| The most important rule is to reduce the amount | | | | Make cleaning rags out of your old clothes and |
| of garbage you create. | | | | save on paper towels/napkins. |
| Buy in bulk as much as you can. Avoid overly | | | | RECYCLE: |
| packaged convenience food since much of the | | | | If your community recycles metal, be sure to |
| material ends up in landfills. | | | | wash out and recycle cans. This lessens strip |
| Buy products in refillable, recycled, reusable | | | | mining air pollution, and use of energy to |
| containers - each is better than the other. If | | | | manufacturing new cans. |
| possible, buy concentrated products (soaps, | | | | Recycle glass and plastic. Buy cooking oil in glass |
| detergents and beverages) | | | | (the plastic used in bottles for cooking oil can |
| Reuse material in your home - jars, shopping | | | | produce pollutants when manufactured). Your |
| bags, plastic bags. | | | | recycling company will specify what plastic |
| Buy containers that can be reused - better to | | | | containers can be recycled - often only beverage |
| buy plastic than to use aluminum foil. | | | | containers. |
| Pay attention to packaging. Some red and yellow | | | | Do not throw away glass that cannot be recycled |
| dyes contain cadmium, which can contaminate | | | | in the glass recycling bin. Window glass contains a |
| groundwater. | | | | contaminating chemical while the drinking glass has |
| Use your own bags when grocery shopping (if | | | | a different melting point than a bottle. |
| possible) and try not to bag items that do not | | | | Recycle paper. However, be sure to remove the |
| need to be bagged. | | | | glossy advertisements from the newspaper. |
| Compost garbage (if your community allows it) | | | | Encourage your office to recycle white office |
| along with leaves, and grass clippings. | | | | paper. |
| Don't buy what you don't need. Sell or donate | | | | Recycle old magazines, if possible, or pass them |
| used items to charities rather than throwing them | | | | on to a friend, nursing home, school or library. |
| away. | | | | Recycle foam 'peanuts' at your mailing facility or |
| When you buy appliances, look for the Energy | | | | when you next send a package. |
| Star seal from the Environmental Protection | | | | Do not forget recyclable items like motor oil, tires |
| Agency. Buy good quality appliances and other | | | | and cars. Every year people dump enough used |
| items. Maintain them. Cheap appliances fail sooner, | | | | motor oil down sewers to equal 10 Exxon Alaskan |
| creating more junk. | | | | spills. |
| Stop junk mail (catalogue, brochures, and other | | | | Recycle your unwanted books by giving them to |
| advertising appeals) you do not want. To do so | | | | a library, school, church, thrift store. You can also |
| check out sites like 'Consumer Assistance (DMA)'. | | | | donate them to organizations that send books to |
| Don't use throwaway items when you can use | | | | developing countries. Do a research on any such |
| permanent ones. For example, drink from ceramic | | | | organization and contact them for more |
| cups/mugs instead of paper/single-use cups. | | | | information. |