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Did you know that the two most common items found in landfills are newspapers and beverage containers?I find this hard to believe because newspapers and beverage containers are probably the two items that most people actually do think about when it comes to recycling. So if people know that newspapers and beverage containers can be recycled, yet apparently Americans are not recycling them, what else are we not recycling? Even personally, I admit that there are a lot of things that I throw out because either I dont know that they can be recycled or I forget that they can be recycled.

Here is a list of 8 things, other than newspapers and beverage containers, that can be recycled that you either may not know about or often forget:

1. Junk Mail and Cards You should put a small recycling bin next to the door you use when you retrieve your mail. This is an easy way to remember to recycle any junk mail as you walk back inside. It is also a reminder to recycle the empty envelopes that remain once youve opened your mail, including envelopes with the plastic window.

2. Books For the most part, you will probably want to donate or sell any books that you may be done using. However, if you have completely destroyed a book, or perhaps a book is too outdated, recycle it. This includes both paperback and hardbacks. Remember to recycle old crossword books, calendars, and phonebooks instead of throwing them in the trash.

3. Shredded Paper Okay, here is another one that I am personally guilty of not recycling. It is so easy to forget that shredded paper can be paper-bagged (remember, plastic bags areNOT recyclable)and recycled. Shredded paper is just paper, so dont trash it!

4. Squeeze Bottles and Plastic Cups This is something I only recently learned. When your squeeze bottles become old, dont throw them out; recycle them. And when that party ends at your house and you have all these used plastic cups lying around, dont put them in the trash. Or if you have a bunch of souvenir plastic cups from games that you dont have a place for, recycle them. Who needs a cup from every game anyways, honestly? Better yet, you shouldnt be spending all your money at these games anyways unless you have a dedicated sporting event fund built up.

5. Disposable Plates and Cups Next time you throw a party, have your guests throw out their disposable plates and cups in a recycling bin instead of the trash. Be careful about cutlery though because it is not always recyclable; check with your recycling service to know the rules. One recent mistake I made? I recently threw a birthday party and a baptism party in my home, and I didnt think to have people recycle their plates and cups. Next time, I will make sure to direct the recycling efforts better. Also, since straws are plastic, they are recyclable as well.

6. CD Cases What do you do with your CD cases when you have put all of your CDs into a carrying case or have uploaded them all onto your iPod or other MP3 player? You probably just toss them in the trash, right? But CD cases can be recycled, so remember that the next time you finish uploading a CD!

7. Paperboard Every time you open a paperboard box, remember that it can be recycled. That includes cereal boxes, pizza boxes, cracker boxes, cardboard boxes, or any other type of paper packaging. If you are like my family, at least one of these is opened every day. There is a huge negative environmental impact caused by not throwing these out.

8. Disposable Diapers - The third most common object found in landfillsis disposable diapers. While these cant be recycled, the problem can be easily solved by using cloth diapers vs disposables.

Remember that you can also reduce and reuse many of your everyday household items in order to decrease what is being put in our landfills. If your garbage service charges you by the amount you throw out (like mine does), there is an added money-saving bonus to recycling and using less. I advise you to look at your recycling services website to see what your city specifically accepts for recycling. There is a lot of variation between cities, so make sure you know what is approved and not approved. For example, my local service does not accept aluminum foil, but I know that other services do accept it as long as it does not have any food particles left on it.

Have any other recyclable items to add to the mix? Happy recycling, everyone!

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