When your bottle of dishwashing soap, shampoo or laundry detergent is empty (but there’s soapy residue on the inside), just screw on the plastic cap and throw it into the recycling bin. While it’s often a good thing to give recyclables a rinse to get them clean, leftover soap is actually desired by recyclers. The soap helps to get other nonsoapy recyclables clean.

It’s common knowledge that planting a tree is an eco-friendly action that can help absorb CO2 emissions and release oxygen into the atmosphere. But not all trees are the same, and some absorb more pollution than others due to their genetic makeup, size and shape. For the most bang for the buck, look for trees like black walnut, white pine, scarlet oak, red pine, Ponderosa pine and chestnut trees. They are easy-to-find species, easy to grow and will ultimately be a workhorse tree in your backyard.

Paperboard cartons that hold beverages like milk, juices and even shelf-stable soups are made from layers of mixed materials, called aseptic containers, that used to be hard to recycle. Today, many curbside recycling programs accept them as the efficiency and ability to recycle them has grown. But items like takeout containers and ice cream cartons -- which feel like aseptic containers -- are not recyclable. While they look and feel the same, they are not considered shelf stable, and they are made from entirely different, nonrecyclable materials.