Properly recycling your old cell phone saves resources and prevents toxins from polluting...

It wasn't so long ago that we cooled our cars with Freon and sprayed our hair with aerosols without a second thought. Fortunately those habits have pretty much gone the way of the bouffant and the mullet, all of which were regrettably brought to you in part by HCFC, a greenhouse gas. This chemical compound, composed of hydrogen, chlorine, fluorine, and carbon atoms, can cool things quickly (such as a car engine) and almost instantly turn liquid into mist (as in hairspray). However, along with the more potent chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), HCFC is among a number of substances known to deplete the protective, atmospheric ozone layer. CFC production has been largely banned in the United States, and HCFCs, which are somewhat less damaging to the environment, have temporarily replaced CFCs in products such as refrigerants, aerosols, and cleaning solvents. But the government intends to phase them out too, by 2020.

Many catalogs that arrive in people's mailboxes across the nation end up going straight to the...