1. Cereal box bags – Of course the cardboard box can be recycled, but the inside plastic bag can be recycled with all your other plastic bags with the recycling collection (if your community recycling plan offers it). Bag all your plastic bags and put them on top of your recycling bin for collection or bring them to your grocery store for recycling. Make sure they go on top of the bin, not mixed with the rest of the recycling; otherwise they clog up the conveyor belts at the recycling center.
2. Sneakers – Nike offers a program that recycles all the parts of sneakers – turning them into surfaces for tracks, tennis courts and basketball courts. Drop any sneakers at any Nike store, or host a shoe drive. http://www.nikereuseashoe.com
3. Crayons – Got crayon bits? Crazy Crayons keeps old crayons and parts out of the landfill and melts them into new crayons. No sorting necessary, but they’ll only take US made crayons because some from China contain lead, so only buy US made crayons. http://crazycrayons.com/recycle_program.html
4. CDs/DVDs – For the cost of shipping, GreenDisk will recycle your CDs. They’ll also take mice, keyboards, cell phones, cords – all sorts of techno-trash. http://greendisk.com
5. Batteries – It’s illegal to put these into the landfill! Drop them at the fire department or local hardware store, or leave in a plastic bag on top of your recycling bin (if your community recycling plan accepts batteries).
6. CFL bulbs – These are also hazardous waste and cannot be tossed. No municipal collection exists yet (read press your Council person), but you can bring old or even broken bulbs (in a sealed plastic bag), to any Home Depot or Ikea store – look for the drop box at the customer service counter at Home Depot, or the lighting department in Ikea.
7. Packing peanuts – Don’t toss these, instead bring them to a local packaging store – bring them your shipping boxes too so they can get a second, third or forth life. http://loosefillpackaging.com
8. Ink cartridges – These are worth about $1 each – schools are constantly fundraising with collections for these, or try: http://recycleplace.com
9. Toothbrushes – Here’s a cool one – a toothbrush subscription. They send you new recycled plastic toothbrushes on a pre-determined schedule, then they take back the old ones and use them to make plastic lumber for things like picnic tables. http://www.preserveproducts.com
10. Old stuff – Before you put anything in the trash, offer it up for free on craigslist.com or freecycle.org. Usually there’s someone out there that wants what you have, especially if it’s free, and they’ll come pick it up!