Here's a long story with a question at the end. During the 1990s, the popularity and convenience of recycling climbed noticeably in Minnesota. By the time we moved away in 1998, there was curbside recycling available even in rural areas. I think the only thing we had to haul to the nearest recycling center was corrugated cardboard. Then we moved to Idaho and jumped back in time about twenty years in the recycling world. There was only one transfer station, 23 miles away, and it was up to the individual to haul everything there.
Now, twenty years later, there is a second transfer station (twenty miles away in a different direction), and scattered rural dumpster sites that will take newspapers, magazines, cardboard, and things like cereal boxes. If you want to recycle plastic or cans, you still have to haul it to the transfer stations. Glass is not recyclable here.
The problem lies in figuring out how to store the recyclables until that trip can be made to the dumpster site or the transfer station. If we had an attached garage, it would be quite simple to line up cardboard boxes and paper bags in there for the purpose of sorting and storing recyclables. But we don't have an attached garage here, and the detached garage is nowhere near the kitchen, where most of our recyclables are generated. The likeliest spot is on the covered deck, right outside the kitchen door. But then the deck looks like a miniature transfer station, and it's not very inviting to sit on the deck to enjoy the fresh air or a meal while surrounded by trash. I have priced "official" recycling containers, and they would look nicer than my collection of paper bags, but they are quite expensive. I can't get enthused about spending that much money just to store trash. I used to have several cheap wastebaskets from Walmart for this very purpose, but they all wore out after years of use. Besides, the trash still was in plain sight, just sitting there smirking at me.
Does anyone out there have a suggestion for an inexpensive way to store/camouflage my recyclables while they are on my deck?
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metal garbage cans aren't the worst thing ever, and pest proof. If you step on the lid so it caves in and is not convex, you could put a potted plant on it.
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I like that idea!
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No real good ideas here... I second the metal garbage cans, since they keep out pests. I was thinking maybe one of those laundry hampers with sections, but if you have any recycling that smells yummy, you will be asking for trouble...
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Actually, that might work, because I don't tend to recycle anything but the paper products.
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