Before spending money on a home recycling center, make sure to carefully consider your needs. If you buy a recycling center that's too small, you'll defeat the purpose of keeping everything organized as recyclable items that won't fit inside are likely to end up piled on top of and around the organizer rather than inside it. If you buy a recycling center that's too large to fit comfortably where you need it, it may not even get used at all and you're likely to want to return it. The best way to buy a home recycling center is to consider what kind and how much of each material you recycle, your budget and where in your home it makes the most sense for the center to be located.
If you have a house, the garage may be the best spot for a home recycling center. Items to be picked up by community recycling trucks would be easy to take from the garage to the curb. Plus, any recyclable items that would need to be taken by car to a local recycling center would also be handy. If the recycling center is located near a garage work table, an area for opening and flattening cans could be set up. Since many cans, boxes and bottles to be recycled typically come from the kitchen, a temporary recycling spot such as a drawer or cupboard in the kitchen could be used to store items to later take out to the recycling center in the garage.
There are home recycling centers designed to fit in with kitchen cabinetry. Many of these have pull-out bins for easy convenience. A free standing home recycling center is an alternative to a pull out cupboard recycling center. The most expensive types tend to be large stainless steel models. Smaller stand alone recycling centers are more compact and suitable for apartments.
If budget is a concern, you can reuse plastic storage containers and label them with each item to be recycled. A rack of hooks mounted above or near the containers can hold laundry bags for storing light recyclable materials such as plastic bottles and jugs. If your area's recycling program requires newspapers or other materials to be bundled, store twine for tying plus something to cut it with either in or next to your home recycling center.
