First, try to recycle it. The best place to learn about recycling is to call whatever company picks up your trash. If you're rural and must take trash and recycling to a landfill, transfer station, or recycle center, contact the company to find out what it can use and what it can't, and whether there is a charge.



For example, many communities have curbside pickup for trash and recycling. The recycled things may be collected in a single bin or need to be sorted by type: metals, plastics, papers, and yard waste. Some communities have curbside recycling for small and major appliances while others don't. And in some towns, there are private recyclers that will pick up just about any recyclable materials you put at the curb on a specified day.

Most major appliances are about 75 percent steel--and about a third of that is recycled steel. Other metals in appliances include copper, aluminum, and zinc, all recyclable. Refrigerators, freezers, ranges, ovens, cook tops, clothes washers, dryers, dishwashers, dehumidifiers, room air conditioners, trash compactors are all potentially recyclable.

You also can find local recyclers in your local telephone book under headings like Recycle Centers and Scrap Metals. Many will pay you for aluminum cans, clear glass, PET plastics, and nonferrous (non-iron) metals. PET stands for poly ethylene terephthalate, a plastic resin used in many products--and easily recycled into new products.

Second, try reusing it. There are many things around your home that you can reuse instead of recycling or tossing. Think creatively before you banish something from your household. For example:

* Unrepairable clothing can become fix-it shop rags or quilting squares.

* Old kitchen cabinets that are replaced can be used as work cabinets in your fix-it shop.

* Extra drawers from a broken dresser can become under-bed storage containers.

* Ugly but usable hairdryers can be put to work thawing frozen pipes or making small patches of paint dry faster.

* Old tires can be nailed to walls in tight garages to reduce car scrapes or used in the yard as landscaping material or as play equipment.

* Polystyrene packing (peanuts) and other packing materials can be used to pack around breakable gifts or any package you need to mail or ship.

Third, if you can't reuse something that's still in usable condition, give it to someone who can use it:

* You can donate old eyeglasses to your local Lions Club.

* A few charities and service organizations accept operating computers and appliances.

* Turn in old cell phones to your phone provider if they offer reconditioned phones to groups that help homeless and/or low-income people to be used for emergency-only calls.

* Local charities may also accept diskettes, video tapes, polystyrene packing, compact discs, and holiday greeting cards.

* A senior center or homeless shelter may appreciate your old books and magazines.

* Packing peanuts and other packing materials are appreciated by your local mailbox/shipping store.

* Animal shelters gladly take donations of clean blankets and towels for use as pet beds.

Another option is to recycle broken things to repair shops. For example, small appliance repair shops may accept nonworking items and reuse the parts. Or they may refurbish and resell items. Most won't pay you anything for the broken things--there's just not enough profit in it--but they may bring it back to working condition and save someone some money. And you won't have to pay to put it in the landfill.

Finally, if you learn to enjoy fixing things, donate something that breaks to your education. That is, put it on the workbench for a rainy day and disassemble it to figure out how it works. You may even be able to salvage and reuse an otherwise good motor, heat element, or switches. You can fix it!