• Reduce the amount of garbage created by eating foods before they spoil and by not over-cooking.

• Reduce garbage and trash by composting materials to use as fertilizer.

• Reduce the amount of plastic used -- use canvas bags for grocery shopping and paper bags instead of plastic.

• Never purchased over-packaged materials.

• Use products that are made from recycled materials.

• Stop your junk mail, write to: Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, Attn: Department 11630860, PO Box 282 Carmel, NY 10512.

• Receive your monthly statements via email and make payments online.

Reuse

• Sell or donate products no longer in use – such as donating toner cartridges or old cell phones to a good cause instead of throwing them away.

• Buy products that are longer lasting or that can be reused or refilled several times.

• Use rechargeable alkaline batteries – they work just as well and can be recharged 20 or more times. NiCad batteries can be recharged several hundred times. Note: it is illegal to put rechargeable batteries in the garbage. Button and nickel cadmium batteries can be taken to a participating disposal store such as Radio Shack, Target, or the Home Depot. Click here to find out where you can recycle your batteries within the City of Miami.

Recycle

Call 311 in the City of Miami to request a recycling bin for your home. The following items can be recycled through curbside recycling.

• Newspaper

• Glass bottles and jars (lids are acceptable)

• Plastic bottles and jars (numbers 1, 2, 3)

• Aluminum cans

• Milk and juice cartons made from paper
   

For more information on curbside pick-up within the City of Miami, please visit the Department of Solid Waste website.

Please take motor oil, motor oil containers, and paint cans to the Miami-Dade County Home Chemical Collection Center located at 8831 NW 58^th Street.