Green up youth sports

Consider carpools. If distance isn't an issue, try walking, biking or skating to games and practice.

Recycle paper, cans and bottles. If there are no recycling bins, see if you can set up your own recycling center for practices and games.

Encourage your athletes to fill up their own reusable, washable bottle with water from home.

Consider team T-shirts made with something other than regular cotton and plastisol ink. Many printers are starting to offer friendlier material options, such as organic cotton or hemp and water-based (permanent) inks. Visit www.pimn.org/environment/greatprinter.htm or www.doitgreen.org/greenpages.

Skip the team photo packages and opt to capture and share the memories with your digital camera.

Work with your community or local recreational center to get funds for an on-site compost bin. Make it a team-building project to build a compost bin from extra material in your garage. Field-grass clippings and fruit scraps and peels are just some of the waste that can be composted.

Ditch the pre-wrapped, processed junk. Encourage zero waste, healthy snacks such as apples, orange slices or bananas (compost those peels), or bulk-food trail-mix. Have a jug of ice water or 100 percent juice available and use reusable cups or water bottles.

Consider buying used equipment instead of new. Check out the list of where to buy used sports equipment at www.doitgreen.org/article/recreation/sports.

Make sure your used sports equipment has a second life by donating or handing down to athletes in need.

From Ryan North at doitgreen.org.

Recycling has worked. Since its beginning it has reduced carbon emissions, water and energy consumption and the need for landfill use, as well as conserved natural resources.

In 2006 the impact of residential recycling saved 46 trillion BTUs of energy. That's enough to power all of the homes in Ramsey County for a year.

From the Recycling Association of Minnesota

A free kit from the Recycling Association of Minnesota allows you to recycle your laptop using a postage-paid program from anywhere in the United States. The kit includes instructions on how to package your laptop, in a reused box from home, and offers a postage-paid label for mailing your laptop to a legitimate recycler. To receive a free kit go to www.recycleminnesota.org.

Make sure the insulation in your walls and ceilings is sufficient to conserve energy use. Many older homes may have little or none, or the insulation may be compacted and have lost some of its insulating capacity.

• Keep tires properly inflated.

• Change oil and air filters regularly; use the proper grade of motor oil, and recycle unwanted fluids.

• Drive the speed limit and use cruise control when appropriate.

• Don't drive a car full of clutter. Remove excess weight from vehicle and trunk.

• Don't idle the engine; turn it off while in fast-food or bank drive-throughs.

• Combine errands to minimize driving.

• Give up the car whenever possible. Instead, bike, walk or take the bus or light rail.

• Buy smart. Go for fuel-efficiency. Look for conventional gas engines that get high mileages and gas/electric hybrids.

From Alliance to Save Energy

Find the most responsible recyclers, local and national, at www.ban.org/pledge/Locations.html.

Goodwill accepts donations of usable medical equipment such as walkers, wheelchairs and other devices such as commodes and transfer benches, and lends them for free. For donations information or short-term equipment loans, call the Equipment Loan Department at 651-379-5922. (In Rochester, call 1-507-287-8699; St. Cloud call 1-320-654-9527, and in Willmar, Minn., call 1-320-214-9238.)

Also try your local VFW and American Legion. Many take wheelchairs and give them to those in need.