I'm assuming that you already recycle. So this is not going to be a post about the benefits of recycling. This is an article about how you can make your life easier with a small investment. (Of course there's a catch; when was the last time something made your life easier for free?)
When we moved to the Highlands a little over a year ago, I was surprised that I inherited two little orange bins in which to deposit my family of five's recycling. My preschoolers alone could fill one in a week with their endless coloring pages and construction paper creations. Then came the magazines. Oh, the magazines. Not to mention the recyclable food containers, yogurt cups, milk cartons, egg crates, plastic fruit containers....you get the picture. It is wonderful that recycling is now a way of life in Metro Louisville, but it was frustrating that we were always overflowing our bins. I hate to admit that sometimes, glancing out the window at the already overflowing bins, I'd toss paper into the regular trash can just to avoid having to cram more items into the recycling bins and watch them tumble across my lawn if a gust of wind happened to disrupt my good intentions for Mother Earth. And my poor son. One of his weekly chores is to haul those bins out to the street. He remained positive despite having to chase down flying strawberry containers and milk jugs. The bins were just not working.
When we lived in Colorado, we were provided a large trash can-sized rolling cart for our recycling. We couldn't believe how fast we could fill it up, especially since we frequented Costco and always had an excess of cardboard. Often, our recycling can would be more full than our trash can; a side-by-side comparison that, despite the general obnoxiousness of such excess, made us feel good about how we were dealing with our waste.
Lucky for Louisvillians, Metro will deliver a 95-gallon can to your driveway, and all your recycling problems will be solved. It costs $50, which was sort of a bitter pill to swallow, but since living with it for a month now, my family agrees that it was money well spent. Our recycling items are covered and easier to wheel to the curb. When it rains on recycling night, I smile to myself knowing that I won't wake up to a lawn that looks as if it's been the target of teenage pranksters. And again, I think we're recycling more because we know we have the room for it. So, yes, it's an investment, but it's one that has made my life easier.
To request a cart, visit http://www.louisvilleky.gov/SolidWaste/recycling/. You print and fill out a form, mail it in with your check, and you'll receive your cart in a couple weeks. Easy. There is also a handy list that reacquaints you with all the items you are allowed to recycle. And if you'd rather drop off your recycling, here is a map listing all the drop-off locations around town.
