your trash...

You can make a difference by creating less trash -- and recycling everything you can.  If you have commingled (mixed together) recycling where you are, here are some of the things you can recycle:

• newspapers, magazines, inserts, junk mail, cardboard, cereal boxes.

• hard plastics that are marked #1 through #7 on the bottom inside the recycling symbol.

• soda cans, food cans, foil, pie plates.

• glass containers, bottles and jars.

You can also help by making sure some materials, like batteries, motoroil, or chemicals don't go in your trash, and don't go down your drain. (See chemicals and batteries for what to do with these). Additional items now prohibited from your trash are electronics waste (e-waste), fluorescent lights, any devices that contain mercury (such as thermometers), computer monitors and TVs, and full or partly-full aerosol cans.

For countywide information on your trash and recycling, see the County's www.lessismore.org and the City of Santa Barbara's www.SBrecycles.org.

There are many items you can recycle that you may not know you can. See Directory of Materials on the county website.

You can also see the state Integrated Waste Management Board site for tips on buying things made from recycled materials, creating less trash, managing yard waste, and much more.