After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes. Today's winner is Grace Kempenaar of Waterloo, Ont.

---

We recently renovated our bathroom, and as we needed to dispose of the sink and the toilet, I checked the green pages of the telephone book for assistance. I was amazed at the number of items that were listed that could actually be recycled. The one that I had not realized was plastic. Not just plastic bottles, but plastic bags and wrappers of all sorts. Apparently, a plastic bag takes over a thousand years to decompose in a landfill site. We now bag all our plastic and set it on the curb for pickup in the recycling bin. Just by recycling our plastic, our weekly garbage has decreased from one bag a week to one half bag a week. If everyone were to recycle their plastic, just imagine the savings in the landfill. Just goes to show, a little goes a long way.

---

Thanks to Grace for sending in her story – and don't forget, if you still haven't entered, there's still time to send your own story to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com.What have you done to reduce the amount of waste that goes to the curb in your garbage can? Grace wins a Kohler 1.75-GPM Water-Conserving Purist Showerhead and a copy of the book Saving Planet Earth by Tony Juniper. Today's code word: garbage Read more: • Make your bathroom eco-friendly • 23 tips for earth-friendly living • Getting rid of plastic bags in the home