We all know that caring for the environment is essential. This is our home, and if we fail to care for our home, we, our children, and our grandchildren will suffer the consequences.

And if you’re like most people, you probably have some basic ideas about the importance of recycling. It keeps garbage out of landfills, allows producers to reuse materials, etc. Make no mistake, recycling, is essential.

But with the amount of garbage in the world growing at a frightening pace, we need to get even more creative with our recycling. We need to come up with new, more effective ways to reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills.

In the earlier report, they warned that global solid waste generation was on pace to increase 70 percent by 2025, rising from more than 3.5 million tonnes per day in 2010 to more than 6 million tonnes per day by 2025. The waste from cities alone is already enough to fill a line of trash trucks 5,000 kilometers long every day. The global cost of dealing with all that trash is rising too: from $205 billion a year in 2010 to $375 billion by 2025, with the sharpest cost increases in developing countries.

Many people assume that recycling is still limited to aluminum and glass, and in some places that still is the case. But in many locations, plastic, paper, cardboard, and even electronics can be recycled. This dramatically increases the amount you can recycle, especially if your city offers single stream recycling in which everything can be thrown into the same container.

Call your municipal center or visit their website and ask what can be recycled. You may be surprised by what you find.

Additionally, if you’re having junk removed from your house, consider hiring a removal company that takes pride in the fact that they recycle junk that can be reused.