Are you concerned that recycling can be too hard or too much of a hassle? 

We've got a few ways to make recycling easy even when living in an apartment. 

The first step of making recycling as easy as tossing things in the garbage can be accomplished by placing your recycling bins right next to your garbage bin. You can even buy compartmental bins that let you separate your trash from cans and paper. For those with limited space, we recommend trying smaller recycling bags that fit under your kitchen sink or in the closet. You should remember, however, that you can dump your recyclables into the building's main bin at any time, which means you won't need large containers to store your waste.

In order to avoid storing tons of garbage for recycling in your apartment, we advise you to reduce the amount of what you bring home. You can start by eliminating waste right at the store by looking for products with minimal packaging, opting only for refillable containers, and avoiding single-use products like plastic wraps. There are plenty of products that can be reused instead of thrown away after. Canadian Tire, for example, has a whole line of reusable products from snack and produce bags to stretch lids that fit any size container or bowl. 

It can be a challenge indeed to eliminate all unnecessary products all at once. So, you should learn to "upcycle" items instead. A glass jar can be a vase or candle holder and a yogurt tub can store office supplies or crayons. It can be easy to transform your recyclables and trash into something new, you just need to be creative.

In case you would like to go above and beyond, TerraCycle Canada has many programs that help you recycle products that are not normally accepted including: Swiffer duster cloths, Nespresso capsules, rubbermaid food storage containers, Hasbro brand toys.

If your apartment building doesn't offer a recycling program, you should use Earth911 to find a facility near you. Then you can just drop off your recyclables when you're ready. 

Recycling while living in an apartment isn't hard. Moreover, it can be even easier when you reduce and reuse before throwing away. Always remember: we only have one Earth and it's our job to take care of it.