A year ago I visited an old friend. After a nice dinner with her family and the consequential clean up of the kitchen I asked, "Where do you keep your recycling bin?" She looked at me incredulously. "Just throw it in the trash."

Upon further examination of her environment, I found that she was using the recycling bin as a litter box in her garage. "Oh, that thing!" she says. "We were keeping a bunch of tools in it for a while, but I turned it into a litter box."

In a way, I was glad that she was using the recycling bin for something, which in itself is a form of recycling. At least it wasn’t buried in a land fill.

If your recycling bin is in the garage holding muddy boots or storing junk, you might want to rethink your habits.

Recycling: Can I make a difference?

I admit that it’s hard to comprehend what a difference one single person, or one small family, can make by taking responsibility for their personal trash. It seems much easier to throw everything away; after all, your waste management company will come and haul it away without examining the contents or holding you to any personal responsibility.

Many people think it is a time consuming nuisance to sort recycled materials; a nuisance that probably doesn't yield any real-world results. Many people, like my friend, also think: "We don’t create that much trash anyway."

If you're one of those people, you might want to do an experiment to see how much trash you really do create. I, for one, was astounded to see how much trash I created and how my household’s trash bag usage went down from one bag every couple of days, to a bag a week, then one bag every week and a half. It just keeps reducing itself as we become more conscious of our choices.

As a species, we are consuming all of our earth's resources. We are filling up landfills and creating a world of pollution for future generations. It may be hard to imagine that your choices are creating chaotic weather patterns and contributing to global warming, but every little choice you make does make a difference. It makes a difference in the rising oceans, the melting glaciers and life on the planet.

You may be one person, but there are billions of individuals on the planet. The Environmental Protection Agency reported that the United States alone created 246 million tons of trash in the year 2005. Let's look at this again: 246 million tons! If you are conscious of your choices, others around you will also become conscious of their choices. This is how we change the world – by simply changing ourselves.

How do I figure out recycling?

The best and easiest way to learn about your community recycling program is to visit your local waste management center online. They'll usually have a detailed, easy to understand list of what can be recycled. Print the page and hang it where you can see it easily. In the beginning, I made a beautiful, colorful poster out of the list and hung it above the trash can. Each time someone threw something away they could easily see – aluminum goes in the recycling bin, plastics go in the recycling bin, blue glass is not recyclable, etc. After a short period of time, I moved the printed list to the refrigerator, because everyone knows where it all goes.

Knowing what is recyclable also helps in your daily choices. You may choose to buy a sustainable water bottle or coffee mug, instead of buying and recycling all of those plastic bottles and paper coffee cups. You may start carrying cloth bags to the grocer, instead of using plastic and paper bags. There are endless choices to be made, but chances are you won’t make them unless you are educated about your community recycling program and make it a part of your life.

What about my friend? She bought a kitty litter box and now uses her recycling bin. Her husband created a compost bin and loves using it for his garden. The other day, I saw an organic farming book on their kitchen table. I didn’t say anything. I just smiled, knowing that we all make a difference.