Louisville, KY

Louisville, like most metropolitan cities, does have a recycling program in which various types of items can be picked up at the curb with your trash. However, if you live in an area without these services or in an apartment there are recycling drop off locations throughout Louisville.

I live in a little strip between St. Matthews and Lydon, so I have to contract out my trash and recycling services myself. My service is rather limited in what items they will take for recycling and they only pick up once every two weeks. I have been dutifully trying to reduce my waste and use more items that can be recycled or at least come in packaging that is recyclable.

That means one or two trips a month to the Hubbards Lane recycling center on a Saturday. This center is only open certain hours but there are people there to help unload your car and place your items into the appropriate containers. My one complaint is that they are often closed for holidays or other reasons that I cannot figure out, but when they are open I have found that the employees are always very friendly and helpful.

I can put the basics into my curb-side container; glass, newspapers, cans, and #1 and #2 plastic containers. Office paper, catalogs and magazines, cardboard, cereal and food boxes, other types of plastic containers, and batteries must be taken to a drop-off center.

I am trying to reduce my consumption and purchasing of items with unnecessary packaging, but I just don’t have time to make everything I use from scratch. I do try to buy consumables in the largest container so I can so I reduce packaging. Often larger bottles or jars are fairly substantial and can be washed out and reused for other purposes.

One option for larger items that you don’t use anymore is to join Freecycle Louisville. This is a website in which you can list items that you do not need anymore and hopefully someone in your area can use them. The catch is that you must list the items for free, but you can choose who gets to pick your stuff up out of the responses. You can also list items that you need. The whole purpose is to find a good home for items that you would otherwise throwaway or just let sit around your house or yard forever. All you have to do it go to the website and sign in using a yahoo account. I go through the messages every couple of days and I often realize that I have an item that I am not using that someone else needs. One or two emails later you have arranged for someone to come pick up your junk and it has now found a new home where it is wanted.

I also just ask friends and family member is they can use an item or piece of furniture I no longer want or need. Often someone you know can use what you don’t want or they have a relative or friend that is just starting out and can use some free items.

Let me know what you do to reduce your consumption and how you recycle.

Recycling, Reuse, Reducing Trash, Reducing Waste, Yahoo, FreeCycle