Consumers inevitably produce an exorbitant amount of trash. The customary way to dispose of our waste has been by using landfills or through incineration. An excellent alternative for disposal is to recycle.  While not everything can be recycled, many paper, plastic, and metal products are recyclable. More and more Americans are becoming aware of the benefits of recycling and choosing to participate in their local recycling programs.

Recycling makes good sense. It protects our environment, natural resources, and saves money. Bernalillo County's award winning Recycling Program (New Mexico Recycling Coalition, 2006) has added two new items to its recycling list: magazines and junk mail. That ups the recycle list to 11 items which includes:

• newspapers,
• office paper,
• phone books,
• brown paper sacks,
• common household plastic containers,
• flattened cardboard,
• aluminum cans, foil, and pie tins,
• paperboard such as cereal boxes,
• and empty canned goods cans and empty aerosol cans.

It's available to those customers in the County's Solid Waste Program contracted by Waste Management. To participate, call Waste Management, at 892-1200 to get your free 96-gallon recycling cart. Recycling service is already included in your garbage bill so take advantage of it.

"Recycling protects our environment and natural resources, saves our tax dollars and saves space in an already crowded landfill," says Bernalillo County Commission Chair Alan B. Armijo. "I encourage all Bernalillo County residents to do their part to help protect our environment and to recycle." "When you're about to throw away a recyclable, stop and think about the natural resources and energy that it took to make that container, can, newspaper and the extended life you can give it," says County Solid Waste Director Kim McKibben.

"When you say, 'I'm one person, how can I make a difference?' Here's a convenient, simple way to make a difference every day."