Ever wonder why you can't put plastic shopping bags in your curbside recycling bin? Yes, they are recyclable in bins you often find outside your supermarket. But the reality is it's not the recyclability of the bags that's the problem: The bags can literally shut down a recycling plant. Since the bags are so light and flexible, they can wrap around sorting equipment and stop it. And since bags are so thin, they often get shredded and accidentally added to bales of recyclable paper, which contaminates the entire load. So don't take the risk and toss plastic bags into your recycling bin. When you recycle them in bins at the store, they are specially handled, bundled and properly recycled in a facility where they won't become a nuisance.

This year alone, manufacturers of video games will sell about 174 million units. That's a lot of hard-to-recycle metal, plastic and mixed material pieces that will one day end up in a landfill. As gaming continues to grow, retailers are making it easier to give unwanted games a second life. The online site Cash for Gamers (cashforgamers.com) takes all sorts of games -- even broken ones -- and will often even pay you for them. It also provides a recycling service for all sorts of outdated and obsolete games. Retail stores like GameStop have in-store buying and selling services for old games and can be a place to recycle unwanted discs and cartridges, too.

After brewing your morning cup of coffee, don't toss the grinds into the trash. Grab some pots and pans that need a good cleaning -- cast iron pans are particularly good to try this idea on -- and scrub them with the used grinds. Their naturally abrasive texture will buff off debris, and they'll rinse clean without the use of any chemical cleaners.