Today, many products are made from recycled materials. For example, plastics are used to produce appliance handles and insulation, aluminum cans are made into rain gutters and window frames, and newspapers become cereal boxes and roofing material. The list of products made from recycled materials grows every day, as does the list of recyclable materials for which there is a market. Joining the recycling movement is not difficult, but it does require a few basic changes in the way people deal with household garbage. First, it helps to think about ways that materials may be reused or recycled. Then, it's easy for family members to train themselves to separate recyclables from the household waste stream. (Many of us have found that school-age children make willing and effective Family Recycling Officers.)

If your community has curbside recycling, the rest is easy. If it doesn't, then all it takes is a periodic trip to the growing number of recycling drop-off points, many of which may be listed in your local newspaper.

Recycling reduces the amount of garbage going into landfills. And, just as important, recycling also conserves energy because in most cases less energy is needed to make products out of recyclable materials than from raw materials.