The economy has undoubtedly impacted every aspect of American life, including the way people spend their money. The shrinking retail sales may be a tell-all about a reduction in consumerism — whether by necessity or because it’s trendy — but there’s one other number that may indicate America’s love for “stuff” is changing. For the past few years, the amount of garbage generated nationwide has been decreasing: According to the Environmental Protection Agency, between 2007 and 2009 (the last year available), municipal solid waste (a.k.a. garbage) generation went from 255 million tons to 243 million. Still, considering that amount is double that of four or five decades ago, it’s easy to understand the efforts to promote and encourage recycling. Consumers, of course, are complying, recovering about 34 percent of materials nationwide (from less than 10 percent 30 years ago). But while paper recycling has become second nature (and 64 percent of it is diverted from the landfill), a growing number of people are looking for ways to recycle various other things that usually go into the trash, from candy wrappers and Ziplock bags to potato chip bags and Elmer’s glue sticks.

(ARA) - As a parent, you'd like your home, community, and children's schools to be greener. Unfortunately, daily life can get in the way of that. You have limited time and budget in which to make the world around you a more sustainable place. But fortunately, going green doesn't have to be difficult, time-consuming or expensive. In fact, a smart and savvy parent can go green and save green at the same time. Here are a few easy ways you can change the world for the better, and even have fun while you're at it: * Get trashy - As a parent you probably go through lots of food for your kids that comes in difficult- or impossible-to-recycle packaging, as far as you know. There's a company called TerraCycle that makes products like umbrellas to backpacks, gardening products to recycling bins from recycled trash. TerraCycle works directly with the public, enlisting their help in the form of "brigades," - self-organized groups of people, typically schools - that collect packaging. The newest collected product is Malt-O-Meal, the cereal company that long ago decided to "Bag the Box," skipping the paper box that is typical of cereals; that alone already reducing the packaging by 75 percent.