Good Morning America: Sam Champion’s Just One Thing

Filed under: Earth 911 - September 25, 2008

“Good Morning America’s” Sam Champion shares with viewers “just one thing” they can do to adopt a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Sept. 25, 2008

In the latest installment of “Just One Thing,” Sam took aim at recycling printer cartridges. Rather than throwing away printer cartridges, companies and families can recycle them through companies like Cartridge World USA.

Not only does recycling cartridges help the environment, but it also saves some serious cash. You can save up to 30% by refilling cartridges instead of buying brand new ones.

Click here to get more information on Cartridge World USA and head to Earth911.org to find recycling areas near you.

Gloucester Daily Times: Green Quick Fixes

Filed under: Earth 911 - September 24, 2008

By Andrea Fox

Americans generate more than 1.6 million tons of household hazardous waste each year. Disposed of improperly, many of these contaminants end up in landfills and compromise water sources.

Hazardous wastes, waste mixtures, derivatives, and media contaminated with certain listed hazardous wastes are not only produced in manufacturing and industrial processes, but are also released by everyday activities like residential construction, lawn care, car maintenance—even high school lab classes.

Sometimes ignitable and corrosive, toxic wastes may also be reactive or explosive. They are likely more present in your home than you realize.

For example, gasoline, paints and solvents are toxic and ignite easily. Acids, ammonias, and chlorine bleaches release toxic fumes. Aerosol containing propellants, certain adhesives containing formaldehyde, and propane are unstable enough to explode. Some industrial —and industrial-strength— cleaning agents, oven degreasers and drain chemicals are corrosive enough to destroy the manufacturers’ metal containers they are stored in.

Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the United States defines hazardous waste as any discarded solid or liquid that contains one or more of a long list of carcinogenic, mutagenic, or teratogenic compounds at levels that exceed limits established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Thus far, EPA has listed about 500 hazardous wastes in four categories—called the F,K,P, and U lists (go to www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/hazwaste.htm for more information), 31 of which are targeted for reduction.

Contained in a multitude of consumer products, listed hazardous wastes require special handling for detoxification and safe disposal under RCRA. The following Green Quick Fixes will help you dispose of them properly—not in your curbside trash pick-up or down any drain!

What should never be trashed:

While the best course of action is to avoid or minimize purchase of toxic products, store any hazardous and/or unwanted chemicals in strong plastic containers that children and pets cannot tamper with. Then, take household hazardous wastes to collection for proper cleanup and disposal.

To find out about local hazardous-waste collection sites and events, contact or go to the Web site of your local public health department. Or, Earth911.org allows you to type in an item and your zip code and generates a list of nearby household hazardous waste and recycling drop-off centers.

For more information about household hazardous wastes and drop-off centers, go to these Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Web sites:

www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/reduce/househol.htm and www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/hazardous/hhwhome.htm.

Galveston Daily News: Owners Can Search for Lost Pets Online

Filed under: Pets 911 - September 21, 2008

There’s now hope for distraught owners of pets lost during Hurricane Ike.

Pet owners in Texas can now search an online database of pets lost during Hurricane Ike.

Under the direction of the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Pethealth Inc. and Pets911, a Disaster Response Pet Portal has been launched.

As animals are rescued and lost animal reports come in to the Emergency Hotline —713-435-2990— being staffed by HSPCA, information is entered into the PetPoint Animal Management system. Every 15 minutes, this data is then uploaded.

Owners who recognize a lost pet on the Web site can call the hotline, and their information will be immediately attached to the animal at the shelter, expediting reunification.

The Disaster Response Pet Portal can be accessed at houstonspca.org or at pets911.com.

St. Petersburg Times: Easy Ways to Save Energy and Money in the Home

Filed under: Earth 911 - September 20, 2008

The cost of heating and cooling your home is on the rise, with some analysts estimating an increase of as much as a 30 percent over 2007’s record prices. Fortunately, all of us can do a few simple things to reduce the amount of energy we use for heating, cooling and lighting.

Here are some easy things to do:

Replace filters on a regular basis. A clean filter reduces the amount of energy required to operate the fan. When you change the filter, make sure the opening is covered to keep unconditioned air from entering the fan system. If there is no cover, use duct tape to seal the filter opening each time the filter is changed.

Also, use a quality —sometimes called expensive— high-efficiency filter. You get what you pay for.

Clean, clean, clean the outside air-conditioning unit. Restricted airflow can cost you hundreds of cooling dollars each year. Airflow through the outside coils is reduced when the coils are dirty or confined by shrubs and bushes. Proper airflow can be restricted by grass clippings, overgrown plants, fences, lint from the clothes dryer or stored items.

