When you're at the gas station filling up, it can be easy to go through your car and toss out recyclable paper mail, empty soda cans and plastic bottles. Instead, have a small recycling bin in the car (even a repurposed reusable bag) to store recyclables in. When it's full, empty it at home in your curbside recycling bin.

Ever see stray cans and bottles and other trash carelessly strewn on the street? The reality is it probably wasn't from a litterbug, but from improperly filled trashcans. When you throw trash into the can without using trash bags, you risk items being accidentally knocked out or falling out on collection day. These small items -- which are often lightweight -- can end up on the street, clogging storm drains or eventually littering wooded areas. Do the right thing and make sure all refuse is properly bagged before tossing it out.

You might think placing leftover food into the garbage disposal is better than tossing it into the trash (which goes to the landfill), but all those fruit peels, eggshells and veggie trims still end up in the trash, even if they go down the drain. Water treatment facilities actually skim waste out of our water supply and dispose of it in landfills. So using a garbage disposal is no better than throwing food out. Instead, invest in a sinkside composting container and empty organic matter into a backyard compost bin whenever possible.