Look for Cash in the Recycling
Apartment recycling might be your ticket to cutting your garbage bill. Although we don’t usually recommend looking in the trash for cash, recycling your trash is a good thing to do for the planet – and it can save you money.
Apartment recycling was just a curiosity in many cities for our parents’ generation, but now most communities offer free recycling pickup with the garbage pickup. It’s a win-win proposition for city governments because it reduces the need for more expensive landfills while keeping the air and water quality high. Apartment recycling can be a win-win proposition for you as well.
Do You Usually Rack Up a Big Garbage Bill When You Move?
When you find an apartment and move, do you often find yourself spending more on trash because you’ve filled up the garbage bin at your new apartment? Moving to a new apartment is no picnic and it uncovers a lot of garbage, like old papers, broken appliances and moldy refrigerator food you didn’t know you had. This new trash outflow can impact your garbage bill in the form of excess garbage charges or trips to the city dump.
If you maximize your recycling when you move, you can often avoid these costs entirely. Although it depends on where you live, that big recycle bin can usually handle glass, paper, cans and plastic containers. Just make sure to empty and crush soda cans, laundry detergent bottles and milk jugs so you can maximize the space in that recycling bin. If your apartment recycling facility is limited in space, just take the excess to the local recycling center – they’ll thank you instead of charging you like they do at the dump!
How Apartment Recycling Earns You Money
Look closely at your garbage bill. If you’re like some people who rent an apartment or duplex, you pay a monthly fee for garbage pickup, but nothing for apartment recycling. The fee probably varies with the size of the garbage bin you use; a smaller bin means less monthly cost. Again, use that apartment recycling bin freely, and if you can, reduce the size of your trash bin to reduce your garbage bill.
You can compost your food waste, or grind it up with a garbage disposal, to further reduce your trash usage. In fact, after food waste and recycling, most apartment renters only have packaging waste, and some apartment dwellers can cut off their garbage service entirely. They simply pay low one-time charges to dispose of the occasional bag of packaging trash, or take it to the dump. If your city has pickup days for brush or bulky items, you can use those to further reduce your garbage bill.
No Recycling at Your Apartment?
Sadly, some apartments offer no apartment recycling at all. These are generally the apartments that hire a private garbage service, which you pay for as part of your rent. Ask your apartment manager if they offer recycling services. If there’s no recycling at your apartment, ask for it – and talk to your neighbors about it. If there’s a demand for apartment recycling, most complexes will listen. Apartment recycling not only makes renters happy, but it can also reduce the cost of the private garbage service.
Good luck on cutting your garbage bill! And don’t forget to use ApartmentSearch.com when you’re looking for an apartment for rent. Not only do we have hundreds of listings all over the nation, but we also give you up to $200 in apartment rewards if you rent through us!
