#111: The Benefits of Borrowing (Friday, February 6)

The Impact: Thirty-three percent of all trash thrown away in the U.S. is packaging materials. Americans toss more than 75 million tons of packaging into landfills each year, and less than half of it is recycled.

The Idea: Much of this packaging waste can be reduced by borrowing items from others. Do you really need to own a book you will likely read only once, or would it be more effective to borrow from the library? Isn't it more effective to use a video--er, no one uses video anymore--DVD rental service? Try borrowing things that you rarely use or anticipate using only once. Send an email to your friends, or use community sites like Craigslist and Freecycle to borrow items like camping gear, tools and other items.

The Result: Less waste of packaging materials, you save money, and (in the case of borrowing books), you save a public institution that is on the verge of going extinct.