Spring Into Action: Waste You Can Upcycle

As a homeowner, you’re likely accumulating a lot of waste over the course of a few days/weeks, and it’s important that if you’re not properly recycling or throwing it out, you do something productive with it all. Below are just a few upcycling projects to think about when it comes to your waste and how you can give it new life without being too wasteful!

Bottle Decorations

Bottles made from glass can be a critical and extremely useful part of your arsenal of upcycled goods. Their long necks allow you to use them as mini vases, holders for pens/pencils, and even as an apparatus to store things like olive oil, with the right top installed. Additionally as a bonus, a bottle cutter and some sandpaper can turn used and boring bottles into rounded glasses to reuse, wash, and fill with your favorite beverages.

Cutlery

If you’ve ever thought to yourself about becoming someone who works with metal, old cutlery can be a great place to start! By bending, cutting and contorting them in specific ways, you’re able to affix them onto a wall, onto a wood board or something similar, and use them as a key holder, jacket holder, or even a horizontal rack to put a long broom or umbrella on. Give this a shot before you throw that precious steel away!

Cookie Cutters

Old aluminum cans are perfect solutions for those cookie cutter shapes you just can’t seem to find in stores. By carefully cutting the cans and taping them in a way that forms shapes, you can use them (once clean and edged) to cut raw cookie dough into fun and intricate shapes that turn boring cookie designs into something totally unique and fun!

Remember, recycling doesn’t have to mean the end of a product’s life -- upcycling turns things into new projects and ideas that help you stay green and creative for years to come!

Providing homes and businesses with effective waste management is a service that City Carting & Recycling has been doing for over 35 years. If you’re looking for dumpster rental or services, give us a call at (888) 413-3344 to request a free quote, or visit us on our website! For more information, tips and tricks, make sure to Like our Facebook page!

Waste FAQ's: A Refresher!

If you haven’t navigated to our site or asked a question in a while -- or you’re just curious about the waste process at home, make sure you figure out what’s what at home, and decide on what you’re required to do with your waste, recycling, and any other processes that deal with waste at your home. Below are a few FAQ’s to keep in mind and consider when thinking about your residential and commercial waste.

WHAT CAN AND CANNOT GO IN THE GARBAGE?

For the safety of City Carting workers please remember to double-bag harmful products before discarding in your regular garbage, and please do not discard:

• Sharps
• Broken Glass
• Paints
• Florescent Bulbs
• Pesticides
• Cleaning Products i.e Bleach, Ammonia

…and the like

WILL YOU COLLECT EXTRA BAGS?

Always fill your cart first before putting out any additional garbage bags.

Your black cart can hold three to four standard-sized garbage bags. If your cart is full, excess bags can be set one foot away from your cart for collection at no extra cost. We recommend you use standard-sized garbage bags that are strong enough to hold the contents and weigh less than (40 pounds) each when filled. If you can easily lift the bag with one hand, it should be okay.

During periods of high volumes of garbage, such as spring and fall, we will collect waste in black carts but may limit the number of extra garbage bags that are picked up to ensure everyone gets service. If we are unable to collect your extra bags, please store them on your property until your next collection day.

DO I NEED TO BAG MY GARBAGE?

Garbage must easily fall out of the cart when tipped into the truck. You can choose whether or not to bag your garbage before placing it in the cart, with the following exceptions:

SHARP OBJECTS

Wrap and place in puncture-proof containers.

POWDERS, DUST AND ANIMAL WASTE

Double-bag items and and tie them.

STREET SWEEPINGS

Put gravel, dust, rocks and other debris into a garbage bag. Double-bag and make sure it is under the (40 pound) weight limit.

GRASS CLIPPINGS

Place in garbage bags to ensure it easily falls out of the cart when tipped. To reduce the amount of grass clipping waste going to the landfill and to improve the quality of your lawn, we suggest leaving your clippings on the lawn.

Providing homes and businesses with effective waste management is a service that City Carting & Recycling has been doing for over 35 years. If you’re looking for dumpster rental or services, give us a call at (888) 413-3344 to request a free quote, or visit us on our website! For more information, tips and tricks, make sure to Like our Facebook page!

Get Rid Of Trash Odors At Home

Walking into your home after a long day of work is supposed to be a relaxing feeling, as you kick off your shoes and plop onto the couch. But when you stroll in and the first thing you’re greeted with is a foul odor, a relaxing night can be overshadowed by the smell permeating through the rooms you’re intending on relaxing in. Below are a few tips and tricks to follow to rid your home of bad odors and keep it smelling fresh and relaxing all year long!

Disinfect

Bacteria grows quite literally, everywhere. Closer to your sinks and garbage disposal, the amount of bacteria can be much higher, and thus require much more extensive cleaning. Because of this, it’s important to constantly disinfect as much as possible, even cleaning the seams, corners, folds, and insides of garbage cans, sink counters, knobs, faucets and more. By doing so you’re killing off bacteria that can otherwise spread and cause foul odors to form.

Waste Regimen

As food and other perishable items pile up, it’s important to get rid of them before they become a problem. In many cases, food begins to smell bad shortly after it reaches room temperature, which is when bacteria grows the quickest. Combat this by throwing it outside, having routine waste collection set up, or even freezing things like food and meat until it’s time to throw it out!

Quick Fixes

If you’re in a pinch -- and we’ve all been there, you can do things like light candles, bake a loaf of bread, use natural but fresh-smelling sprays. And so on. These short fixes might get you through an evening where company is coming over, but it’s certainly not a long-term fix and the odors should be properly addressed before it becomes unbearable.


Providing homes and businesses with effective waste management is a service that City Carting & Recycling has been doing for over 35 years. If you’re looking for dumpster rental or services, give us a call at (888) 413-3344 to request a free quote, or visit us on our website! For more information, tips and tricks, make sure to Like our Facebook page!