Recycling 101 and Waste Reduction Workshop: Resources

In early February, I hosted the first of a three-part mini-workshop series on the topic of waste. In this workshop, we covered the basics around recycling and shared some tips and tricks for reducing waste in our every day lives. For those who joined me in this event live, thank you so much for your support and engagement! It was wonderful virtually seeing you, sharing my knowledge, and learning from you at the Recycling 101 and Waste Reduction Workshop!

There was a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time, and there were plenty of resources that were mentioned in this workshop. I have shared a list of these items below, and if I’ve missed any or if you have other resources to share, please feel free to reach out to me with the details and I’d be happy to include them 🙂

Read (Resources from the Presentation)

Watch

Microplastics Madness (check out Cafeteria Culture to host a screening!)
Plastic Wars
The Story of Stuff
The True Cost
Trashed
How contamination occurs in the recycling stream

Listen

How to Save a Planet podcast episode Recycling! Is it BS?
Planet Money podcast episodes on recycling (Part 1 and Part 2)
Trash Talking with Eco-Warriors podcast
Unwasted podcast
Zero Waste Countdown podcast

Do

Conduct a home waste audit and advocate for a world without excessive plastics
Host a community clean-up, participate in community science to engage policymakers about the plastic pollution problem, (or feel free to grab a pair of gloves and take a few bags with you to pick up litter on your next walk around your neighborhood)
Engage the young people in your life with some remote learning resources
Help schools improve their recycling and waste sorting stations with a SORT2SAVE Kit and organizing Plastic Free Lunch Days
Tell Uber Eats and Postmates to #CutOutCutlery
Follow the tips on recycling and waste reduction from the workshop presentation:

Recycling & Waste Reduction

NYC

Improve recycling in apartment buildings
Look up what to recycle in NYC
Recycle electronic waste (e-waste) with LES Ecology Center (pop-ups) and e-cycle NYC (residential buildings with 10 units or more)
Recycle clothing and textiles with GrowNYC with Wearable Collections, re-fashion NYC, and FABSCRAP
Find an organics / food scraps drop-off in your neighborhood
Bring your own reusable cup to these shops
Keep furniture and home goods out of landfills through Curb Alert NYC and Stooping NYC (there may be smaller groups out there, like Stooping in Queens!)
Find places to donate items using donateNYC
Responsibly dispose your unused medications in NYS

United States

Find a soft plastics recycling drop-off with Plastic Film Recycling
Learn how to properly recycle mixed plastic packaging with How2Recycle
Look up how to recycle more than 300 materials in North America with Earth911
Find a battery recycling drop-off with Call2Recycle
Recycle clothing and home goods with Simple Recycling (for cities and residents)
Recycle electronics, appliances, and fitness equipment with Best Buy
Recycle your contact lenses and blister packs with Bausch + Lomb
Recycle your markers and highlighters (including dry erase markers) with Crayola
Recycle uncommonly accepted products through Terracycle (free programs and zero waste boxes)

Global

Find an organics / food scraps drop-off site with MakeSoil or ShareWaste
Find free items and give away items with the Buy Nothing Project, Freecycle Network, and Facebook Marketplace
Donate books and buy used books with Better World Books
Find low waste and secondhand shopping, specialty recycling, community gardens, community fridges, and more with the Sustainability Map Project
Recycle your Apple products and other electronics
Zero waste businesses and initiatives

Know of a resource that might be helpful to someone looking on this page? Feel free to post it in the comments below, send me an email with the subject line “Recycling 101 and Waste Reduction resources”, or direct message me on Instagram.