The air-conditioning unit needs lots of clear space to operate efficiently. Trim plants and vines away from the outside unit, and remove any stored items or decorative fence coverings. Then get ready to spray-wash the coils until they are clean. Turn off the electric supply to the air conditioner at the disconnect switch located near or on the unit or at the main electric panel. Using a garden hose, spray the dirt and debris from the coils, working from inside the top opening and spraying downward.

On most units the top grille is open where you can see the fan blades. This is where you want to start spraying.

For closed-top units it would pay to have a professional do the cleaning, but spraying the coils from the outside might help remove the grit.

Stop wasting electricity. The type of electricity supplied to your home cannot be economically stored for later use, so there is a constant flow of current to the switches and outlets inside the home. Most appliances connected to the outlet will use that electricity.

Most battery-operated PDAs, cell phones, iPods, laptop computers, games and the like have a 120-volt transformer that reduces the power supplied to the appliance. When left plugged into a wall outlet, the transformer continues to use power even when the battery-operated device is not connected. Unplug the transformers when not in use.

TV sets are always “on,” drawing power from the outlet even when turned “off.” Any TV set, audio equipment, countertop microwave oven and, especially, coffee pot that you do not intend to use daily should be unplugged to conserve energy.

Replace old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs. A compact fluorescent light bulb uses 75 percent less energy and is estimated to last 10 times longer than conventional bulbs.

Depending on the cost of energy, each CFL can save you $30 over the life of the bulb. Then there is the added benefit of a lower output of heat energy produced by a CFL. When less heat is generated, the home’s cooling system does not have to work as hard to compensate for that heat.

The one problem with a CFL: It contains a minute amount of mercury that can be a health hazard if the CFL breaks inside the home. Information on cleanup of mercury can be found at earth911.org, epa.gov/bulb recycling or maine.gov/dep/rwm/homeowner/cflreport.htm. View appendix E.

Close curtains on the sunny side of the home during the cooling season. Heat gains through standard double-paned glass can be significant and will add to the costs of cooling the home. Consider installing Low-E window glass if you are planning on replacement windows or new construction.

Use an electric fan or ceiling fan to circulate room air. You can set the thermostat higher and still remain comfortable by sitting near the fan.

Insulate, tape, caulk and seal every opening you can find to reduce drafts. Air movements through wall cavities, around window and door openings, and up chimneys and vents all add up to lost energy. Close the fireplace damper and glass doors. Heat from the chimney adds to the costs of cooling the home.

Reduce the temperature on the water heater, the biggest energy hog in the home. The home’s cold water is heated to about 120 degrees and is kept at that temperature all day, every day. What a waste! Turn the temperature down to 110 degrees to save energy, or install a smaller-capacity water heater.

When it’s time to replace the water heater, consider tankless heaters that heat water only on demand. The units cost a lot more than a standard water heater, but they will pay for themselves in the long run.

Insulate the attic space. Most attics I see have far less insulation than is required by code. Adding insulation blankets (batts) or loose fill is an easy but laborious job. Make sure everything in the attic is covered except for recessed light fixtures, bathroom fans and soffit vents.

The thicker the insulation the better, but do not use a vapor barrier such as Kraft-faced insulation batts or rolls. You don’t want to trap moisture between the ceiling and the insulation.

Pethealth Announces the Creation of a Centralized Disaster Response Pet Portal to Help Animal Victims of Hurricane Ike

Filed under: Pets 911, Press Releases - September 18, 2008

OAKVILLE, ONTARIO, Sep 18, 2008 — There’s now hope for distraught owners of pets lost during Hurricane Ike. Pet owners in Texas can now search an online, centralized database of pets lost during last week’s severe weather which left hundreds of thousands homeless and separated family members. Under the direction of the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (”HSPCA”), Pethealth Inc. (”Pethealth”) (owners of the PetPoint animal management system) and Pets911 (an online resource for pet adoption and lost and found services), a Disaster Response Pet Portal (”DRPP”) has been launched which can be found at either www.Pets911.com or www.houstonspca.org.

As animals are rescued and lost animal reports come in to the Emergency Hotline (713-435-2990) being staffed by HSPCA, information is entered into the PetPoint Animal Management system. Every 15 minutes this data is then uploaded to www.Pets911.com. Owners who recognize a lost pet on the website can call the hotline and their information will be immediately attached to the animal at the shelter, expediting reunification.

“The loss of a beloved family pet only adds to the anguish of those who have already suffered so much,” said Mark Warren, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pethealth. “The Disaster Response Pet Portal will help ease the suffering of those who have lost their pets and it will assist those who are trying to rescue them.”

The HSPCA is overseeing animal welfare initiatives in the area including an emergency shelter in Galveston, a community severely affected by the Hurricane. HSPCA is one of 995 animal welfare organizations in North America which have licensed PetPoint.

“Our staff and volunteers are working around-the-clock to rescue pets and reunite them with their families,” said Patricia Mercer, President of the Houston SPCA. “The online database portal created by Pethealth will make it easier for us ready to care for the thousands of pets which are being rescued in the aftermath and ensure they find their way home as soon as possible.”

