Well-managed landfills are necessary in any community, since not all discarded items can be reclaimed ("The Issue Is Garbage," July 18). The challenge is how to maximize these sites before they need to be expanded or new sites created.

From what I'm seeing in both the commercial and residential arenas, all of us can do a better job of keeping recyclables, reusable, and compostable items out of the landfills in the first place.

This isn't some feel-good notion, especially when you consider the increasing global demand for recovered paper goods, the rising cost of oil and its impact on plastic, or the current 45-day turnaround for aluminum beverage cans. As such, there are things you can do to help:

• Make sure you're recycling all currently permitted items. The city, county, and the telephone book have reminder charts.
• If your place of business isn't recycling all permitted items, ask why and what you can do to fix the problem.
• If you're attending a public event that isn't recycling, ask the event sponsor or municipality about adding this next time.

And since this is a local election year, ask those running for office such questions as:

• Since the aftermarkets exist for plastics numbered 4, 5, and 7, why are we still sending these items to the landfills? Wouldn't recycling more plastic help reduce our dependence on foreign oil?
• With many towns, landscapers, and haulers struggling with yard debris, why doesn't Monroe emulate what Onondaga County has been doing with organic material? A number of simple initiatives can reduce the amount of this stuff already being landfilled.
• Why is the county doing a poor job promoting the Western New York Materials Exchange, clearly declaring fluorescent light tubes and ballasts hazardous so these stop being landfilled, and putting out recycling updates quarterly, as Onondaga County has been doing?
• After a very late start, will the county step up "E-Waste" collections for electronics, especially with an increasing number of television sets hitting the curb within two years?

These and other steps can extend the efficacy of landfills while manufacturers and marketers deal with source reductions upstream.

Jeff Goldblatt, Parkside Crescent, Irondequoit(Goldblatt is a member of the New York Association for Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling and the New York Association for Solid Waste Management.)