Kelly's Healthy Home

I think we can all agree that the trash and recycling process is not ideal. It’s hard to know where the stuff goes after it’s in your bin and whether or not items are actually recycled. This is why it’s important to first have the mentality of Reduce- reduce your consumption. But the truth is we all create waste and recycling is better than in a landfill. However, most recycling unfortunately does end there. That is why I like to support organizations that have the answers and want to make a difference. One such company is Rabbit Recycling, based right here in Philadelphia. Knowing HOW and WHAT to recycle is so important. Not a lot bugs me more than when I see people putting things in the recycling bin that don’t belong- aka greasy pizza boxes! Zoe Fuhrman, the project manager with Rabbit Recycling explained this exact thing; when people “wishcycle” (place materials in their bins in the hopes they will be recycled) they can damage equipment and create safety hazards for employees. Grocery bags, for example, cannot be recycled in single stream recycling because they will catch on the teeth of machinery and cause damage. 

Let’s get educated first so then you understand WHY habits need to change. Below area few things Zoe mentioned to me;

• Understand that municipal recycling is extraordinarily hard. A lot of people distrust the process or feel like their municipality isn’t disposing of materials correctly. The fact is, though, that they are up against huge barriers. They receive huge amounts of materials that aren’t clean, aren’t accepted, and break their machinery. A serious lack of societal education contributes to a system where efficient and effective municipal recycling is next to impossible, no matter how hard the employees work.
• We must all fully clean and dry our recyclables before putting them out for collection. In a municipal recycling program, if I put an olive oil container in the bin without cleaning it, when it gets added to the truck and leaks all over the contents, I could be contaminating all of my neighbors recycling as well and preventing it from being recycled–we have strict cleaning requirements at rabbit and we hand sort every item to ensure your materials won’t be contaminated by anyone else’s. 
• Accepted materials: Municipal recycling varies from town to town, but generally accepts glass, metal, rigid plastics, cardboard, paper, and cartons
• Recycling is hard- if it was easy, everyone would do it and the earth would be in a much better place. 

Rabbit Recycling provided these really helpful tips and graphics to help you get started.

• Clean all of your materials,
• look at your municipality’s website to find out what is accepted,
• only place accepted items in your recycling bins,
• work with an alternative recycler
• educate your friends, families, and neighbors
• encourage your communities to make recycling a priority

I’ve been using their program for over a year, basically when I started accumulating more snack bags than I’d like to admit. I use to drop off at Moms Organic Market , but during the pandemic everything changed. Rabbit made it more convenient for me to keep items in a bin in my basement and they come pick it up! Some other items they collect can be found here:

https://www.rabbitrecycling.com/materials-accepted

They have subscriptions, which is what I use, but also an on demand option where customers can fill a bin at their leisure and reach out when it’s full. They also work with local businesses to offer recycling solutions to them- which is next on my list to connect them with my office!

I hope there are local organizations like this near you. It’s important we put our money into our values and support those who are trying to make a difference. ❤