The ubiquitous 5 gallon white paint bucket…you know you have 1 or 2 in the garage, either crusty with interior latex paint or full of last summer’s pruned mums. I’ve used these buckets for years as gardening tools, yet never thought to look for a resin identification code. Sure enough, it’s a #2 plastic (High Density Polyethylene), and accepted at all Charleston County Recycling drop sites – just don’t forget to remove the metal handle. So if your bucket splits a seam or becomes unneeded, you can keep it out of the landfill.

This is an object I never would have guessed was recyclable. It’s just what the paint comes in, and once the paint is gone it becomes garbage. I’ve always kept a couple around for yard work, but I only ever need one or two – so the rest were goners. And even though I’ve become a recycling ninja around the house, I didn’t even notice it was recyclable until yesterday. Surprise!

Previously on Surprising Recyclables:

• Target Cart
  
• Milk Crate
• Little Tikes Wagon