You might be surprised to find out that there is actually a brewing debate over whether and how soon we will run out of space in our landfills. The debate is quite similar to the global warming debate, with the conservatives taking one side and the liberals taking the other. In the great landfill debate, environmentalist claim that the more we increase our landfill size, the more likely we will all get to have landfills in our back yards. The conservatives claim that landfill technology will save us, even as the landfills grow out of control.

I have to land in the environmentalist’s side on this one and for that reason, I have done a little research on what we can do with our extra “stuff,” so that we can decrease the volume that goes into the landfill. It is amazing how many great sites there are for recycling. Here’s a sampling of what I found in a book called The Virtuous Consumer, by Leslie Garrett. I highly recommend this book as a resource for reducing, reusing and recycling:

• Dressforsuccess.org – Recycles gently worn business clothing, coats and briefcases.

• Wildize.org – Collects hiking boots through their Boots for Rangers program for African rangers who patrol park boundaries and wilderness areas.

• Nikereuseashoe.com – Turns your old running shoes (they can be gross and nasty, even!) into athletic surfaces.

• Worldcomputerexchange.org – Recycle your PC to be used in a school in a third world country.

• Suitcasesforkids.org – This site helps give foster kids a place to keep their stuff as they move from place to place.

• Lions International – Donate your used adult and kid’s eyeglasses for use in third world countries.

Darcy Ratner and Julie Arnheim
Rubbingnickels.com

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