Recycling Cabinets & Ideas for Eco Friendly Custom Kitchen Design Construction Naperville Illinois

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Recycling is an effective way to reduce the amount of accumulated waste and create new products from discarded materials. We know that many people want to help the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that in the United States, about one-third of waste is recycled. There are several advantages to this. Making new products from old materials is more energy-efficient than making these same products with virgin or raw materials. Because virgin materials are not needed, natural resources are not depleted as quickly. Recycling is also better for the environment because the waste is not buried in landfills. But people who care about the environment also care about having an attractive living space. Using bins to store recyclable items is convenient but usually not aesthetically appealing. Fortunately, there are attractive alternatives to storing your recyclable items.

According to the EPA, close to 65 percent of household trash consists of glass, plastic, aluminum and paper. Separating recyclables is necessary for the curbside collection offered by many communities. While the recycling industry can be complex, recycling at home is relatively easy. You just need to know what to collect and separate.

Five Ways to Recycle in Style

1. Glass collections

One of the great things about glass is that it can be recycled an infinite number of times. According to Earth911.com, standard glass containers usually comprise up to 70 percent of recycled glass. To recycle, separate all glass items, such as bottles, jars and containers. If you can sort them by color – clear, green, blue and brown – that is also helpful. The paper labels on the glass jars and bottles can be left on, but it is a good idea to rinse out the containers to reduce odors.

2. Plenty of plastics

While plastic bottles and jars are often used because they are lightweight and shatterproof, they are also not biodegradable, so they have an impact on the environment. Plastics are photodegradable, which means that they break down into their tiny constituent parts, which are usually toxic. These tiny particles then enter the water and soil. You can recycle plastic utensils, jars, bottles and containers, and you can leave the labels on them as well. As for those plastic grocery bags you have, recycling centers rarely accept them because they are so thin that they get caught in the recycling machinery. But recycling these bags is important. Many supermarket chains now offer bins to discard plastic bags.

3. Aluminum away

Aluminum cans are valuable for recycling because they can be reused indefinitely. In some communities you can even recycle aluminum foil. With food cans, remove the labels and also the lids, which are oftentimes plastic.

4. Piles of paper

All the paper you accumulate can be recycled, but paper has a short recycling life. Eventually, the paper fibers become weak and break down. You can recycle everything made of paper, including newspapers, magazines, catalogs, mail and brown paper bags.

5. Putting it all together

Most people use bins to store recycled items in the kitchen. But recycling cabinets are an alternative to bins. These cabinets are usually deep drawers with separate sections for glass, plastic, aluminum and paper. The recycling cabinets can stand alone or be part of the kitchen cabinet design. These cabinets allow for green living without sacrificing style and elegance.

To learn more about kitchen recycling cabinets, call Joliet Cabinet at 815-727-4096 or e-mail info@jolietcabinet.com. For pictures of Joliet designs, visit the Web site at www.jolietcabinet.com.