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Community Corner

Earth Day: Six Creative Ways to Recycle

From jeans and sneakers to prescription bottles, Suzy Chudzik shows you how to reuse items you use every day.

Sure, we all can recycle paper, plastic bottles and glass, but in celebration of Earth Day, think outside the blue recycling bin and consider reusing these items and going a little greener:

1. Prescription Bottles

You could just recycle these brown little bottles, or you could give them a new life. Use them as a change holder in your car, a new home for Barbie's shoes or Polly Pocket pieces or fill them with safety pins, buttons or rubber bands.

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Fill them with dried beans and make sure it is tingly sealed and you have an instant maraca or toy for your pet. Or, contact your local vet or animal shelter and see if they can use them. The possibilities are endless!

2. Wine Corks

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Love to drink wine? Keep a basket or bowl near your wine stash. Every time you finish a bottle, drop the cork in there.

When you have a decent collection, send them off to organizations that specialize in recycling corks like www.recork.org, www.terra cycle.net or www.yemmhart.com.

3. Human Hair and Pet Fur

Before you get too grossed out, hear us out! If you already have a compost pile, don't be afraid to add your hair trimmings or pet fur to the pile. Hair is full of nitrogen which helps with the compost process.

Also, considering sprinkling your hair and pet fur in gardens and flower pots to keep away unwelcome visitors.

Birds love soft fluffy items for their nests - leave a pile of hair and fur clippings near a tree so they can easily find them. And of course, if you can cut off at least 10 inches of hair, consider donating it to www.locksoflove.org.

4. Jeans

If it's time to retire your favorite pair of jeans, consider the following suggestions for extending their life. Cut off the legs and tie one end off - you now have a holder for plastic store bags or rags. Cut off the pocket areas and you can use them as a cell phone holder for inside your purse, or to hold other small items.

5. Styrofoam Packing Peanuts

Feeling creative? During the holiday season, instead of threading popcorn to hang on the Christmas tree, use packing peanuts instead! They also serve as great insulators. Fill plastic bags with the peanuts and put them on top of the ice in your cooler to extend the life of your ice.

6. Sneakers

If your sneakers are still in good shape, donate them to a local charity. However, if they've seen better days, drop them off at any local Nike or Nike Factory store, as well as the Converse Outlet Stores. They will recycle them and transform them into Nike Grind, a material used for creating athletic and playground surfaces and certain Nike products.

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