When you peel off the metal lid from a yogurt or cream cheese container, you might wonder: Is that foil lid recyclable? The good news is, yes it is. It’s made entirely from aluminum and is as easily recyclable as a metal soda can. But there’s one caveat: You must rinse it clean. Be sure to rinse off any of the residual yogurt or dairy on the lid; any food waste can mess up the recycling process. And because of its size, you should crumple it up and toss it into an aluminum can so it doesn’t jam a machine or get lost on its way to the recycling center.

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Who knew? If you have just one shoe from a pair and you’re unsure what to do with it, you can donate it to your local Goodwill store. Not every item donated to Goodwill is re-sold in their stores. The charity has a waste recycling program that turns castoffs into cash. Goodwill stores often have an “orphan shoe” program where they match one shoe with a similar stray shoe and sell the pair together. It’s fine to give just one shoe in your bag of donations.

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Sure, the greenest way to wrap a present is not to use gift wrap at all. But if you want to wrap a gift, do the most eco-friendly thing: Choose recyclable paper. When buying gift wrap, avoid paper that has shimmer, shine, metallic flecks or glitter on it. These sparkles make the paper non-recyclable. Instead, look for what’s called “unlaminated” paper or just straightforward printed gift wrap. Paper with a matte finish is recyclable and can be tossed into the paper recycling bin along with regular office paper recycling.

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