They’re not likely to end up on the shelves of your local thrift store. (In 2005, an estimated 11.1 million tons of textiles were generated as municipal solid waste, only 15.3 percent of which was recovered for export or reprocessing.) The Salvation Army, AMVETS, and Unique Thrift Stores are three organizations that work hard to divert all types of unsold fabric from landfills. (Many charities sell unsold clothes to textile recycling companies, which in turn sell wearable items to wholesalers overseas, where demand is high. The really worn stuff could be turned into cleaning cloths or filler inside your mattress or car’s interior roof.)
The non-profit Gaia-Movement, USA (773-651-7870) and USAgainLLC, a commercial textile recycling company, have drop boxes in and around Chicago. Call them for locations. Both of these organizations also ensure that worn clothes find a second home overseas or a second life through reprocessing.
46. Driving: Three simple ways to improve your mileage.
1. Don’t drive aggressively. Speeding, rapid acceleration and hard braking can lower your highway gas mileage by as much as 33 percent and city mileage by as much as 5 percent.
2. Don’t go super-fast. Driving 75 m.p.h. instead of 65 m.p.h. can cut fuel economy by as much as 15 percent.
3. Keep up with your car’s maintenance. Clean air filters can improve gas mileage by as much as 10 percent. Properly inflated and aligned tires improve mileage by about 3 percent.
47. Re-Use: Check out freecycle.org. It’s a kind of eBay experience—but without the financial gain. The city-specific site allows people to post items they want to get rid of and others who live close by, in turn, to “shop” for something they need. No money is exchanged between parties.
48. Study: Check out these Web sites:
Earth911.org
Eco Mall
Footprint Network
Recycle.net
49. Thermostats—Part 2. Use your programmable thermostat—even if you have a leaky old home and are worried that your furnace is working too hard to bring the house back up to your comfort zone two times a day. Without getting into the issue of proper insulation, it saves more energy to let the house cool down when you’re not home during the day and while you sleep at night than to keep it at the comfort zone continuously. But, if you’re setting it back to, say, 60 degrees, that may be too far for a Chicago winter, especially if your home isn’t well-insulated. At 60 degrees, countertops and dishes will seem cold. Try setting the thermostat back to 63 to 65 degrees in the winter. That way the recovery is not so steep, but you still get some benefit from the set back.
50. Kitty Litter: Consider alternative litter. There are more earthy-friendly, organic options than the standard clay litters, which pile up in landfills.
