That "trash" could be full of things you can easily recycle instead! As a matter of fact, if your garbage is collected at the curb, chances are that the same collection service will also pick up your recyclables. It could be as easy as having 2 "garbage" cans, one for trash and one for recyclables.

Recyclable materials include aluminum and steel cans, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles and containers, newspapers, office (copy) paper, magazines and catalogs, phone books, and cardboard. It only takes a few extra seconds to rinse that can or jar before you toss it into your recyclables bin, and it makes a world - the only world we have - of difference.

Even old appliances can be recycled. Your garbage collection service may offer this curbside as well for a minimal extra cost.

Recycling Benefits You

Recycling most items will not cost you any extra, in fact, it could save you money. If your garbage collection service charges extra for extra bags of trash, you may find that separating your recyclables will eliminate that problem. You may find that you need that plastic jug for some purpose after you have thrown it out - if you rinsed it and put it in your uncollected recyclables, it is clean and handy instead of covered in garbage. And best of all, you will gain personal satisfaction knowing that you and your family have reduced your negative impact on your community and on the environment.

Recycling Benefits Your Community and Country

When you choose to recycle, you conserve natural resources and energy, you help the environment, and you support the businesses that provide recycling services and the jobs they create. Just think:

One family can easily recycle a ton of paper and cardboard or more in a year - think of all those newspapers and magazines - saving 12 to 24 trees. If you recycle just 1 glass bottle, you have saved enough energy to power a light bulb for 4 hours.

Thanks to past and present recycling efforts, about 84,000 tons of trash are kept out of landfills each year. Greenhouse gases are reduced by the equivalent of taking millions of cars off the road. There is a reduction in air and water pollutants released into the environment.

The recycling business has created over one million jobs in the United States. It creates 4 jobs for every 1 job created by the waste disposal industry.

Recycling Benefits Your World

These benefits of recycling have a far larger impact than many people realize. By reducing the demand for natural resources, recycling efforts reduce the need for mining, an occupation with a reputation for being the world's deadliest. The motivation for wars fought over natural resources such as timber and minerals, which affect the lives of over 20 million people and raise billions of dollars for warlords and brutal dictatorships, can be reduced by recycling.

Check with your garbage collection service to learn what recyclable materials they accept, and make a world - the only world we have! - of difference.