Learn why recycling is crucial in junk removal. Discover the benefits and make a positive impact today.
Each week, you fill your recycling bin with the materials you’ve been told belong there. You do your part by separating things like glass, cardboard, paper, and aluminum from your trash.
What you don’t realize is that a lot of your recyclable materials aren’t actually getting recycled. According to recent statistics, an estimated 75 percent of US waste is recyclable, but our recycling rate hovers around 34 percent.
What’s going on? Why aren’t our recycling rates higher and why does it matter? How can eco-friendly junk removal help?
We’re here to answer all of these questions and more. Read on to learn the importance of recycling in New Hampshire junk removal.
Why Is Our Recycling Rate So Low?
Recycling and waste management programs fall under the jurisdiction of local government. That means that every city has its own system and most residents aren’t aware of their system’s intricate rules.
For example, some local recycling programs may accept a wider variety of plastics (e.g., 1-6 vs 1-2) than others. However, many consumers only look for the triangular arrows to identify what’s recyclable, rather than looking at the corresponding number. As a result, they may include plastics in their recycling bin that their city won’t recycle.
Another common issue is the separation of recyclable materials. Some cities will automatically reroute recycling to the landfill if consumers aren’t separating things like glass from aluminum or cardboard from plastic.
Trying to master your city’s recycling rules isn’t easy. When you partner with green junk disposal companies, you partner with professionals who make it their job to know local recycling programs inside and out.
Why Does Recycling Matter?
You now know why recycling is so complicated. Before you throw your hands in the air in the face of all these confusing regulations, let’s talk about the benefits of recycling.
Conserving Resources
Every product you purchase (and that product’s packaging) requires the use of either new raw materials or existing resources. When you recycle, you increase the number of products made from existing resources and help to cut down on the production or use of new materials.
The US Energy Administration gives a great example of what that can look like. A single ton of recycled paper can save enough energy to power a US home for six months, 7,000 gallons of water, and one metric ton of greenhouse gas.
Reducing Landfill Waste
In a single year, Americans created over 146 million tons of waste that wound up in landfills. Of the waste found in landfills, plastic made up the second-largest type of material.
There are two major problems with this picture. The first is that materials like plastic can be recycled and reused, reducing the need for natural gas-based polymers. The second is that as all these different types of waste break down in landfills, they produce potent greenhouse gasses and other types of pollution.
Promoting Community Health
The pollution coming from landfills isn’t an abstract problem. It’s something that can present itself right here in your New Hampshire community.
Take water pollution as an example. Though landfills are meant to trap toxins from leeching into the soil, we often see an increase in polluted runoff water that can impact everything from our flora and fauna to our drinking water. Keeping things like plastic out of landfills can have a positive ripple effect on the local environment and community health.
What Does Eco-Friendly Junk Removal Look Like?
One of the best ways to increase your sustainability is to partner with a junk removal company committed to recycling practices. Here’s a quick look at what green junk removal entails.
Filtering
Some junk disposal companies will take everything you have and throw it in a truck or dumpster with a single stream of waste disposal. They don’t take the time to sort through a property’s waste, fulfilling only the need for lawful waste disposal.
A green waste disposal company will separate all materials that can be either recycled or donated. This can reduce the amount of landfill-bound waste by an astonishing amount.
Loading
We know what you’re thinking: if a waste removal company separates all your donatable items, will you need to haul them to a donation center? This will all come down to the fine print but at Mad Junk Man, we do all the loading and hauling for you.
In other words, you can feel good about making a choice that supports the environment without having to do the extra work.
Mindful Junk Disposal
What happens when everything is loaded onto our trucks? First, we take anything that can’t be recycled or reused to the nearest community landfills.
Next, we filter everything into the appropriate places, also staying as close to home as possible. We will ensure that all your recyclables get sorted and disposed of the right way. We will also keep our own gas emissions as low as possible by working within the community.
Who Can Benefit from Eco-Friendly Clean Outs?
When should you partner with sustainable junk management? Any time you know you’re going to be throwing at least a dumpster’s worth of waste away. Examples may include:
- Home renovations
- Downsizing (getting rid of things before moving to a smaller home)
- Preparing for estate sales
- Whole-house cleaning
- Home crisis interventions (e.g., helping to clean up a hoarding situation)
Residential property owners aren’t the only ones who can benefit. Commercial junk removal should also take an environmental approach to reduce landfill use and increase sustainability.
Call Mad Junk Man for Green Junk Removal in New Hampshire
When you need waste disposal, it’s almost a guarantee that a large percentage of your waste is recyclable or reusable. Hiring an eco-friendly junk removal company is a great way to protect the environment and your community without having to take on the extra workload yourself.
Mad Junk Man offers reliable, professional, and green junk removal in Merrimack, Nashua, Bedford, and Manchester. Our team can transform even the most chaotic properties into organized sources of multi-stream waste. Contact us to schedule your next junk disposal appointment.