Pitching In

Make recycling a household priority by incorporating specialized storage.

Being good stewards of the earth's resources is important to this family - they collect plastic, paper, aluminum, and glass for their community's curbside recycling program. But they needed a place to store the items before the weekly pickup. Luckily, an empty space in their kitchen pantry offered just the spot for this worthwhile practice. And the pantry doors conceal the storage center from the rest of the kitchen.

Chart Your Progress

The homeowners created a simple interactive chart to track each family member's weekly contributions. To make your own, simply select a piece of 1/4-inch-thick plywood, and cut it to the desired size. (A Lowe's employee can cut the board for you.) Apply three coats of magnetic primer (#115535), and allow to dry. Next, sketch a grid large enough for your family, and paint each column a different color. Let dry. Write family names and days of the week on the board using a permanent marker or paint pen. Attach picture hangers (#52716) to the back of the board, and hang. Use magnets on the board to show each person's progress.

Use Teaching Tools

To separate the recyclables, the homeowners added a durable, easy-to-clean 12-bin organizer (226794) and arranged the bins by color and category. For example, the red bins are for plastic and the blue bins are for cardboard. The color-coded system helps teach children which items are recyclable and how to group the items for their community's recycling process. The parents consolidate their recyclables into larger bins provided by the city. The bins are kept in the garage and transported to the street for curbside collection once a week.

Choose Recycled

The items you recycle today might end up in the products you buy tomorrow for your next home or garden project. Keep an eye out for these eco-friendly products at Lowe's.

FLOR carpet tiles (shown above)
Many of the carpet designs are made from recycled or renewable resources. And you can replace one or two of these versatile tiles instead of replacing the entire floor or rug.

DuPont Garden Products
Long-Lasting Rubber Mulch Using recycled rubber from sources such as old tires, this innovative mulch provides superior coverage and is guaranteed for 12 years.

ChoiceDek composite decking
The engineered components are composed of recovered wood fiber and recycled plastics, and the decking does not require chemical dipping or water sealing.

Good To Know

Celebrate International Earth Day on April 22. Visit Lowes.com/EnergyStar to find out more ways you can help save the enviroment through home improvement.

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Pitching In

Chart Your Progress

Use Teaching Tools

Choose Recycled

Good To Know

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