Taking care of our Earth is a job everyone can take pride in.
Just because you live in an apartment doesn't mean you can't recycle. In fact, here at Next Apartment, we support recycling by offering recycle bins outside each of our communities for residents to use. We also want to share some easy ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle while living in an apartment.
REDUCE
It all starts with what you bring into your apartment. When you shop smarter, you can avoid bringing home unnecessary items.
- Plan your meals a week at a time and only buy what you need to avoid food waste
- Look for products with little to no packaging or items with packaging that you can recycle
- Shop at the farmers' market
- Purchase a water bottle to use instead of buying bottled water and use a travel coffee mug for your coffee on the go
Every little bit helps, so find a method that works for you and stick to it!
REUSE
Reusable items help to eliminate waste, reduce how much you need to recycle, and will save you money. For example; a glass jar can be reused for storage, a cookie sheet could be painted and used as a magnetic memo board, and a bubble envelope can be converted into a phone case!
There are lots of products that can help you reuse in the kitchen and grocery store:
- Abeego: Canadian made reusable beeswax wraps that breathe. These wraps replace zip bags and plastic wrap and is washable.
- Credo Bags: Reusable produce bags will replace the grocery store's thin plastic produce bags.
- Green Products: Recycled mesh grocery bags, made from recycled drinking bottles.
RECYCLE
Collecting your recyclables is easy with retailers like Canadian Tire, Ikea, and Bed Bath and Beyond selling stylish and functional recycle bin storage solutions.
We have a few clever ideas recycle within your apartment:
- Use the water from your pasta to water your plants
- Buy rechargeable batteries
- Covert to paperless billing and store keepsakes, movies, and music digitally
- Donate old clothing, shoes, toys, electronics, and furniture
- Visit Earth911.com to find a place to recycle your old electronics near you
- Use Terracycle to recycle some items that are not included in your residential recycling program