Go Green 101

RECYCLING BASICS
Cardboard: Do not recycle wet cardboard. It can clog sorting machines.
Plastic bottle: Do not recycle bottle tops; they're not made from the same plastic as recyclable bottles.
Cans: Cans are the most commonly recycled items. Recycling aluminum and steel cans directs valuable metal into new products, saving 95% of the energy required to manufacture aluminum from scratch and 74% of the energy needed to make steel. It's so efficient these days that a can is regenerated and back on the shelf in as little as 60 days.
Bottle Contaminants: Don't worry if there's a lime stuck in the bottle or a little bit of peanut butter stuck to the bottom of the jar. The recycler's machinery can tell the difference between contaminants and recyclable materials. It will zap all contaminants.

LIGHTS

Fact: Contrary to popular opinion, you won't waste energy by turning the lights on and off, and the bulbs lifespan will not be noticeably reduced. A 100-watt bulb left on 8 hours a day burns $30 worth of electricity per year.
Tip: Turn off the lights whenever you leave the room. Replace regular light bulbs and fixtures with Energy Star-qualified compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) available at most hardware stores. CFLs cast a warmer glow. They cost more than regular light bulbs, but they use 70% less energy and last much longer (10,000 hours, compared to 750 hours). And they look just as good.

RED MEAT

Fact: Meat production, especially in mass-produced beef, is extremely resource-intensive. It can take 7 or more pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef, and livestock consumes 70% of America's grain.
Tip: Skip red meat once a week. Eat less of it and choose pasture-fed, sustainably raised beef whenever you can. If you give it up once every 7 days, you would save 840 gallons of fresh water is takes to produce a single serving.

LINT

Fact: The average American household spends up to $135 per year in energy costs drying clothes. A dirty lint filter can use 30% more energy to get the job done.
Tip: Free lint bunnies.

CANVAS BAGS

Fact: It sounds obvious, but in an average year, U.S. households use about a Billion plastic bags, 99% of which are never recycled.
Tip: Bring a canvas bag to the market. Stash some canvas bags in your car.

RECYCLED PRODUCTS

Fact: If every American household purchased one package of 100% recycled napkins, we would save 1 million trees.
Tip: Buy Recycled Paper Products. While you're at it, buy recycled paper towels and tissues, too.