In recent months something new has been appearing on curbsides across St. Louis, and the changes give insight into larger trends across the country. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that large, 64-gallon bins are being deployed in a number of communities in the metro area in a single-stream recycling campaign that aims to improve recovery rates. However, some critics are bristling.

The big bins arrive at doorsteps with instructions to toss everything recyclable in there together, from plastics to paper and metal. There’s no question that the change is getting dramatic results. In Northwoods, the average monthly recycling rate per person has jumped to seven pounds in the year since the bins were deployed — up from an average of less than a pound.

In Olivette, the average monthly rate jumped to 19 pounds per person from 11 pounds per person after 64-gallon bins replaced the previous 18-gallon jobs.

The large bins are pretty pricey, clocking in at about $45 each wholesale. The switch, of course, also requires additional training of waste management workers and possibly new equipment and hires, something that doesn’t come free. American consumers, never quick to catch on to recycling, have to go through a period of adjustment and re-education to make sure things get handled properly.

In St. Louis, some families have already asked to opt out of recycling, versus wanting to pay any fees associated with it. That’s understandable in a time of economic downturn, but it still needs to be pointed out that recycling provides tremendous long-term goods to many, including creating jobs, saving landfill space and slashing our expenditures of energy, water and materials. Recycling is taking a strong step to preserving long-term economic and environmental health and security, especially for our children.

Do you really want to tell your children or grandchildren that the reason they can’t visit Disney World is because sea level rise has devastated Florida, and by not doing your part in paying pennies a month to recycle you contributed to more greenhouse gases? Anyway, stepping off the soapbox…

One of the biggest complaints experts have about single-stream recycling is that it renders too much collected material of substandard quality. Broken fragments of other items lodge into containers, making recovery and processing harder.

It’s unclear whether the best approach to increasing recycling is more education, access and lower cost, or more single-stream solutions. If people could get it together we wouldn’t need to have the single-stream debate.

I personally am on my third or fourth recycling bin in three years, on account of thieves in my neighborhood. (Though I do wonder what they do with the blue bins, especially since they are heavily labeled with my address in permanent marker). Luckily they only cost me $5 a pop (though the hours of pickup are very limited) — I shudder to think if they ran more than $45. Even so, I’d replace them each time anyway, because the benefits of recycling are hard to overstate.

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/eco-friendly/recycling-bins-single-stream-460428#ixzz1VnE11BWx

Thai monks from the Sisaket province have used over one million recycled glass bottle to construct their Buddhist temple. Mindfulness is at the center of the Buddhist discipline and the dedication and thoughtfulness required to build everything from the toilets to their crematorium from recycled bottles shows what creativity and elbow grease can accomplish.

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The Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple is about 400 miles northeast of Bangkok in the city of Khun Han close to the Cambodian border. Using Heineken bottles (green) and Chang Beer bottles (brown) the monks were able to clean up the local pollution and create a useful structure that will be a visual reminder to the scope of pollution and the potential we can make with limber minds.

To help preserve the environment, we can equip our homes withenergy-saving light bulbs. Here is an opportunity to recycle old light bulbs into trendy hanging vases or salt and pepper shakers. These airy glass spheres can be poetically transformed in a thousand and one ways…

Here’s how: Saw off the bottom of the light bulb screw base using a hacksaw, turning the light bulb evenly. Bulbs with a bayonet base can also be used – in this case, saw off the bottom of the base along the apparent line. Once the base has been cut, insert a thin screwdriver and break the protruding tip of the glass mount, or stem, that holds the filament (be sure to protect your eyes). Then, using a bigger screwdriver, insert it into the glass socket, and give a quick, hard tap to break off the remainder of the mount. Using a rounded file, enlarge the hole and remove the filament. Your light bulb is now empty.

To make a hanging vase, use a gimlet or hole punch to pierce a hole on either side of the light bulb base. Aluminum is very easy to pierce. With a thin piece of wire, create a hanger. Pour in a little water and place a flower in its new home.

To make a pair of salt and pepper shakers, hollow out two light bulbs. Protect the light bulb with a piece of cloth and, using a small hammer, lightly flatten the top of the screw base. This will ensure that the caps fit securely. Find two old plastic soda bottle caps and use a knife to remove the plastic disc lining the cap. Then, pierce several holes into the cap using a large nail. A circle of thick felt or wooden rings glued to the bottom of the shakers will stabilize them. Fill with salt and pepper, and then screw the caps on.