A Resource to Find Local Recycling Centers

These days, recycling is about more that paper and aluminum cans. Much of what we use can be reused, assuming it gets into the right hands. The mission of Earth911 is to make every day Earth Day. To do so they provide free community-specific environmental and recycling information. Visit their website (earth911.org) to find resources on

* Recycling centers - They'll help you recycle everything from concrete to carpet to cell phones to car batteries. With their help, you may be able to recycle everything!

* Green shopping - Make sure you spend your money in ways that reflect your personal priorities.

* Energy conservation - You'll "find simple things that consumers, businesses, and children and teachers can do to help reduce energy consumption."

* Household hazardous waste - Protect yourself, your family, your community and our environment with these tips for storage, disposal, and recycling.

* Composting - One of my favorite activities! With this information on starting and using a compost pile, you can join me in this backyard fun.

* Events - Find environmental events happening in your area.

Take a look around your home. Do you have mercury thermometers or burned out compact fluorescent light bulbs? Then check out the mercury recycling section. Do you have nonfunctional computers or VCRs? Then check out the electronics section. Do you have used motor oil? A Christmas tree? Tires? You can find places to recycle it all with the help of Earth911. And if there's something you don't understand, check out their glossary.

Just call 1-800-CLEANUP or enter your ZIP code at Earth911.org to get started. They even have sections for children, discussions on climate change, water quality and air pollution, and information specifically for businesses. They list information for all 50 states and for over 25 countries. For more than 16 years Earth911.org has provided a wealth of information. Visit their site or give them a call - you'll use the service again and again. It's a great help for those who are committed to reduce, reuse, recycle and restore. Truly, every day is Earth day.

"To see the earth as we now see it, small and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the unending night-brothers who see now they are truly brothers." - Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982), U.S. poet on the first pictures of the earth from the moon.