“We must remember the animal victims of Ike,” said Corey Lambrecht, Managing Partner, Global Alerts LLC, parent company of Pets911.com, “and support the efforts of the Houston SPCA to come to their rescue and return them to their families.”

Based in Oakville, Ontario, Pethealth provides management software to shelters and animal welfare organizations using a Software as a Service (”SaaS”) model. Based in Phoenix, Pets911 promotes pet adoption, health and well-being.

“The Disaster Response Pet Portal is about using the Internet to leverage the dedication, expertise and technology available to help in this crisis,” said Steve Zeidman, Chief Technology Officer at Pethealth.

About Houston SPCA

The Houston SPCA was founded in 1924 and remains Houston’s oldest and largest Animal Protection Organization. Completely privately funded, it is proud to serve more than 100,000 animals annually.

About Pets911.com

Since1998, Pets911.com has brought together the nation’s premiere animal welfare organizations, local government animal control agencies, and animal service providers to create one of the most comprehensive resources for pet health and well-being on the web.

At any given time, Pets911.com includes listings for more than 60,000 adoptable pets at nearly 8,000 animal shelters, contact information for more than 6,000 veterinarians, and postings of more than 8,000 lost or found pets. For more information, go to Pets911.com. Pets911.com is a division of Global Alerts, LLC. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Global Alerts has been a leading cause media company since 1991.

About Pethealth

Founded in 1998, Pethealth is the second largest provider of pet insurance to pet owners in North America, and the leading provider of pet related database management services to the North American companion animal industry. Pethealth offers a unique range of products and services for veterinarians, shelters and pet owners through a number of wholly owned subsidiaries using a range of brand names, including PetCare, ShelterCare, QuickCare, 24PetWatch, PetPoint, and PawsConnect. The Company is also a leading provider of pet health insurance in the United Kingdom through its Pet Protect and petPals brands. Pethealth currently insures over 240,000 dogs and cats.

Pethealth is based in Oakville, Ontario. To find out more about Pethealth, visit the website at www.pethealthinc.com.

Contacts:
Pethealth Inc.
Mark Warren
President and Chief Executive Officer
(905) 842-2615

Pethealth Inc.
Steve Zeidman
Chief Technology Officer
(905) 842-2615
Website: www.pethealthinc.com

Plenty Magazine: Recycling Old Shoes

Filed under: Earth 911 - September 16, 2008

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

While we intend to wear flip flops until the snow hits, we’ll probably start alternating them with boots and shoes fairly soon. Fall sales are a good time to shop if you need new footgear, but there’s no excuse for tossing even the scruffiest old shoes in the nearest garbage bin—and thence to overtaxed landfills. A sad and unnecessary end!

Happily, there are a number of easy ways to give footwear a new life. If your sports soles have lost their bounce, Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program will take back and recycle any brand of athletic shoe. Just run your shoes over to the nearest Nike store or mail them to Nike’s recycling center in Oregon. Or check out this site for more places to send sneakers out to pasture.

Kids outgrow shoes faster than hermit crabs cast off shells, and often these are lightly worn. And sometimes even older people discover that, ahem, they need a larger size. Donate lightly worn shoes of all sizes to families in need via giveshoes.org.

If your Crocs have curdled, drop them in the nearest SolesUnited  location where they’ll be recycled into new Crocs that are donated to people in need.

If you have a closet full of the fancy stuff like heels, you’ve got options. Lightly used dress shoes can be donated to the Cinderella Project, a nonprofit that provides gowns and accessories for prom night to girls in need. Or, see if any of your friends and relations who wear your size is interested in doing a shoe swap. It’s a great way to get rid of one pair of shoes while cheaply obtaining another. If those options don’t work, check out Earth 911 for the nearest drop off donation center near you.

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Breaking the Bottled Water Habit

Filed under: Earth 911 - September 12, 2008

The U.S. market for bottled water appears to be running dry, according to the Worldwatch Institute.

Citing a report from the Beverage Marketing Corp., the research organization said that the water industry will only see a 6.7 percent growth this year, the smallest increase in a decade.

Why the slowdown? Consumer consciousness about what happens to those plastic bottles in their afterlife can account for some of switch. Eight out of 10 plastic bottles become landfill waste and plastic bottles take 700 years before they begin to decompose, according to earth911.org.

Even with the slowdown, there is more convincing to be done and the Center for a New American Dream’s annual Break the Bottled Water Habit campaign can help.

How to works: Pledge to ban your bottled water habit at the organization’s Web site (www.newdream.org) then send the pledge to your friends. The person who signs up the most friends and writes the most convincing essay on why not to drink bottled water wins a bike and a trip to Montana’s Glacier National Park.

