Recycling should be among the resolutions we all make for ourselves when January 1 rolls around. It would be making a resolution for the world around us, as well as ourselves. What if, instead of making a promise to ourselves, we made a promise to our planet to take better care of it? Wouldn’t that make for a healthier, better life for everyone?

According to recent studies, Americans make up an estimated 5 percent of the world’s population, however, the U.S. produces an estimated 30 percent of the world’s waste and uses 25 percent of the world’s resources. Moreover, America’s collective footprint on the earth is among the worst in the world with carbon emissions and pollution reaching record heights. We know that recycling and composting has long-term positive effects on the earth, but how can we affect positive change both long-term and short-term? The following is a short list of Christmas recyclables that produce immediate results and are beneficial to you, as well as the world around you.

1. Technology–Recycling electronic waste is a great way to leave a smaller footprint on the earth while earning some extra cash on the side. Many places offer cash for retired technologies’ “insides.” Some stores such as Best Buy and Staples even offer programs for recycling old gadgets. With the Christmas season over and your new electronics in hand, now is the time to gather up those obsolete technologies and recycle them appropriately. Not only will you reduce the amount of e-waste that gathers in the earth’s soil and water, but you will earn yourself a little extra space and/or extra cash in the process.

2. Christmas Trees–Rather than dumping your old trees in the trash after the holidays, why not help out an ecosystem instead? The City of New Orleans collects used Christmas trees after the holidays to help fix the damaged ecosystems in the Bayou State’s coastal areas. Since the dawn of the program 15 years ago, 175 acres of marsh have been restored. If you cannot donate your Christmas tree to the marshes in New Orleans, don’t worry. Many counties offer different alternatives to recycling Christmas trees including fish feeders, bird feeders, mulch, and paths for hiking trails. For more information about how to recycle your Christmas tree, visit the National Christmas Tree Association.

3. Greeting Cards–The Christmas season has come and gone, and while the warm and fuzzy sensation we feel from thoughtful cards might linger, how better to honor their sentiment than by donating them to a good cause? Old Christmas cards (or greeting cards in general) can be sent to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children Recycled Card Program. The program helps educate at-risk and abused children entrepreneurship skills via making new greeting cards out of old ones. While it is true you can recycle these cards in your recycling bin, why not make more of a change in the world by helping our youth?

Let’s start the New Year off right by giving back to our planet. Make a resolution for the earth, and live healthier as well as happier in the process.

Blog By Carly Szabo