Nope, this isn’t an ad for Reynold’s Wrap, just a heads up that on Earth Day (April 22nd) you’ll be able to go onto the Reynold’s Wrap website and get a mail-in rebate for a free roll of recycled foil (on a recycled cardboard tube). Here’s all the info you’ll need: http://www.reynoldsrecycled.com/rebate.aspx

In addition to being a cool freebie, this product roll out (har) is actually great news. I’ve been using a health food store brand of recycled foil for years because though we often think of plastic production as the biggest baddie out there (and it’s bad), aluminum mining is devastating to communities and forests. But the great news is that, according to our friend Umbra Fisk at Grist.org, aluminum is infinitely recyclable–it doesn’t degrade when you re-use it, unlike plastic. Here’s some great info on recycling aluminum.

So any time you can toss a clean piece of foil (like your yogurt top) into recycling instead of the trash, you’re doing the earth and the people on it and nice little favor. And buying recycled foil is a great way of creating a better market for it.

Here’s more good info on what goes into mining aluminum and why it’s so important to recycle it.