Worried about the quality of your tap water? Check it out before you take the pledge:

www.ewg.org/tapwater

Examiner.com:

Filed under: Pets 911 - September 10, 2008

By Stephanie Modkins

Lulu and Lolly are two Maltese dogs spreading a message of  love and hope all over America. They do it by using their beauty and talent to raise funds for organizations like Pets911 and The Indiana Sheltie Rescue. Through these organizations, Lulu and Lolly help provide shelter, food, medical care and safety for less fortunate animals. It is an act of kindness that brings a smile to one’s face and raises a very important question. “Who are these dogs?“

Lulu and Lolly are the pets of Harvard graduate Cynthia Miller. Lulu, a self-proclaimed wrestler and pizza fanatic, was enjoying a life of leisure until she met Lolly. Lolly, a writer with a sweet tooth, was brought home one day from a shelter. It was an event that set in motion a life long friendship and an adventurous road trip that later turned into a calendar. After donating all of the proceeds from their calendar to charity, the two realized they had stumbled onto a great idea. It laid the foundation for their current work and other products like dog sprays, candles, t-shirts and greeting cards.

You could easily say that Lulu and Lolly are two super hero dogs, kind of like Batman and Robin without the colorful tights and capes. They go to extraordinary lengths to help animals in need even though they could easily just kick back, watch TV and drink doggie-coladas all day. They are a good example of what two loving, active dogs can accomplish in just a few years.

So what are Lulu and Lolly up to these days? They are creating their 2009 calendar. Also, they are starring in videos. (See “Rescue Dog Rock” below.) You can follow the lives of these cute pooches by visiting their website on a regular basis at www.LuluandLolly.com. Also, don’t forget to check out one of their customized products while you are there.

Coshocton Tribune: Guidelines for Finding a Responsible Home for a Pet

Filed under: Pets 911 - September 9, 2008

By Holly Downing

First, I’d like to thank all the kind people who donated toward the care of Tuffy, the little dog with the broken pelvis and leg. The rescue organization he went to has paid more than $1,500 for his surgeries and he is well on his way to mending. He has been adopted and will have a safe and happy life. Thanks Coshocton!

Everytime I go to the shelter to take pictures of the cats and dogs there, I am heartbroken to see how many pets are brought there by their owners, for so many different reasons. If you are considering giving up your pet, follow these guidelines first, as stated on the Humane Society of the United States Web site, www.HSUS.com:

If you choose to find a home for your pet yourself, follow these guidelines:

WILX: CFL Recycling

Filed under: Earth 911 - September 8, 2008

Many of us are replacing old light bulbs with more energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs. And the EPA is working with manufacturers and major U.S. retailers to expand recycling options for all mercury-containing light bulbs, including CFLs after they burn out.

For example, Home Depot announced it will now collect CFLs in stores to be recycled. There’s no charge, and they’ll take any CFLs, even ones you didn’t buy from a Home Depot. Just take your spent, unbroken bulbs to the store’s returns desk. The CFLs will be shipped to a recycling company who will recycle the bulbs and properly deal with the mercury inside.

IKEA, the home furnishing store, began their CFL recycling program back in 2001. In 2006, they recycled over 156,000 pounds of CFLs.

The EPA strongly encourages recycling of all fluorescent light bulbs including CFLs. Recycling these light bulbs will reduce the chance that mercury ends up in the environment.

Household hazardous waste collections usually accept all fluorescent light bulbs. So check with your local environmental regulatory agency and/or recycling programs such as Earth911.org for more information.

Santa Barbara Independent: Homeward Bound

Filed under: Pets 911 - September 5, 2008

By Lisa Acho Remorenko

Five years ago, a young girl from Queens, N.Y., was hanging “lost dog” posters hoping to be reunited with her beagle that got away. Last week, little Natalie Villacis was miraculously reunited with her beloved dog Rocco after he resurfaced some 850 miles away in Georgia. The Villacis family was shocked when they got a call last week from a shelter in Hinesville, Georgia, informing them that their long-lost pet had been found after half a decade. Thanks to a microchip implanted in the dog, the shelter was able to locate the family and Natalie’s greatest hopes were realized.

According to the American Humane Association, only about 17 percent of lost dogs and two percent of lost cats ever find their way back to their original owners. Almost four million pets are euthanized every year because their owners can’t be found in time; if a shelter cannot determine a pet’s owner, the pet may be euthanized in as few as three days. Would you know what to do if your dog or cat went missing? Where would you look? Who would you call? Here are some tips to make sure you and your pet are prepared.

What to Do If Your Dog or Cat Goes Missing

A Word About Cats

Most indoor cats who become lost will not go far. Start looking under porches and in garages or sheds. Leave fresh food and water outside in a sheltered area close to home. Set up a large box with a blanket that smells familiar to your cat. You can also place an item of clothing in the box that has your smell on it to encourage your cat to come home. Check the box and food regularly during quiet evening and early morning hours.

