Hopefully by now, most people make an effort to recycle at least some materials, such as paper, cardboard, and tin cans. However, it’s not enough. We’re still surrounded by materials that could be recycled rather than thrown to the wayside where they harm the environment.

The average person will generate around four pounds of trash daily, amounting to around 600 times their adult weight in a lifetime. While about 87% of Americans have access to curbside or drop-off paper recycling services, there is still much left to be done.

But what exactly can you recycle? Here are a few things you may not have knwon you could recycle:

  1. Cookware: Essentially any object made from aluminum can be recycled. When it comes to cooking ware, a good chunk of it is manufactured using aluminum. You’re probably most used to seeing this with aluminum foil, but there are a number of products deemed “disposable” aluminum cooking ware, which can also be recycled.

    You can often see these used by restaurants who serve take out. Unfortunately, you also often see these thrown into dumpsters and left for garbage pickup rather than recycling services.

  2. Car batteries: This may come as a bit of a surprise, but car batteries can — and should — be recycled. Auto batteries are known as lead-acid batteries. They’re composed of 60% lead, which can be terribly hazardous to the environment. The lead, plastic, and sulfuric acid inside the batteries are mainly recycled and manufactured into more batteries. For this reason, some vehicle retailers will actually take back used batteries.

  3. Incandescent light bulbs: As the focus on climate change has grown, many people turn to energy saving fluorescent light bulbs to reduce their home’s energy consumption. This has led to countless incandescent light bulbs to be thrown aside. These older bulbs will actually be phased out in the U.S. in the coming years, but until then, they can also be added to your list of recyclables.

Thanks to recycling services, properly disposing of your waste is far easier than ever before. However, you still need to do the job of putting the right waste into your recycling bins.