There’s really little need to toss things out these days — at least, not in the manner to which we’re accustomed. It’s part of a shift in policies, practices and products that has made it much easier than it used to be to achieve a tiny carbon footprint. “There are so many fantastic changes, in even the last five years,” said Kay McKeen, founder and executive director of the DuPage County nonprofit School and Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education.

Do you know about TerraCycle? This company runs recycling collection programs for previously on-recyclable items, such as drink pouches, diaper packaging, candy and energy bar wrappers, dairy tubs, and household cleaner packaging. They recently added the ability to recycle cigarette waste. Much of the collected items are upcycled into new products that are sold on their website or through retailers they’ve partnered with, such as Target. Some is turned into pellets or other forms that then are converted into building materials. Recycling programs are organized into ‘Brigades’ by waste type. Some materials collections are done with partners such as Bear Naked and Athenos. Sign up for a Brigade online, create your own collection box, and start gathering your recyclables. Collection boxes at a place of work or at a school will help to collect items faster. Terracycle suggests creating a collection box that clearly indicates what you are looking for and placing the collection box in a well-trafficked location. Items don’t have to be cleaned or neatly stacked/packaged prior to donation, making the process simpler. Use odor-blocking plastic bags in your collection box to contain smells and liquid drips. Terracycle provides a collection and mailing guide on their website.

In a program started in May in Canada and now running from the United States to Spain, TerraCycle collects cigarette butts from volunteers and turns them into plastic, which can be used for anything, even ashtrays themselves. The discarded cigarettes, which litter countries around the world, are first broken up, with the paper and remaining tobacco composted. The filter, made of a plastic called cellulose acetate, is melted down and turned into an ingredient for making a wide range of industrial plastic products, such as pallets -- the trays used to ship heavy goods. It seems that for once smoking benefits everyone. The tobacco industry, happy to get some decent publicity, pays TerraCycle. Volunteer collectors win points per butt, which can then be redeemed as contributions to charities. Sidewalks start looking cleaner. And TerraCycle, which sells recycled products to retailers like Walmart and Whole Foods, gets more business. TerraCycle has a similarly creative view on all manner of other refuse that has tended to be bracketed as impossible to recycle and is instead sent to the landfill. Juice sachets, plastic bottles, pens, coffee capsules, candy wrappers, toothbrushes and computer keyboards are all grist for TerraCycle's mill.