By following these tips you will greatly increase the chances of being reunited with your lost pet. Just like Natalie Villacis, you should never give up hope.

TC Palm: Recycling Reduces Landfill Waste, Oil Consumption, Experts Say

Filed under: Earth 911 - September 2, 2008

By Melissa Holsman

When a plastic bottle is recycled instead of tossed out with the trash, it impacts two of the world’s most finite resources: petroleum and landfills.

First, it takes oil to make plastic, and a typical water bottle —in which eight out of 10 are discarded— can take 700 years to begin composting, according to the Web site www.greenupgrader.com.

That same bottle during recycling undergoes a twisted high-tech journey to clean, crush, melt and then remold it into a new plastic container, from Pepsi bottles to a Publix milk jug and more.

At today’s sky-high gas prices and considering it takes more than 1.5 million barrels of oil to manufacture a year’s supply of bottled water, recycling takes on a whole new meaning—that’s enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars for a year, according to industry experts at www.Earth911.org.

In the United States, we buy an estimated 28 billion plastic bottles a year, using about 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.

That resonated with Stuart officials last year when they voted to become the first Treasure Coast city to adopt a single-stream recycle method, allowing residents to put all items in one recycle bin.

In less than 11 months, the city boosted residential recycling by 90 percent, said recycling and conservation coordinator Mary Kindel.

And, “it’s reduced the amount of materials going to our landfill,” she said.

Under a contract with Waste Management Recycle America, Stuart and Martin County haul their recyclables to Reuter Recycling in Pembroke Pines. Using mechanized screens and optical sorting technologies, the facility processes up to 1,000 tons of material a day, said spokesman Larry Della-Betta.

At Reuter, all bottles are sorted, squashed and bundled before being shipped to a plastics processor, known as reclamation operations.

There, the items are sorted by resin type, triple-washed, rinsed and ground to a particle size called regrind, or flake.

“They’re shredded down into small flakes or pellets,” said Della-Betta.

Plastics generally are sorted into seven resin types, based on their specific compounds. Soda bottles —the most common plastic— are made of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. Mustard bottles and yogurt tubs, made of polypropylene, or PP, are chemically different from milk jugs and detergent bottles, which are made from high-density polyethylene, or HDPE.

Once sold to a bottling firm or a “converter” manufacturer, the pellets are reshaped again using an extruder, a machine that heats, regrinds and filters the plastic through screens, which produces a material that can be remolded into new containers.

The pelletized particles also can become raw material for goods that otherwise would be made of polyester.

In addition to water bottles, recycled plastics become a host of other reusable products, such as lumber, furniture, roadside curbs, truck cargo liners and trash bins.

Plastic goes GREEN

  1. Purchase a product in a plastic bottle.
  2. When finished, wash and squash the bottle and place it in recycle bin.
  3. In Stuart, city trucks collect the items; later they’re trucked to the Reuter Recycle facility in Pembroke Pines.
  4. The items are sorted by resin type, washed and shipped to a plastics processor.
  5. Plastic containers are triple-washed and compacted or shredded into flakes or pellets.
  6. The pellets are sold to a “converter” manufacturer or a bottler company that melts and remolds the plastic into new products.
  7. The reusable plastic bottles are back in circulation and returned to local supermarket shelves.

Real Simple Magazine: How to Recycle Anything

Filed under: Earth 911 - September 1, 2008

By Natalie Ermann Russell

Your beach ball sprang a leak. Can you toss it into the plastics bin? Find out in this A-to-Z guide

A

Aerosol cans. These can usually be recycled with other cans, as long as you pull off the plastic cap and empty the canister completely.

Antiperspirant and deodorant sticks. Many brands have a dial on the bottom that is made of a plastic polymer different from that used for the container, so your center might not be able to recycle the whole thing. (Look on the bottom to find out).

B

Backpacks. Donate backpacks to The American Birding Association, which scientists use while tracking neotropical birds (www.americanbirding.org).

Batteries. Many stores, like RadioShack and Office Depot, accept reusable ones, as does the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp. (www.rbrc.org/call2recycle). Car batteries contain lead and can’t go in landfills, but almost any retailer selling them will also collect and recycle them.

Books. Hard covers are too rigid to recycle; remove them and recycle just the pages. In many areas, paperbacks can be tossed in with other paper.

C

Carpeting (nylon fiber). To find a carpet-reclamation facility near you, go to www.carpetrecovery.org, or check with your carpet’s manufacturer.

Cars, jet skis, boats, trailers, RVs and motorcycles. Go to www.junkmycar.com, which will pick up and remove cars, trailers, motorcycles and other heavy equipment for free.

