For Mom

Fashion- and eco-conscious moms may like a chic, sophisticated handbag; consider one made with repurposed truck and tractor tire inner tubes (often made using plastics) for a unique gift. A simpler but stylish tote bag made with recycled plastics could be useful for the busy mom. Active moms may appreciate a new pair of athletic shoes made with recycled plastics. For the environmentally minded mom (or dad) who enjoys cooking, there’s an ever growing selection of distinctive, colorful kitchenware made with recycled plastics.

For Dad

Give Dad a stylish, recycled-plastics messenger bag to carry his essentials; choose from a variety of types to suit his style, from sporty to sophisticated. For the tech-savvy dad, a colorful, durable computer tablet case made with repurposed neoprene plastic (the same material used to make wetsuits!) could make a great gift. Or tell Dad it’s time to toss the old, worn-out wallet for a simple, classic wallet that looks like leather but actually is made with recycled-plastic bags.

For the Kids

Got a toy truck lover at home? Recycled-plastic trucks come in several different types and colors to please most kids. Is a small someone looking to host princess tea parties? Construct the next Empire State Building? Bake the world’s best pizza? A recycled-plastic tea set, tool set, or pizza parlor set can encourage kids to be imaginative while also benefiting the environment. If your child is looking for a new “best friend” this holiday season, a cuddly stuffed animal made with recycled-plastic fabric and stuffing may be a good little buddy to snuggle with under the covers.

For The Home

There are many options out there to help spruce up a home with a dash of green. Recycled plastic picture frames and decorative boxes can add character to many rooms. A decorative, recycled-plastic rug can liven up a dull space and add a bit of warmth. And for creative types, check out a recycled-plastic lamp with a shade that can be molded into varying shapes: it’s really a custom sculpture that can shed light in a personalized, eco-savvy way.  What about the pets? Perhaps pamper your furry friends with a mat, blanket or cushion that is both comfy and made with soft recycled plastics.

Many school-related products from sneakers to Lacrosse pads are made from plastics, and more and more products are using recycled plastics.  So this year, when junior says, “Hey, I need a new …,” think recycled, and teach your budding Einstein an environmental lesson.

For example, the perfect backpack is a school staple, as kids today lug around what appear to be 400 pounds of books. For your littler ones, Beatrix makes backpacks with recycled plastics that are lightweight and easy to clean. The manufacturer says that each pack uses the equivalent of seven water bottles. For your somewhat larger kids, Green Smart offers cool backpacks, laptop sleeves, messenger bags, and water bottle coolers made with recycled plastics from bottles. Green Smart says the company has diverted more than 750,000 plastic bottles from waste.

Getting kids to eat their greens can be a chore. But perhaps they can be a bit greener at school mealtime with recycled plastic lunch bags. Readily available from many online sites, these bags commonly are made with recycled plastics from beverage bottles. For example, Clean Conscience lunch bags use approximately three recycled bottles, which recaptures the value of plastics — and teaches kids a valuable lesson.

“I need to write down something – hand me a refrigerator.” Pencils made from refrigerators? That’s right – BIC® now makes pencils with recycled polystyrene plastic from discarded refrigerators. The recycled polystyrene pencils work just like traditional cedar pencils. One refrigerator produces enough polystyrene for 640 pencils – a great a lesson that something as simple as a pencil can make a difference.

For some kids, school seems all about the clothes. Companies such as Patagonia make fashionable cold and wet weather kid apparel out of recycled soda bottles and plastic fabrics. Jackets, vests, hats, gloves, sweat pants, under layers – all help close the recycling loop and give your kid something to brag (and feel good) about.

Recycling plastic bottles and bags is one thing that everyone can do to help make a difference, not just because it keeps valuable materials out of landfills, but because the plastic bottles and bags you recycle can live “second lives” as other products such as carpeting, a tote bag, furniture or even a stylish T-shirt. In fact, 81 percent of Americans say they want to buy and/or wear clothing made from recycled materials!

So how do you “close the recycling loop”? Leave a comment below letting us know about the cool recycled content products you use every day or share your tips for recycling more plastics this Earth Day.

Also, check out @plasticpossible on Twitter for the chance to win a cool t-shirt made from eight recycled plastics bottles!

More than half of household garbage in the U.S. is buried in landfills.  However, some communities convert much of their garbage into energy that then is supplied to the electricity grid, powering homes and businesses.  These communities have embraced energy recovery as a way to save landfill space.  They also find that municipal waste is a smart alternative energy source.

The hydrocarbons that make up most plastic products are a powerful source of energy.  For example, common plastic foodservice products supply more than 16,000 BTUs (similar to the big burner on a stove) per pound in a “waste-to-energy” facility.  That’s twice as much energy per pound as coal.  Rather than burying this stored energy, communities can recapture it.

In a modern energy recovery facility, high-BTU plastics actually can help other, lower-BTU materials combust more completely, which generally means cleaner emissions and less ash for disposal.  A 2009 study by the U.S. E.P.A. and North Carolina State University scientists concluded that sending garbage to waste-to-energy facilities reduces greenhouse gas emissions and local pollution compared to landfilling.

There are approximately 400 of these recovery facilities throughout Europe with many more planned.  Yet there are only 87 such facilities in the U.S., with no new ones planned or being built.

One of the largest energy recovery facilities in the country is in Lorton, Virginia.  This facility converts non-recycled garbage from residents of Washington, D.C. — 200,000 tons a year — into alternative energy.  The facility transforms discarded materials into steam that turns turbines to supply $20 million of electricity per year to the local utility company.  Non-recycled plastics play a key role in helping other materials burn more readily and cleanly in this and other facilities.

Check out Bob on WTSP-TV in Tampa

Some of his great tips include:

• Look for gifts made from recycled plastics and other materials like t-shirts, hats and even purses and toys to help close the recycling loop

• Buy a set of inexpensive plastic containers so that you can pack extra food to go with your party guests

• Reuse items like plastic grocery bags around the house and recycle them at the grocery store when you’re done

• Explore creative ways to reuse items like bags and bows for wrapping gifts instead of throwing them away

Bob Lilienfeld is a nationally recognized expert on waste reduction who has appeared on more than 150 television and radio news programs across the country, including CBS Late Night, CNN, MSNBC, Nova, VH-1 and National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Marketplace, The Environment Report and Living on Earth. He provides commentary for public radio and hosts Use Less Stuff on Fox, a monthly segment for FOX TV’s morning news.  He also is the editor of the “Use Less Stuff Report,” which is dedicated to helping people understand the benefits of creating less waste in the first place.