6/28/11

Empty aerosal cans -- whether for spray paint or hair spray -- can be recycled in most communities. The trick is to recycle completely empty cans, so be sure to either use up the product that is inside the can or spray it empty onto sheets of scrap paper. Contact your local waste hauler and ask if your empty cans may be deposited into your curbside recycling or if there is a special drop-off location for them. The key thing is this: Don't throw them in the trash when they can and should be recycled.

6/27/11

Do the plastic shopping bags you bring back to the supermarket for recycling really get recycled? You bet they do. One of the largest recyclers of these bags is Trex, maker of the eco-friendly outdoor decking product. The company recycled more than 3 billion plastic grocery bags in 2010 to make their products and did it in part by collecting them through supermarket recycling programs.

6/26/11

When your front door lock struggles to open with your key, you may want to run to the locksmith to order new keys. Try this trick first: Rub the key with a pencil so the graphite powder coats the entire outside of the key. Then try the key in the lock again; the graphite should help reduce friction inside the lock and make everything almost as good as new.