Cell phones. The Wireless Foundation refurbishes old phones to give to domestic-violence survivors (www.calltoprotect.org); for information on other cell-phone charities, log on to www.recyclewirelessphones.com.

Compact fluorescent lightbulbs. CFLs contain mercury and shouldn’t be thrown in the trash. Ikea and the Home Depot operate CFL-recycling programs.

Computers. You can return used computers to their manufacturers for recycling (check www.mygreenelectronics.com for a list of vendors) or donate them to a charitable organization (log on to www.sharetechnology.org or www.cristina.org).

Crayons. Send them to the National Crayon Recycle Program (www.crazycrayons.com), which melts down crayons and reforms them into new ones. Leave the wrappers on.

Crocs. Mail them to: Crocs Recycling West, 3375 Enterprise Ave., Bloomington, Calif. 92316.

D

DVDs, CDs and jewel cases. Swap discs with other music lovers at www.zunafish.com, or send them to www.greendisk.com for recycling.

E

Empty metal cans (cleaning products). Cut off the metal ends of cans containing powdered cleansers, and put them in with other household metals. Recycle the tubes as you would any other cardboard.

Empty metal cans (food products). Find the nearest steel-can recycling spot at www.recycle-steel.org.

Eyeglasses. Donate them to www.neweyesfortheneedy.com, or drop off old pairs of glasses at LensCrafters, Target Optical or stores and doctors’ offices, which will send them to www.givethegiftofsight.org.

F

Film canisters. Check with your local recycling center. If they don’t take them, many photo labs will.

Fire extinguishers. Call fire-equipment companies (listed in the phone book) and request that they dispose of your extinguisher. Carbon-dioxide extinguishers are refillable after each use.

Food processors. If an appliance is more than 50 percent metal, it is recyclable. Most appliances are about 75 percent steel.

G

Gadgets. Recycleforbreastcancer.org, for example, will send you prepaid shipping labels, recycle your gadgets and donate the proceeds to breast cancer charities.

Glue. Many schools have recycling programs for empty containers of Elmer’s glue and glue sticks. Find out more at www.elmersgluecrew.com.

H

Hangers (plastic). These are not widely accepted at recycling centers because there aren’t enough of them coming through to make it worthwhile. You might consider donating them to a thrift store.

Hangers (wire). Some dry cleaners and Laundromats will reuse them. Otherwise, they can be recycled with other household metals. Remove any attached paper or cardboard first.

Hearing aids. The Starkey Hearing Foundation (www.sotheworldmayhear.org) recycles used hearing aids, any make or model, no matter how old.

I

iPods. Bring in an old iPod to an Apple store and get 10 percent off a new one.

K

Keys and nail clippers. It’s considered scrap metal and can be recycled.

L

Leather shoes. Donate to www.soles4souls.org, a nonprofit that collects used footwear and distributes them to needy communities.

M

Makeup. Turn in six or more empty MAC containers and get a free lipstick.

Mattresses and box springs. Mattresses are made of recyclable materials, such as wire, paper, and cloth, but not all cities accept them for recycling. (Go to www.earth911.org to find out whether yours does.)

Metal flatware. Recycle them with other scrap metal.

Milk cartons with plastic spouts and caps. Take off and throw away the cap; check your local recycling rules to see whether you should toss it with plastics and metals or with paper.

Mirrors. These aren’t recyclable through most municipal recyclers, because the chemicals on the glass can’t be mixed with glass bottles and jars. You can donate them to secondhand stores, of course.

To find out what your municipality recycles, call 800-CLEANUP or visit www.recyclingcenters.org.

N

Nikes and other sneakers. Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program (www.letmeplay.com/reuseashoe) accepts old sneakers (any brand) and recycles them into courts for various sports so kids around the world have a place to play. You can drop them off at a Nike store, other participating retailers, athletic clubs, and schools around the country (check the website for locations), or mail them to Nike Recycling Center, c/o Reuse-A-Shoe, 26755 SW 95th Avenue, Wilsonville OR 97070. If your sneakers are still in reasonable shape, donate them to needy athletes in the United States and around the world through www.oneworldrunning.com. Mail them to One World Running, P.O. Box 2223, Boulder CO 80306, or call 303-473-1314 for more information.

Notebooks (spiral). It may seem weird to toss a metal-bound notebook into the paper recycling, but worry not—the machinery will pull out smaller nonpaper items. One caveat: If the cover is plastic, rip that off, says Marti Matsch, communications director for Eco-Cycle, in Boulder, Colorado. “It’s a larger contaminant.”

O

Office envelopes

Tip: Not all recycling centers accept everything. To find out what yours takes, call 800-CLEANUP or go to www.recyclingcenters.org.

