A Holiday for Getting Rid of Stuff

Here's a holiday you probably don't have marked on your calendar: America Recycles Day on Nov. 15.

It's worth noting. You don't have to spend any money. And rather than winding up with a necktie or slippers that you don't want, you might find a way to get rid of stuff you really don't want.

National retail chains and local municipalities often have special recycling events on and leading up to ARD, so it's a good opportunity to responsibly dispose of miscellaneous items you've had lying around the house that you aren't sure how to get rid of.

The National Recycling Coalition promotes America Recycles Day on its Web site. It provides links where you can learn about ARD events around the country, but the information is provided by local recycling organizations and is a little uneven.

Beyond that, here are a few seasonal and perennial ways to get rid of items that could stand to be recycled more often than they are:

Telephones

I wrote over the summer about how tricky it is to recycle a landline. Programs that take all sorts of other electronics tend to overlook phones.

But from now until Nov. 15, you can take your telephone to any Staples(SPLS Quote) for recycling, in addition to the computer equipment, ink cartridges and cell phones that you can bring to the office supply chain for recycling any time.

Rechargeable Batteries

This is easy. Radio Shack(RSH Quote), Office Max(OMX Quote), Circuit City(CC Quote), Best Buy(BBY Quote) and Rite-Aid(RAD Quote) all take them, as do many cell-phone stores.