We all know about the stuff we can recycle – like bottles, cans or newspaper. But did you know there are a wider variety of materials that can easily be recycled, and we don’t even think about them? Here are three things that you can recycle, and I’ll bet they will stick in your mind the next time!
Human Hair
That’s right, the hair right off your head. Some people use their hair for compost (albeit without shampoo or other chemicals on it), and there are companies that collect human hair to soak up oil from oil spills. These “hairmats” are used by charities all over the country to help clean up the oil using hair collected from hair salons. Over 370,000 salons in the U.S. each collect 1 pound of hair a day for a program from non-profit charity Matter of Trust for their “Hair for Oil Spills” program, meaning less hair goes into the landfills every year, and they wipe up 706 million gallons of oil a year. Wow!
Crayons
I’m willing to bet that if you’ve ever had a child in your house, there’s a crayon somewhere. Most of the time the crayons are just sitting around in our craft drawers, waiting for use or, even worse, the landfill. But there’s a “National Crayon Recycling Program” online that’s made sure that more than 47,000 crayons haven’t gone to the landfill. That’s a lot of crayons! They accept broken and unused crayons for recycling. If mailing them isn’t an option, donate them to your local school or community center.
Paint
No matter what the painting project is, there are leftovers in paint cans, and they usually end up in the garage. Did you know that old latex paint can be recycled into new paint that can be cheaper than the original paint? Unfortunately, this only works with latex paint, as oil-based paint is disposed with old household waste. If the cans are made of steel, and the paint has been removed with paint thinner, they can also be recycled.
What’s something you didn’t know you could recycle? Like us on Facebook and tell us!