P

Packing materials. Styrofoam peanuts cannot be recycled in most areas, but many packaging stores (like UPS and Mail Boxes Etc.) accept them. To find a peanut reuser near you, go to www.loosefillpackaging.com. Some towns recycle Styrofoam packing blocks; if yours doesn’t, visit www.epspackaging.org/info.html to find a drop-off location, or mail them in according to the instructions on the site. Packing pillows marked “Fill-Air” can be deflated (poke a hole in them), then mailed to Ameri-Pak, Sealed Air Recycle Center, 477 South Woods Drive, Fountain Inn SC 29644. They will be recycled into things like trash bags and automotive parts.

Paint. Some cities have paint-recycling programs, in which your old paint is taken to a company that turns it into new paint. Go to www.earth911.org to see if a program exists in your area.

Pendaflex folders. Place these filing-cabinet workhorses in the paper bin. But first cut off the metal rods and recycle them as scrap metal.

Phone books. Many cities offer collection services. Also check www.yellowpages.com/recycle, or call AT&T’s phone book–recycling line at 800-953-4400.

Pizza boxes. If cheese and grease are stuck to the box, rip out the affected areas and recycle the rest as corrugated cardboard. Food residue can ruin a whole batch of paper if it is left to sit in the recycling facility and begins to decompose.

Plastic bottle caps. Toss them. “They’re made from a plastic that melts at a different rate than the bottles, and they degrade the quality of the plastic if they get mixed in,” says Sarah Kite, recycling manager of the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, in Johnston, Rhode Island.

Plastic wrap (used). Most communities don’t accept this for recycling because the cost of decontaminating it isn’t worth the effort.

Post-its. The sticky stuff gets filtered out, so these office standbys can usually be recycled with paper.

Prescription drugs. The Starfish Project (www.thestarfishproject.org) collects some unused medications (TB medicines, antifungals, antivirals) and gives them to clinics in Nigeria. They’ll send you a prepaid FedEx label, too.

Printer-ink cartridges. Seventy percent are thrown into landfills, where it will take 450 years for them to decompose. “Cartridges are like gas tanks,” says Jim Cannan, cartridge-collection manager at RecyclePlace.com. “They don’t break. They just run out of ink. Making new ones is like changing motors every time you run out of gas.” Take them to Staples and get $3 off your next cartridge purchase, or mail HP-brand cartridges back to HP.

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Quiche pans and other cookware. These can be put with scrap metal, and “a plastic handle isn’t a problem,” says Tom Outerbridge, manager of municipal recycling at Sims Metal Management, in New York City.

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Recreational equipment. Don’t send tennis rackets to your local recycling center. “People may think we’re going to give them to Goodwill,” says Sadonna Cody, director of government affairs for the Northbay Corporation and Redwood Empire Disposal, in Santa Rosa, California, “but they’ll just be trashed.” Trade sports gear in at Play It Again Sports (www.playitagainsports.com), or donate it to www.sportsgift.org, which gives gently used equipment to needy kids around the world. Mail to Sports Gift, 32545 B Golden Lantern #478, Dana Point CA 92629. As for skis, send them to Skichair.com, 4 Abbott Place, Millbury MA 01527; they’ll be turned into Adirondack-style beach chairs.

Rugs (cotton or wool). If your town’s recycling center accepts rugs, great. If not, you’re out of luck, because you can’t ship rugs directly to a fabric recycler; they need to be sent in bulk. Your best bet is to donate them to the thrift store of a charity, like the Salvation Army.

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Shopping bags (paper). Even those with metal grommets and ribbon handles can usually be recycled with other paper.

Shopping bags (plastic). “Americans recycled 812 million pounds of bags in 2006, up 24 percent from 2005,” says Keith Christman, senior director of packaging at the American Chemistry Council Plastics Division, which represents plastic manufacturers. If your town doesn’t recycle plastic, you may be able to drop them off at your local grocery store. Safeway, for example, accepts grocery and dry-cleaning bags and turns them into plastic lumber. (To find other stores, go to www.plasticbagrecycling.org.) What’s more, a range of retailers, like City Hardware, have begun to use biodegradable bags made of corn. (BioBags break down in compost heaps in 10 to 45 days.)

Shower curtains and liners. Most facilities do not recycle these because they’re made of PVC. (If PVC gets in with other plastics, it can compromise the chemical makeup of the recycled material.)

Six-pack rings. See if your local school participates in the Ring Leader Recycling Program (www.ringleader.com); kids collect six-pack rings to be recycled into other plastic items, including plastic lumber and plastic shipping pallets.

Smoke detectors. Some towns accept those that have beeped their last beep. If yours doesn’t, try the manufacturer. First Alert takes back detectors (you pay for shipping); call 800-323-9005 for information.

Soap dispensers (pump). Most plastic ones are recyclable; toss them in with the other plastics.

