No fuss recycling for plumbers

Plumbing tools (public domain photo)

We don't have any of those fancy recycling containers at our house. However we do recycle anything we can. My gorgeous partner is a plumber. So, in addition to aluminum, glass, cardboard and kitchen waste, we have leftover plumbing stuff to deal with. There's water heaters, bits of metal and more that he doesn't want to throw away. On the other hand, he works hard. He doesn't want or need elaborate recycling methods. He just doesn't have the time for complicated processes.

The metal

None of the metal is extremely valuable. Nevertheless, we don't like having much of it around, so we make a trip to the recyclers once a week or so. We have two small bins for recyclable metal. Very simply, when he gets home, he yanks any salvageable metal out of the van, then cuts and sorts it into the appropriate containers.

He puts some hard to cut and sort metal out with the trash. Nine times out of ten, it gets recycled by someone who comes by looking for it each week. Some does end up in the regular trash at times, but it's not enough to worry about. Plus, the landfill people don't bury it. They salvage what they can for a profit.

Note: Never use your property for valuable metal storage unless it's extremely secure. It's not uncommon for thieves to watch for signs that you might have recyclable metals on your property.

What about large items like water heaters?

My partner occasionally installs water heaters as part of his job. The old ones are worth about ten or twelve bucks each at the recyclers. So, since we're already taking the small metal, we haul whatever water heaters and household recyclables we have right along with us. If we wait too long, we can get a ticket for accumulating large items on the property. So, sometimes when we have nothing else to recycle, the water heaters and such go right out in front of the driveway with a free sign on them. It's a great solution.

You see, several trustworthy scrappers know where we live. They check our house for water heaters and other large plumbing scraps periodically. Honestly, they never sit there for more than half a day. If they do, I have their phone numbers on the fridge. They earn money. We help the environment without having to make an extra, gas guzzling trip to the recyclers. It works for everyone and helps save the earth too.