One of the most frequently thrown-away materials in landfills is carpet. It’s easy to understand why: Carpet is bulky, heavy and difficult to recycle because it’s made up of a variety of materials. When you replace the carpeting in your home, you don’t have to send it off to be landfilled. The nonprofit Carpet America Recovery Effort is working to create a nationwide infrastructure to divert carpet from landfills and into recycling programs. Right now, having someone come to your home to pick up old carpet is next to impossible. But you can bring old carpet to many participating recycling centers. To find one, visit carpetrecovery.org.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

When Old Man Winter can be seen in the rearview mirror, do one more thing to celebrate spring: Get your car washed. The caustic salt used to de-ice roads can also cause damage to the undercarriage of your car; over time, it can rust the metal away. To protect your car from rust, take it to a car wash that has sprayers that can clean the undercarriage. This is not a DIY cleaning project that can be done easily at home, so let the pros handle it.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Tomatoes that traveled from halfway across the world to your supermarket don’t just have a huge carbon footprint, they often taste not-so-great. It’s well known that buying locally is an easy way to reduce greenhouse emissions and also enjoy fresher, tastier food. To help you find what’s in-season where you live, the free app “LocaVore” helps you find local farmers’ markets and lists what in-season produce items are currently being sold. You can also find recipes and other ideas for how to prepare these foods.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION