Three things YOU can do to save natural resources!

1. Reduce! Buy and use less stuff. This is the best way to conserve natural resources. For example, it takes one ton of raw materials from the earth to make one laptop computer! We can also pay special attention to reducing the amount of non-renewable resources we use. For instance, by reducing our use of non-renewable oil and coal to give us energy and electricity, we can make less air pollution. Instead, we can get energy from the sun, the wind and the ocean's tides to heat our homes and light our rooms. These sources of renewable energy don't create pollution and they will never run out! We can also look for different natural resources to use so that we don't use up too much of one kind. For example, we can make tree-free paper out of plants like kenaf, bamboo, and hemp instead of trees! Using tree-free paper is much better for our forests and all the animals that depend on a healthy forest in order to survive.
   
   
2. Reuse! Use something over and over again before recycling, composting, or throwing it away. When something is broken, try to fix it instead of putting it in the trash and buying it again new. Reusing is a great way to extend the life of things and save natural resources!
   
   Here are some good ideas for reuse:
   • Write on both sides of paper.
   • Drink from glass or reusable hard, plastic cups instead of throwaway paper or throwaway plastic ones.
   • Use cloth towels and napkins instead of paper towels and napkins.
   • Turn old clothes into new clothes by trading with a friend.
   • Take a cloth bag to the grocery store instead of using a paper or plastic bag.
   • Use the comic pages from the newspaper or old maps as wrapping paper.
   
   Here are some fun ideas for ways to reuse!
   • Make a watering can out of a milk jug
   • Make a backyard bird feeder
   • Check out these fun art projects
   
   
   
3. Recycle! Turn something old into something new. Recycling means we don't have to get more natural resources to make new things. For instance, instead of digging up new bauxite from the rainforest to make new aluminum cans, we can recycle our cans and use the old aluminum to make new cans!
   
   Here's what you can recycle in San Francisco:
   • All clean paper like old homework, newspapers, magazines, phone books, junk mail, cereal boxes.
   • All metal cans including soda cans.
   • All plastic bottles like water bottles, milk jugs, vitamin bottles, laundry soap bottles.
   • All hard plastic containers with the numbers 2, 4 or 5 on the bottom. These include yogurt containers and cottage cheese containers.
   
   Learn more about what you can recycle.
   • Play this game with Vermi the Worm
   • Find out how to recycle in San Francisco
   
   Here are some other places you can visit to learn about recycling:
   • http://www.recycleroom.org
   • http://www.kidsplanet.org
   • http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/kidspage/
   • http://www.lawrencekidsrecycle.org/
   • http://www.recycleyourcans.org