Fill an old pillowcase with compost-ready materials from yourkitchen, tie the top with string, submerge the pillowcase for 24 hours in afive-gallon bucket filled with water. Spread the nutrient-drenched contents onyour garden the next day and use the watery brine to water other plants.

The easiest way to doyour part and help the environment is to simply recycle. It’s also one of themost effective ways to conserve natural resources, create less pollution andreduce the amount of waste sent to the landfill.

Seventy-five percent of the waste we generate in American homes is recyclablebut less than 35% is actually making it to a recycling center. The followingsteps are simple practices you can put into place to help you do your part andmake a habit of recycling.

Make It Easy: Most of us keep our recycling bins outside orin the garage, which isn’t always convenient. Put other containers throughoutyour home to serve as recycling bins—especially in places where it’s easy toforget to recycle. One of those places is the bathroom. Think of all the emptyshampoo bottles, toilet paper rolls, and even those cardboard soap boxes thatusually get tossed in the trash. In your home office, have another basket tocollect paper for recycling. By spreading out small containers for recyclingaround the house, the entire family will be more inclined to think twice beforethrowing something in the garbage.

Know Your Numbers: All plastic containers have a littlenumber inside recycling arrows located on the bottom which identifies the typeof plastic used to make the product. Many local curbside recycling programsaccept products marked with a No. 1 or No. 2 but some take all seven types ofplastic.

It Makes Cents: Throwing aluminum cans in the trash is likethrowing money out the window. Recycled aluminum is turned into new cans in lessthan 90 days and it can be recycled over and over again. It takes 95% lessenergy to make a can from recycled materials and produces 97% less waterpollution. So choose beverages in aluminum and recycle every can.

Speak With Your Wallet: Filling your curbside-recycling binis just the beginning. Complete the circle by seeking out products made fromrecycled content—especially post-consumer content. That’s the materials yourecycle and not the scraps on factory floors.

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