Chow, the food site, has a great new article called How Green Is Your Takeaway Container. You can take reusable containers, such as Tupperware or popular metal tiffins, to restaurants and carts and ask them to use yours instead of plastic take-out. Additionally, ask them not to include a plastic bag or plastic silverware, and bring your own reusable utensil.

Here's the scoop on our local curbside recycling:

Clam shell/plastic containers: No. These cannot be recycled curbside. Here at Chinook Book we collect them in a bin and deliver bunches to Far West Fibers.

Aluminum foil and trays: Yes. Rinse and put in your curbside bin.

Compostable papers/corn based boxes: No. If you have home composting put these in your bin, or see if the place you purchased from has a composting bin, many who use these products do.

Paper boxes: No. Food contaminated boxes that are greasy cannot be recycled. Boxes that surround a product, such as cracker boxes, can be recycled. Milk or juice boxes can be recycled, just don't flatten them.

Learn more about Recycling at Work.

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons