The garage is one of the most neglected areas of the house. And if you don’t have a car, trust your garage to transform into a dump of sorts as you keep on stashing each and every useless item in it. With time, the garage would become like a mini landfill of sorts, prompting you to finally throw them all away.
But wait! Before doing so, take a look at all the items that you can send for recycling, thus minimizing your carbon footprint in the process of clearing out your garage. Here are 9 such items that can be sent for recycling while cleaning your garage.
Lawn Mowers
Don’t throw out an old mower just because you got a new one. Consider donating it if it is in working condition. You can send broken lawn mowers to local recycling centers, or consider donating the for scrap metal. In some cases, you can also trade them in for newer models at discounted prices.
Cables and Cords
The garage is usually a hue repository for used cables and cords. Consider donating them to local recycling programs that would either reuse the cables (if they still work) or use the wire inside them.
Copper Pipes, Faucets and Fittings
Copper is a recyclable material. So anything made of copper needs to be sent for recycling. These include all the copper pipes, faucets and fittings stashed away in your garage. You can either send this copper to the recycling center or choose to sell it in a shop where it would be melted down and reused in new pipes and fixtures.
Bikes and Sports Equipment
Don’t throw away old sports gear like bicycles or fitness equipment. Donate them to charities that would repair and reuse them. Many organizations accept old sports gear and give them to those in need. You can also choose to send them off to a recycling center that would recycle their parts and give them new purposes.
Old Batteries
Everything from cellphone batteries to computer batteries needs to be recycled. So keep them aside and send them to a recycling center when clearing out your garage. Some batteries may still have some life left in them. You can donate these batteries to charity organizations which would distribute them to those in need.
Motor Oil
Contrary to the popular notion, motor oil never gets old. Rather, it only gets dirty with time. A lot of government waste collectors as well as private automobile service centers will gladly dirty motor oil and recycle it for other purposes. So don’t throw out dirty motor oil when changing your car’s oil.
Televisions, Computers and other Electronic Items
The amount of electronic waste aka e-waste has been growing considerably over the past few years. Old televisions and computers contribute significantly to this waste. So check out for local e-waste recycling centers that would gladly take away your old electronic items. You can find plenty of these locations online as well.
Holiday Decorations
Your garage would probably be filled with loads of decorations left over from season changes and holiday parties. Instead of contributing to landfills by throwing them away, consider donating them to thrift stores or holiday stores that would give them away to the needy for free. These include all those lights, wreaths and gift wrapping papers as well.
Newspapers and Books
The number of magazines, newspapers and books in our home would tend to increase significantly every year. If you have boxes upon boxes of these items piled up in the garage, consider sending them over to a recycling center that would recycle and reuse these papers for notebooks, invitations and other similar products.
One of the most crowded rooms in the house, the garage can accumulate a lot of old, unused items with time. Instead of throwing these items away, take a look to see which items you can recycle. This way, you can minimize your carbon footprint while ensuring that your garage gets clean in the process.
