Once you're done reeling from the staggering amount of garbage fast food restaurants and coffee shops produce, think about all the resources and energy that were used to manufacture those cups, lids, straws and sleeves. Think of the energy wasted transporting them to the coffee shops and restaurants. Sorry... I think I made your head spin all over again, didn't I?

Fast food restaurants almost always serve soft drinks with a plastic lid and straw. Few of these restaurants offer recycling for the plastic, so the lids and straws just end up in the garbage. Also, the cups are lined with a thin layer of plastic and can't be recycled.

Coffee shops are a problem, too. Starbucks alone serves about 2.3 billion cups of coffee a year, and each coffee generally uses a cup, lid and cardboard insulating sleeve. Now combine that with Peet's, the Coffee Bean, Dunkin Donuts and the thousands of other establishments that serve a good old fashioned cup of coffee. Thinking about all that garbage kinda makes your head spin.

Once you're done reeling from the staggering amount of garbage fast food restaurants and coffee shops produce, think about all the resources and energy that were used to manufacture those cups, lids, straws and sleeves. Think of the energy wasted transporting them to the coffee shops and restaurants. Sorry... I think I made your head spin all over again, didn't I?

The good news is that you can help to prevent all that waste. Here's how:

If you're getting soft drinks to go, then sure - use the lid and straw. (Nobody wants a lap full of soda when they're driving.) However, if you're dining in, ask for your drink to be lid and straw-free. The soda is just as easy to drink.

Coffee's a slightly different story. Places like Starbucks have to put a lid on hot drinks to reduce the risk of burning customers. Since you're stuck with the lid, ask if they can recycle it when you're done. Ask politely, but also ask every time you go. Eventually, they'll get the hint that you and other customers want them to recycle.

Another easy way to reduce waste at the coffee shop is to reuse the cardboard insulating sleeve. They're one-size-fits-all and are easy to keep in a purse or bag. The best option is to bring a reusable travel mug. Many coffee shops will even give you a discount for bringing your own mug.

So drink up! Just remember that every time you DON'T use a lid, straw, cardboard sleeve or even the whole cup, the air gets a little cooler, landfills get a little smaller and the world gets a little greener.