The average American throws away nearly 4 pounds of trash every day! To keep these items out of the landfill and still in use, small changes can make a big difference both in your home and around the farm. Here are four easy changes that can help you recycle on a farm.
1. Collect water creatively.
Water is one of the most important items on a farm, but this precious material isn’t unlimited. Look around your farm and home to see how water can be recycled. Dairy farmers can redirect the water used to keep the milking parlor sparkling for reuse in washing out the animals’ living quarters. Once this task has been completed, the water can be recaptured again and used for crop irrigation.
2. Recycle and reuse animal bedding.
There is no better feeling at the end of the day than falling into bed for a long night’s sleep. Farm animals feel the same way. Bedding is an important component of animal health and well-being. Switching from nonrecyclable materials to sand-based bedding can be a simple change that promotes recycling. Once the bedding needs to be changed, sand can be sifted, cleaned and reused.
3. Give packaging materials new life.
Whether you are running a large-scale farm or a small-scale SAE, plenty of inputs are needed. Items such as baling wire and twine can be used to repair fences or tie up vining plants. Burlap and feed sacks can be remade into new items like shopping bags or seat covers. During your next project, attempt a zero-waste day where everything you use has a second purpose and nothing is thrown away.
Food is the No. 1 item thrown away in America. However, those uneaten morsels can have a second life. Some food scraps can be fed to farm animals. Items such as eggshells can be fed back to chickens as a great source of calcium. If you don’t have animals as a part of your life, composting leaves plenty of opportunities to keep food out of the trash can.
