Until I started writing the "Just the tips, man for the Enviroment" ebook, I knew very little about recycling bottles, plastic, cans, paper, etc. I just threw everything in the green can provided by our town and took it to the curb.

About a month ago, I finally read the back of our recycling pick-up schedule and realized that our town only recycles #1, #2 and #6 plastic. And, they expect you to remove the label from cans, separate dark-colored glass from light, bundle newspaper in stacks less that 12" high... Geez, I've been throwing anything that's plastic and broken (or empty) into the same can as my every color imaginable bottles for several years. I'm guessing it cost our town a lot of money to have some poor soul pick through my "garbage" to find the stuff that is truly recyclable. So, to not repeat my mistakes:

Call your local recycling center and spend a few minutes on the phone getting details about the items they do and do not recycle. Write down any items you use that they don't recycle.

Next, go to the Earth 911 web site , enter your zip code, then press Enter. Click Recycling Services (or click the picture of the pile of cans). Click any of the items that your community does not yet recycle and find out who does.

Now, back the car out of the garage along with the bikes, lawnmower and broken down washing machine. Set up 6 to 10 of those large plastic containers to hold the items you'll need to one day cart to one of those remote recycling centers. Don't forget to label them - especially if there are specific rules about things like removing labels.

I haven't done that last step (yet) but I have found a friend (babysitter) whose curbside pick-up takes cereal boxes. Ours doesn't. Twice a month, I haul them over to her house and set them out. It's a pain but it prevents 100 or so boxes from going into the landfill every month.