Whew. More recycling tips.

I was actually a little concerned about my advice to save up the Styrofoam meat trays and give them to a grade school or art teacher. My mother, a first grade teacher, saved all that stuff and claimed she used it in her classes, but Hey! That was 30-50 years ago! Maybe that kind of project is Just Not Done anymore.

Sheepish Annie, a teacher in the here-and-now, knows better:

"Most schools are constantly putting out the call for things like styrofoam trays, egg cartons, yogurt containers and the like. It is a great way to recycle items. I have about three billion of those plastic coffee "jars" for scissors and pencils in my classroom. Yarn is a biggie, too. It is a great way to find a home for all the acrylic stuff."

So save the egg cartons and the meat trays and the yogurt cups. Find yourself a school or teacher who wants 'em. Give 'em the #5 plastics and the Styrofoam.

Party on, dudes!

* * * * *

From Fake Plastic Fish, a site that Erika turned me on to, recycling toothpaste tubes:

Tom's of Maine SLS-Free toothpaste comes in a recyclable aluminum tube. Here are the recycling instructions, directly from the company's web site:

In order to recycle our toothpaste tubes, you must first remove the plastic cap and the plastic threaded covering on the neck of the tube. The tubes can then be tossed in with your aluminum cans for recycling. In case you're wondering, any toothpaste left in the tube and the food-grade plastic liner does not affect the tube's recyclability. When the aluminum is processed, any residual toothpaste as well as the food-grade liner melts away without contaminating the recycled product.

If your town does not accept our tubes, please feel free to save up a bunch and send them to us at Tom’s of Maine, Consumer Dialogue Team, 302 Lafayette Center, Kennebunk, ME 04043. We would be happy to recycle them for you.

Disclaimer: I have no connection with Tom's of Maine nor do I even use their toothpaste. Although that will change.