I’ve always recycled. This little habit of mine started when I was just a kid. In the 1970s and 1980s recycling wasn’t as common – or as easy – as it is nowadays.
I know my parents were outliers though. They always recycled, grew food in their own garden, and raised lots of farm animals. We weren’t hippies… we were just green before our time.
Recycling is hip
Fast forward to the current millennium. Recycling is now as mainstream as the internet and microbreweries.
Most homes have a curbside recycling these days. Schools are actively teaching kids to separate their plastic, glass, and aluminum from their trash. It’s no longer just an Earth Day program once a year! Even my in-laws who are in their mid-70s are hip to recycling in their retirement community.
If recycling is popular, why is it so hard to recycle while you are RVing full-time? Especially since so many of us chose this lifestyle to be minimalists.
The average recycling program
We’ve traveled to a number of RV parks and campgrounds in the US and Canada. And recycling is mostly a hit-or-miss proposition.
One of the RV parks we went to in Minnesota had an awesome trash and recycling setup! Their fenced garbage area had a big ol’ trash dumpster in the center. Plus, there were at least a dozen separate cans around the perimeter dedicated to recycling different materials. They even had separate recycling bins for clear glass, brown glass, and green glass. Now that’s dedication! But, it’s also the rare exception…
More often than not, the places we visit have an over-filled dumpster and nothing more. Sadly, I’ve found this is especially true when we stay in state campgrounds.
Given that most people are out in nature because they appreciate the outdoors, you’ve think more places would have at least a recycling can for those who want to expend the minimal effort to separate their trash.
I’m keen to be green
So what’s a person to do if they want to be green?
Even with the lack of recycling opportunities at campgrounds, I can’t just cave to the pressure and just throw my cans, bottles, or plastic in the dumpster. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t criticize anyone else who exercises this option. I just can’t seem to do it without twitching a bit. So, what are the options?
First, you need somewhere to temporarily store all your recyclables. If there isn’t somewhere at your current campground to off-load it, chances are you’ll be taking these items with you. We found a great pop-up can at Cabela’s that we use for this. But, it’s also available at Amazon, HERE. (No, this isn’t an affiliate link. It’s just a plain old recommendation).
Our pop-up can sits outside our RV, and is weather resistant. When it’s time to leave the campground, we put it in the cargo area of our tow behind car. After all, we don’t want it taking up precious space elsewhere or causing a ruckus rolling around the RV as we’re going down the road.
Next, you need to figure out where to offload your recyclables. Sometimes, it’s as simple as taking it to your next campground where there’s recycling system in place. But, if this doesn’t pan out, what do you do?
Here’s a few suggestions:
- Find a local recycling center. Check out iwanttoberecycled.org. With just a zipcode, you can easily get a list of recycling options near your current campground.
- Reuse any plastic grocery bags as trash can liners. Our kitchen trash can is a small can that fits into one of our lower cabinets. We chose to keep our trash can small because it forces us to take it our every day or two – which eliminates smells. We found grocery bags are the perfect liner for this size can.
- Use “in store” recycling bins. If you have a bunch of extra plastic bags or used batteries, you probably won’t be able to recycle them at your campground or even a recycling center. Instead, take them to your local Target or Walmart. Most these stores have recycling bins at the front of the store for these items.
- Leave the cardboard behind. If you buy something in a large box, elect to take the item out of the packaging at the store. Many stores have cardboard recycling for all the bulk shipping boxes they receive each day. Ask if you can add this packaging to their cardboard pile instead of taking a large box with you.
- Stop buying individual bottled water. Lots of people choose to drink bottled water because campground water can sometimes taste bad or come from questionable sources. Why buy dozens of individual 16 oz. bottles that you’ll have to recycle? Consider refilling a reusable metal one from a bulk clean water source instead. And if you’re still buying water in gallon jugs, why not switch to a filtering system for your tap water like the Berkey Water Filter. It’s designed to filter residue and diseases from non-potable water, so it can probably handle your measly campground water 🙂
- Ask your campground host about recycling. One recent campground we visited had recycling bins for plastic and aluminum, but not glass. So, I was separating all the glass bottles out near the trash area to take them with me. Hearing the noise, the owner’s 12 year old son came running over. He politely asked me if he could have my bottles. You see, the campground didn’t bother to put a bin out for glass because most of their guests are seasonal campers. That particular area has a high deposit on glass, so all the locals tend to take it all back home with them. Thus, just interacting with this kid meant I got to recycle my glass through him instead of taking it with me. And, he got a sweet windfall in bottle refunds.