Stereos and VCRs. Visit www.earth911.org for a list of recyclers, retail stores, and manufacturers near you that accept electronics. Small companies are popping up to handle electronic waste (or e-waste) as well: Greencitizen.com in San Francisco will pull apart your electronics and recycle them at a cost ranging from nothing to 50 cents a pound. And the 10 nationwide locations of Freegeek.org offer a similar service.

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Takeout-food containers. Most are not recyclable. Paper ones (like Chinese-food containers) aren’t accepted because remnants can contaminate the paper bale at the mill. Plastic versions (like those at the salad bar) are a no-go too.

Tinfoil. It’s aluminum, not tin. So rinse it off, wad it up, and toss it in with the beer and soda cans.

Tires. You can often leave old tires with the dealer when you buy new ones (just check that they’ll be recycled). Worn-out tires can be reused as highway paving, doormats, hoses, shoe soles, and more.

Tissue boxes with plastic dispensers. The plastic portion will be filtered out during the recycling process, so you can usually recycle tissue boxes with cardboard.

Toothbrushes. They’re not recyclable, but if you buy certain brands, you can save on waste. Eco-Dent’s Terradent models and Radius Source’s toothbrushes have replaceable heads; once the bristles have worn out, snap on a new one.

Toothpaste tubes. Even with all that sticky paste inside, you can recycle aluminum tubes (put them with the aluminum cans), but not plastic ones.

TVs. Best Buy will remove and recycle a set when it delivers a new one. Or bring old ones to Office Depot to be recycled. Got a Sony TV? Take it to a drop-off center listed at www.sony.com/recycle.

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Umbrellas. If it’s a broken metal one, drop the metal skeleton in with scrap metal (remove the fabric and the handle first). Plastic ones aren’t accepted.

Used clothing. Some towns recycle clothing into seat stuffing, upholstery, or insulation. Also consider donating clothing to animal boarders and shelters, where it can be turned into pet bedding.

Utensils (plastic). “There is no program in the country recycling plastic flatware as far as I know,” says Matsch. “The package might even say ‘recyclable,’ but that doesn’t mean much.”

Tip: Some parts of the country recycle wrapping paper. It’s OK to leave some tape on the paper. Large amounts, though, can gum up the machines.

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Videotapes, cassettes, and floppy disks. These aren’t accepted. “Videotapes are a nightmare,” says Outerbridge. “They get tangled and caught on everything.” Instead, send tapes to ACT (www.actrecycling.org), a facility in Columbia, Missouri, that employs disabled people to clean, erase, and resell videotapes. You can also send videotapes, cassettes, and floppy disks to www.greendisk.com; recycling 20 pounds or less costs $6.95, plus shipping.

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Wheelchairs. Go to www.lifenets.org/wheelchair, which acts as a matchmaker, uniting wheelchairs with those who need them.

Wine corks. To turn them into flooring and wall tiles, send them to Wine Cork Recycling, Yemm & Hart Ltd., 610 South Chamber Drive, Fredericktown MO 63645. Or put them in a compost bin. “They’re natural,” says Matsch, “so they’re biodegradable.” Plastic corks can’t be composted or recycled.

Wipes and sponges. These can’t be recycled. But sea sponges and natural sponges made from vegetable cellulose are biodegradable and can be tossed into a compost heap.

Writing implements. You can’t recycle pens, pencils, and markers, but you can donate usable ones to schools that are short on these supplies. At www.iloveschools.com, teachers from around the United States specify their wish lists. And there’s always the option of buying refillable pencils and biodegradable pens made of corn (like those at www.grassrootsstore.com) so that less waste winds up in the landfill.

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Xmas lights. Ship your old lights to HolidayLEDs.com, Attention: Recycling Program, 120 W. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1403, Jackson MI 49201. The company will send you a coupon for 10 percent off its LED lights, which use 80 percent less energy and last 10 years or more. And they’re safer, too. LEDs don’t generate much heat, whereas incandescents give off heat, which can cause a dry Christmas tree to catch fire. Ace Hardware stores accept lights as well; search by ZIP code at www.acehardware.com.

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Yogurt cups. Many towns don’t recycle these because they’re made of a plastic that can’t be processed with other plastics. But Stonyfield Farm has launched a program that turns its cups into toothbrushes, razors, and other products. Mail to Stonyfield Farm, 10 Burton Drive, Londonderry NH 03053. Or you can join TerraCycle’s Yogurt Brigade (currently available only in the Northeast) to recycle Stonyfield containers and raise money for your favorite charity. For every cup collected, Stonyfield will donate 2 cents or 5 cents, depending on the cup size. Go to www.terracycle.net.

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Zippered plastic bags. Venues that recycle plastic bags will also accept these items, as long as they are clean, dry, and the zip part has been snipped off (it’s a different type of plastic).

Tip: When shipping items to be recycled, prevent waste by skipping packing peanuts and bubble wrap in favor of used newspaper. And opt for the smallest box possible.