It's no secret that recycling is a good thing to do. Headlines are always listing the benefits of recycling, signs on recycling containers tell you what to throw away and what to recycle and reusable bags with witty sayings written on the front are for sale in every grocery store.It's true that everyone knows recycling benefits the earth, but did you know recycling also has economic, as well as environmental, benefits?The recycling industry has an enormous impact on the economy, with 169,000 jobs, $6 billion in annual wages and $7.3 billion in sales - just in Ohio! You can take a large role in stimulating the economy simply by becoming educated about the dos and don'ts of recycling.Most of us have enjoyed a beverage in a plastic bottle, throwing it away when we're finished without a second thought, unaware that there are consequences for our action. Chances are, you'd think twice if you knew that plastic uses millions of tons of fossils fuels each year, and that you could change that just by tossing the bottle into a recycling bin. Americans toss out 2.5 million plastic bottles an hour, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and only 10 percent are being recycled! No one knows for certain how long plastic takes to degrade, but scientists guess it takes hundreds of years.This doesn't mean you can't ever purchase something packaged in plastic, but it means that once you do, you?re responsible for where it ends up.All plastic bottles and jugs can be recycled, as long as their caps are removed first. Although you can't recycle plastic caps in your local recycling bin, Aveda happily collects them and transforms them into packaging for their products. You can get more information here.Some other plastics you can't recycle in your curbside bin or community drop-off are: butter or yogurt containers, plastic microwave meal trays and plastic grocery bags. These would be good items to either avoid purchasing very often or choose products with the least amount of packaging. Even though local recycling programs won't accept items like yogurt, cottage cheese or butter containers, you can drop them off at your local Whole Foods Market; they will then turn them into items like toothbrushes and razors. Click here for a list of Whole Foods locations near you. If you have a bunch of plastic bags, take them to your local grocery store, which will recycle them or you can reuse them in your everyday life.The Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District reminds us of the bigger picture that recycling creates. "It's important to realize the impact recycling can have," says Holly Christmann of the Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District. "In 2009, Hamilton County residents recycled 36,587 tons of metal, glass, plastic and paper. That conserved enough energy to power 6,689 homes for a year!"If you'd like more information about the recycling in your community, check out the Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District's website here.Is your office recycling? If you think your workplace could make some improvements, the Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District has resources for just about every situation; from tips to reducing waste, to the Go Green Challenge, there's something for every business to try."Our goal is to encourage residents and businesses to recycle," says Holly Christmann. "We aim to provide the resources needed to make recycling easy and accessible for all of Hamilton County."