Q: How can I convince my friends that they should be recycling?

A: Teach, don't preach. Say you've enjoyed a night of gossiping and drinking Coronas. Before your friend throws one out, point out that recycling one bottle saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours -- and you don't even have to fish the lime out. Once you have her onboard, kick her to the curb (figuratively, of course).

Curbside pickup is available to half of Americans, but many first-timers don't know how to sign up for the service. Find the waste department's number from the government section of the Yellow Pages.

If curbside recycling isn't available, visit the local recycling center. Make it a fun outing: Once a month, put in some good tunes, load up the car with empty bottles of wine, and see who has the best throwing arm. To keep her organized at home, point out all the supercute under-counter recycling bins (we love the ones from simplehuman.com).

Soon enough, you can take off the training wheels and your friend will be off and recycling all on her own.

Do you need eco-etiquette advice from Ideal Bite? Email us.