I really am amazed at how small my actual trash is each week, now that I look into reusing/recycling/donating everything.

Even old torn/stained linens/clothes are useful - use them as rags, and then give them to donation sites that bale them and send them to developing countries who use the fibers in thousands of ways in their daily living (making rugs, sandals, ropes, for chinking holes in mud daub walls...endless uses for things we think of as 'trash').

I am still stuck on styrofoam. It comes into the house as take-home containers for fast food. So it was food stuff on it ...

There are some ideas here with places to ship the styrofoam to:
styrofoam recycling ideas

With the food clamshells i try to see if they can just put my food in aluminum foil or a zip baggy. If it's not something messy that usually works fine.

Jilly -

I'll have to ask, the next time, if they have alternatives. They always seem to have styrofoam which is a shame, that they aren't using something greener by this point.

Right now I am posting on my local Craigs and Freecycle that I will take people's bagged leaves and pin needles so i can mulch my yard. I am getting responses already!

I need as much mulch as possible this winter so I can have good soil by spring. And it feels good to be saving these mulchy resources from the landfills.

Dear Jilly -

How much mulch did you end up getting through your different channels? Was it enough to prepare your garden?

I had some wonderful offers from people to take their bagged leaves. Like 30 bags! Unfortunately the hospitalization got in the way of all that. So, no.

Since it's winter, I am saving up a lot of my paper and cardboard to burn in my chimenea. I know i can recycle those, but the idea of sitting on front of my warm fire thingie sounds really appealing. I have not done it yet. My paper is piling up. Maybe I should just recycle them.

Its good that people here are making efforts for recycling and if not able to recycle, then are using such composters for nonrecyclable things. But was wondering that do such composter really work enough to compose those above mentioned things?? I wish I could have one!!

Yes, my stack of simple (and free) used tires is an excellent composter for anything that can break down over the course of a year. So absolutely paper plates and paper towels and napkins. it helps if you can shred these things, but that just makes the compost quicker. If you are not in a hurry, you don't need to be very hands on. Just toss things in and leave them for a year or so.