Avoid the Foam - Polystyrene is everywhere, from disposable coffee cups, meat and produce packaging, egg boxes, shipping "peanuts," and insulation in appliances. Check with your local recycling facility to see if they accept it - most don't because it's so bulky and processing it is prohibitively expensive. The best strategy for our environment is to avoid polystyrene foam as much as possible.

Addenda: Reader Jean Pearman submitted the following:

We buy our eggs from the grocery store occasionally, and they come in polystyrene cartons. We are lucky enough to know someone who raises chickens for eggs, and they are always glad to recycle these cartons over and over again to get their eggs to market. It wouldn't hurt to ask at your local farmers' markets if anyone could use the cartons on a regular basis, if not for eggs, then for starting seedlings rather than just pitching them in the garbage.

Be Cool - Old refrigerators and freezers are among the most difficult objects to dispose of in an ecologically conscious manner. Many of them contain ozone-depleting refrigerants such as CFCs and HCFCs in addition to the large amounts of metals and plastics that make up all large appliances, so be sure to take them to a recycling point that is equipped to remove and contain the gasses in an approved manner.

Retread, Don't Replace - Hundreds of millions of automobile tires are discarded every year, and most of them could be given a second lease on life. The next time you are contemplating replacing the rubber on your car, look into having the tires retreaded instead. The process is subject to strict safety standards in the USA, and it uses a small fraction of the energy and raw materials required to make new tires. You'll save money and the local landfill will have fewer tires taking up space.

Make Your Own "Firewood" - Newspapers have a tendency to accumulate quickly, and they are among the easiest items to recycle. Did you know that there is an easy, money-saving use they can be put to at home? Gadgets such as this one will make "logs" out of your old newspapers and magazines which can then be burned in the fireplace or wood-burning stove. Eliminate the middleman by doing the recycling yourself, and save money on your heating bill at the same time. Learn more about the log roller here.

As Good As New - Rather than putting your old furniture out on the curb for the trash service to pick up, find a new home for it instead. Many charitable organizations, churches, and furniture refinishers are happy to take your old stuff and make it look like new. Look for such an organization in your area (a web search is bound to turn some up) and keep their phone number handy for when the next piece of furniture is ready to be replaced.

Be a Freecycler - Everyone knows that recycling old furniture, appliances, toys, and other household items is better than filling our landfills with them, but is there an even better option? You bet there is. It's called freecycling. Thanks to websites like Freecycle.org you can donate the things you don't need anymore and people who need them can receive them for free. It's a win-win-win situation: you win by getting rid of your unwanted items in an eco-friendly way; the recipient wins by getting your old stuff for free; and the planet wins because freecycling is even better than recycling.

Every Scrap Counts - You already recycle newspapers and magazines because you know that for every ton of paper that is recycled, 17 trees are left standing. Good for you. But have you taken paper recycling to the next level? Recycle every scrap of paper that comes your way. Junk mail, leftover paper from bills and notices, and computer printouts are just a few categories of waste paper that are recyclable, so don't overlook these odds and ends when it's time to recycle your old newspapers.

Bits and Bytes - The worldwide obsession with personal computers has led to a worldwide environmental challenge with more than 30 million of them being discarded every year. Most personal computers contain lead, nickel, and cadmium that are toxic to humans and animals, and the plastic in each system requires up to seven quarts of crude oil to produce. This is clearly a situation where recycling would appear to be the smart thing to do, but there is a better alternative. Donate your old computer to a school, charity, or other organization that is willing to put it to good use. If you can't do this, then recycling is obviously the next best option.

Get the Lead Out - The typical car battery contains over 18 pounds of lead and 2 quarts of sulfuric acid, both of which are toxic and harmful to the environment. They are definitely things you don't want in the local landfill, so be sure to trade your old battery in when buying a new one, or take it to a recycling center to make sure it doesn't wind up in your water supply.

 

Foiled Again - Aluminum foil is a useful and valuable product, and there are some jobs that aren't suited to any other material. (Covering food while it cooks is one that comes to mind.) Unfortunately, making aluminum foil is also a resource- and energy-intensive process, so use it sparingly, wash and reuse it whenever possible, and recycle it when you can't use it anymore. And when it's time to buy a new roll, be sure to buy aluminum foil that is made from 100 percent recycled aluminum - it requires about a twentieth of the energy needed to smelt the virgin metal.