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Most everyone recycles their newspaper, cardboard, and aluminum cans. But what about the rest of our trash - especially the bigger items?

MSNBC has compiled a list of 7 Things You Didn't Know You Could Recycle and where/how to recycle them. Check out a summarized list below to see if you're throwing things away that could be used again...

1. Athletic/Running Shoes - First try your local Goodwill or Salvation Army if you have gently used shoes that someone else might be able to wear. If they're totally worn out, you can drop them off at any Nike factory or Nike Town store or send them to NIKE and have them recycled into surfaces for basketball courts and playgrounds.



2. Techno Trash - Video cameras, MP3 players, VCR's, cords, cables, and more can be sent to Green Disk for recycling. They'll reprocess your techno-trash in an eco-friendly and cost-effective way.

3. Computers - Most major PC companies have recycling programs. Dell, for example, recycles Dell computers for free and will recycle other brands for free if you're purchasing a new Dell. HP, Apple, and others have recycling programs as well. You can also check the Electronics Take Back Campaign for a responsible computer recycler near you.

4. Mattresses - Mattresses are tough to recycle, so the key word here is reuse. Goodwill doesn't take mattresses, but you can find them a new home by posting in the free section of Craiglist or on the Freecycle Network.

5. Handheld Electronics - When it comes to old cell phones and PDA's, you can either drop them off at any Staples store around the country or send them to Collective Good. These recycling partners will be sure that your old handheld is either refurbished and sent to a developing country or recycled in an eco-friendly way.

6. Dry Cleaning Hangers and Plastic - I don't dry clean my clothes because of all the chemicals used (wet cleaning at the dry cleaners is a good alternative) but if you do, ask your dry cleaner if you can return the hangers and plastic for future use. You may also be able to recycle the plastic in your regular recycling (check with your provider).

7. - Can you recycle glass and plastic that isn't totally clean? Yes - but the cleaner it is to begin with, the less energy it will take to recycle.