Handy GREEN TIPS * Avoid aerosol - there is no practical reuse or recycling potential. Instead look for pump sprays and burn candles or incense instead of using aerosol air freshener. * If you have to bring home a shopping bag, use them as garbage bags, or donate to a businesses that will reuse them (like the Salvation army or any thrift store). Don't just throw them away. Get into the practice / habit of carrying your own bag (preferably a cloth or mesh one) with you when you plan to shop. Some supermarkets now offer a 3¢ refund when you bring your own bags. It's yet another incentive to bring your own. * Rather than use refreezable "ice" containers, freeze a plastic bottle with water and use the same way. * Purchase products compatible with your neighborhood recycling program. Plan ahead and consider what you will be buying and where things will ultimately end up. * Give away things you no longer need or want, or donate to a charitable organization or thrift store. Don't throw away good items that are still usable. * Buy produce in season and from your local region. Support local agriculture rather than importing products from another region. Not only are you paying for shipping and transportation (unnecessary waste) but your local farmers need the support and it will promote self-sustainability. * Nature is one large composting system. Living organisms "eat" organic material and turn it into a rich, crumbly soil called humus. food scraps and yard waste can be recycled through composting. If you don't have a yard, contribute to a local facility. If there isn't one, let officials know that you want one. Take the initiative to start one yourself! For a basic factsheet, send a SASE to Berkeley Ecology Center / 2530 San Pablo Avenue / Berkeley CA 94702 * Write manufacturers about packaging or ingredients that are environmental hazards or use animal testing. Voice your opinions, if they get enough response things just might change! * Stop eating meat! Not only is the meat industry cruel to animal, but it is a vast waste of resources. If you are not already a vegetarian - think about it - do you really need to eat that cow or pig? Vegetarian diets put you more in tune to your body's nutritional needs. This is a big issue and subject to which there is much reading available, and well worth the time!! * Styrofoam will never degrade. Find a substitute!! Don't use styrofoam peanut packaging - but if some comes your way - reuse it! * Christmas trees - first of all, don't kill a tree to put in your house for 2-3 weeks. Celebrate with a living tree, or improvise. If you must have a cut once-living tree, some communities collect trees and run them through a chipper creating mulch. Clean your tree of all non-organic items first. Trees can also be chopped for fire wood after Christmas (rural living). Consider precycling and keeping a living tree in a pot, then plant it after the holiday season. * Donate second hand clothes to a non-profit organization (thrift store / homeless shelter). Worn out clothes can be turned into rags for kitchen / bathroom cleaning (wash and reuse). * Tampons: use ones without applicators. If you're afraid to touch your body, use a paper applicator over a plastic one. There are also natural sponges that can be used internally, or home-made cloth pads to keep it all totally DIY.