Recycling

8 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Recycle
Care2.com: 5.19.11
posted by Mel, selected from Divine Caroline via EcoSalon

1. Wine Corks
Send them to Yemm & Hart Green Materials started an experimental wine cork-recycling program that processes the old bottle stoppers into environmentally friendly cork floor and wall tiles.

2. Books, DVDs, and CDs
Swaptree.com is a cool Web site that allows you to essentially keep a constantly fresh, rotating selection of reading material, movies, and music for zero dollars.

3. Shoes
Nike is happy to take your rubber-soled shoes—no matter who made them—and recycle them into new athletic surfaces like basketball courts and running tracks. Find your nearest dropoff location at the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe website.

4. Foam Packing Peanuts
EPS recyclers. Polystyrene packing peanuts and molded foam cushioning can either be dropped off at a local location if you have one or sent in the mail.

5. Carpet
Check out the map at CarpetRecovery—you could be able to give that shaggy rug new life as composite lumber, roofing shingles, railroad ties, or automotive parts.

6. Holiday Lights
Send them off to HolidayLEDs to be recycled and you’ll get more than just do-gooder satisfaction. They’ll gift you with a 15-percent-off coupon for anything on their site, so you can get the twinkly LED lights of your dreams.

7. Bras
Bosom Buddy Recycling will take your old bras and give them to deserving women around the country including women’s shelters, transitional housing, and breast cancer-survivor support groups.

8. Prescription Medication
L A County Sheriff's Dept. Drug Drop Off Program
Our water has a drug problem, and as a result, we’re all taking in way more medication than we bargained for. Drinking water in many major metropolitan areas is contaminated with all kinds of pharmaceuticals—from antibiotics to antidepressants—and it’s not just the result of them passing through our bodies. Instead of flushing your prescription meds down the toilet, donate drugs that are still usable. Not every state has a recycling/redistribution program or allows patients to donate directly.