You can now recycle your Brita water filters. The company has partnered with awesome recycled-plastic-products company Preserve to transform used filters into colorful, 100-percent-recycled-plastic plates, razors, toothbrushes, cutting boards, and more. Starting January 12, you can drop your Brita filter at any participating Whole Foods market. Preserve will also accept containers made from number 5 plastic (yogurt, sour cream, medicine, and hummus tubs, for example). If you can't find a Gimme 5 location in your town, send your containers and filters:
Preserve Gimme 5
823 NYS Rte 13
Cortland, NY 13045
Even cooler than recycling your Brita: Buying the recycled-plastic toothbrush it gets made into. (Incidentally, I love Preserve's plastic storage containers, which have twist-on lids to prevent leakage.) Plus, Preserve will take back any of its products when you're finished using them -- to be recycled, of course. Another notable about Brita: It's containers -- although unmarked -- do not contain BPA, according to the company's spokesperson.