is. I think it really comes down to awareness and forward thinking which hasn't made it into the suburban lifestyle yet. My boss lives in the suburbs of Houston in a gated community with a recylcing program and she says NOBODY uses their bins. You are considered weird if you do.

However, yesterday we went to the recycling center by our house to recycle our glass (which is not picked up curbside) and there was nonstop traffic waiting to recycle.

Implementing a city-wide recycling program that actually works is a huge undertaking and I think cities like Houston a waiting until its inhabitants demand a better system. The speed at which concerns about sustainability are growing, it can only be a matter of time before something has to change.... until then I'll dutifully take my recycling to the local recycling center.

I was lucky, when I lived in Austin I had curbside recycling- the kind where you don't have to do any sorting-and garbage pickup twice a week. I got spoiled- now where I live in Michigan there is NO recycling- the nearest place is over 70 miles away !

I agree with Emhoop. The best thing to do it get involved & encourage a city-wide plan. That may include bins with lids to keep the HOAs happy.

I live in a city in North Carolina where recycling is picked up curb-side once a week on the same day that our trash is picked up. No sorting is required. And we don't have to pay extra for this service because it's all covered by taxes. It's a great program that I think more cities should adopt.

The people who chose to not recycle just to save a few bucks are quite selfish. But, then again, they are the ones living in homes that are much too large for there needs, they are still buying gas guzzling SUVs and complaining about the price of fuel when they have to drive several miles between places, and they have no concern for the future of our planet for their children.

I am far from perfect (can can also be selfish at times), but at least I can be proud that as an urban dweller that doesn't own a car, and lives in a studio, my carbon footprint is half that of the average American.

Not all of LA has curbside pickup. I live downtown and we sure don't. It hasn't been mandatory for multi-family. And of course, LA actually loses money on their recycling program. Maybe the sister's HOA could find a private company to contract for the recycling program.

My town in Texas has just begun offering curbside recylcing. I was so excited when my green tub came. It raised the price of service 5 bucks I think. We've been recycling now since January and half of my neighbors still haven't brought their recycling bins inside yet. They are still out where the city threw them in their yards!!!

Some people just can't be bothered I guess.

Wait.. no recycling exists? Wow I love Ontario.

I live in Tallahassee and we have free curbside recycling pickup with nice containers. My parents, however, don't recycle out of laziness (I hate to say it, I love my 'rents!!!). This year it's my goal to get them to start recycling, if I have to do it myself! As I said, it's definitely a convenience issue... just one more thing they have to do. I’m going to Ikea next month and buying them recycling bins for the garage to make things easy on them. And because my apartment doesn’t have recycling, I have to bring mine to my parent’s and I will even empty their containers. Maybe I can get the ball rolling on this and hopefully they will see the importance behind it.
I just want to thank AT because before I read this site, I never realized how easy it was to be green! Granted I am not the thrift store type, not that there is anything wrong with it, but I can’t do used clothes and books etc. But I can recycle, and I can reuse, and I can take into consideration my impact on the environment. Even if it is in baby steps!

I grew up in Washinton state, and recycling has been drilled into me since I was a kid. We used to separate all of our things into three bins, and had a compost pile. Then I moved to California 10 yrs ago and was shocked how easily people threw things away without even thinking. My roommates here have always had a good laugh and thought I was weird for being so anal about recycling... but each one of them has eventually gotten better about doing it. Not just from my encouragement, either, they just learn the habit. Like anything else it takes practice and memorization.