LED lightbulbs are supposed to last for years, if not decades; so why do so many burn out quickly? Other than poor manufacturing, the most common reason is that the lightbulb has been paired with an incompatible dimming switch. LED bulbs aren’t designed to be dimmable; while they may change their light output when used with a dimmer, the regular raising and lowering of light can make them burn out quickly. The solution is to install an “edge dimmer switch,” which is designed to work with LED lighting.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

The electronics retailer Best Buy has made it a mission to collection as much e-waste as possible for recycling -- so much so, Best Buy has recycled nearly 3 billion pounds of personal electronics and appliances. The program is free, and hard-to-recycle items like printers, webcams, modems, speakers, fans, vacuums, DVD players and more can be dropped off at any store (up to three items per household, per day). If you have larger items like a refrigerator or wall oven, you can even hire them to come and take it away (and recycle it) for a small fee.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

It’s not just bottled water that’s part of the single-use plastic problem; it’s cleaning products, too. It’s estimated nearly 2.5 billion plastic bottles that once held laundry detergent, dishwashing soap and surface cleaners end up in landfills ever year. Even though they're recyclable, the percentage that actually gets recycled is low. To help, switch to cardboard-packaged detergent, concentrated cleaning tabs you dilute in water yourself and dish soap that comes in bar form.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION