Blog: Waste Not Blog

Tips for Greening Your Spring Cleaning

Hooray for Spring!

Thanks to Daylight Savings, we have longer, brighter days and more time and energy for taking care of our homes.

The City’s Waste and Resources Management office is here to guide you on your spring cleaning journey. Conscious consuming, discarding as you clean, refreshing and decluttering can save you money, support Knoxville’s local businesses, and reduce the amount of waste you contribute to the landfill.

Know What to Throw

Before you start purging items that don't bring you joy, know what objects you can and can’t recycle and donate. Check out the “What Goes Where?” lookup tool and the Specialty Recycling and Donations guide for help.

Bulky Waste

If you want to throw away your old couch because it is too damaged to donate, then you can set it out as bulky waste.

“Bulky waste” is defined as furniture, tires, appliances, and other approved household items that are too large to fit in your garbage cart when it is empty. Bulky waste items must be set out next to your garbage cart by 7 a.m. on your trash service day, and we recommend that you call 311 beforehand to place a “bulky alert.” Check out the bulky waste page on our website for more guidelines.

Clean-up Your Cleaning Supplies

Use up all of the cleaning supplies you already have laying around the house to save money and reduce the amount of packaging waste created from buying new cleaning products. If you have cleaning supplies that you really don’t want, take them to the Household Hazardous Waste Facility. While you’re there, check out the Reuse Shelf, and pick up cleansers that you will actually use—for free!

Paper towels can be quite expensive, cannot be recycled, and contribute to deforestation. Try using rags instead! Rags made out of old t-shirts, blankets, sheets, and towels are great at scrubbing surfaces and picking up dust all over your home. You can also use them to make a mop or use them with your Swiffer hardware.

Make your own cleaning products! Check out the Ecology Center’s Home Cleaning Recipes and the Going Zero Waste blog for some great recipes.

Support Knoxville Small Businesses that Minimize Waste

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light how expensive cleaning supplies can be if bought from big-box retailers. Moreover, many common cleaning supplies, such as laundry detergent and antibacterial spray, are often packaged in plastic and come with hand-pumps that are not recyclable.

If you don't want to make your own cleaning products, consider purchasing lower-waste cleaning supplies from these small businesses in Knoxville:

Knoxfill is Knoxville’s first zero-waste refill store that delivers right to your front door! Knoxfill offers a variety of zero waste products and household cleaners.
Jacks offers a soap refill station. You can also get a coffee, browse local art, or pick-out a new plant at both of their Knoxville locations.
Whimsy & A Dream stocks Knox Girl Soap and scrub brushes for your kitchen, which are made out of materials that are completely recyclable and compostable. They also offer Wonderland Bath & Beauty vegan soaps and low-waste beauty products, such as dry shampoo and perfume.

The City of Knoxville’s Waste and Resources Management Office hopes this guide proves to be helpful! Please email [email protected] with any questions regarding this blog post.

Posted by ptravis On 21 May, 2021 at 9:24 AM