Recycling Everyday Items

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. We all know this mantra of everyday living. Is it always easy?



No, but nothing worthwhile ever is. Appreciating the long term benefits-if not for yourself, for your children, nieces & nephews that are growing up with this thought process as standard operating procedure is good stewardship.


The immediate gratification you get by recycling your soda can or water bottle should send coursing endorphins to your conscience. If it doesn't, you're not alone. By taking small steps you can sometimes lose sight of the impact you ARE making.


This week sweeping the crusty snow off the "green*" decking of our Model home was a heck of a lot easier than my home's splintering deck (future project there...) and is a good example of how starting small can lead to a bigger impact.



Abode's green decking is made up of 90% Recycled materials.
Milk jugs, grocery bags, detergent bottles are things I recycle every month and the very same things that go into this composite decking along with wood construction debris.
Using a process of encapsulating wood pulp with plastic makes it stiffer, reduces thermal movement and ultimately gives the end product a beautiful color that doesn't fade, has a high resistance to mold, mildew, staining and is also a LEED Certified product.


270 million pounds of waste being used to create something beautiful, useful and ecofriendly.


To give a different perspective, imagine 36 football fields of trash each stacked 10' high-with materials normally destined for landfill!!

So, maybe I could have been admiring my old detergent or milk bottles-even parts from my own wooden deck that were recycled on Abode's snowy deck, that I easily swept on Wednesday.

I can truly appreciate how spending money wisely to begin with, gives you bigger payoff over the length of time a product will ultimately be used as it enhances your home/lifestyle and as mentioned before, makes you feel great about doing your little part for the greater good.


*MoistureShield decking is made by Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc.