As Americans, we throw out large amounts of trash every day. In fact, we toss about six pounds of trash per person but only 1.5 pounds of it gets recycled.

Which seems like a good start, but that still leaves almost five pounds of solid waste a day, or more than 254 million tons per year, that msotly goes into our landfills.  We can do better.

Recycling and Sustainability: Start with the Green Basics

While it may seem that there is relatively little that any one of us can do as individuals to reduce the amount of solid waste that is generated in our country, or the reduce the amount that ends up in landfills, each of us together can. 

For example, if each person in the United States reduced their total waste disposal by 25 percent and increased their recycling by the same percentage, that would result in a reduction of landfill waste of almost 50 percent. 

In other words, by using just a little bit less and recycling just a small percentage more, we could see a massive decrease in the amount of solid waste going into our diminishing landfill space.

Which, of course, is the whole idea behind the green mantra of "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle."

For most Americans, recycling starts with the basics at home or at the office: paper, plastic, glass, and metal - mostly aluminum. However, many of us also find ourselves saddled with piles of junk that we need to get rid of that may not appear to be your typical candidates for recycling. 

But the truth is that just about anything we throw away and dispose of can be recycled, reused, or repurposed. 

Green Junk Removal: Thinking Sustainably

We should not lose sight of the importance of our more common recycling practices, however. 

For example, the top five waste materials that we successfully recycle in large quantities come from our homes and our workplaces. These are:

• Aluminum cans
• Plastic, primarily PET
• Newsprint
• Cardboard
• Glass jars and bottles

But we also recycle massive amounts of scrap steel, lead, and other valuable metals. And there are the overwhelming quantities of various e-waste products that are processed and components recycled. 

And with increasing variety and selection of green and sustainable consumer products that are available, it is easier than ever to reduce the overall amount of waste that is not diverted for recycling. 

"That's all well and fine," you might say, "but what about my large junk items?"

While not as common as, say recycling aluminum cans or PET plastic water bottles, recycling the larger junk items that find their way into the municipal solid waste stream, or MSW as the EPA calls it, is a real option.

In fact, when you work with a genuinely "green" junk removal company like Junk King, all of your items will be sorted and separated in order to recycle as much as possible. 

When you think about what your household junk is made of you can see that it mostly metal, plastic, wood, glass, and likely lots of paper and cardboard in the mix. And almost all of these materials can be recycled if they are recoverable. 

Unfortunately, the recycling process isn't 100 percent successful.

In other words, not everything can be efficiently or completely recycled due to issues such as contamination, construction of the items, or simply a lack of recycling capabilities. However, the vast majority of residential and commercial junk items can be reused, repurposed, or recycled. 

Sustainability and Recycling Go Together - At Home and at Work

Both residential and commercial solid waste contains massive amounts of easily recyclable items and materials that too often end up in the "regular" trash where it bypasses the recycling process. 

And while many businesses are continuing to make great strides towards more sustainable and green practices, those at home are still lagging in many respects. But when it comes to being "green" and practicing sustainability, everyone can do more and contribute to our collective efforts to improve our waste management and junk disposal process. 

It can help to revisit what sustainability means in practice.

As one source describes it,

"Sustainability means meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In addition to natural resources, we also need social and economic resources."

What this entails on a personal, at-home basis is intentional consumerism. In other words, taking time to research, plan, and organize our shopping and product choices and use.

And this extends to how we manage our junk removal and disposal, both at home and at work.

Your Partner for Green Junk Removal, Recycling, and Sustainability

Junk King provides efficient, safe and green junk removal services so you don’t need to worry about loading or disposing of your junk, solid waste materials, and other debris that you might otherwise take to a landfill.

And it doesn't matter if you need our services a few times during your cleaning project, or just once after you're all done, our junk hauling professionals will make sure that all the garbage and junk is out of your way so that you can get on with enjoying the summer weather!

Do you have large piles of household junk, debris, and trash?

No worries! Our highly trained team specializes in all types of residential junk and household garbage removal. In addition, we are experts at commercial junk removal, as well.

We can be at your home or place of work in no time, so call us today!

Our crews are fully insured and professional, which means can trust them to get remove and dispose of your unwanted items in an expert and courteous fashion.

And, of course, one of the best things about partnering with Junk King is that we always recycle as much of the material we pick up as possible. This is a central tenet of our corporate mission and proof of our commitment to being an eco-friendly removal service.

If you have questions about what we can do for you, give us a call at 1-888-888-JUNK (5865).