a) A game of basketball
b) A sporty truck
c) A corny question someone asks when they want to go out with you
d) What you do with garbage during the Great Indy Cleanup

Of course, they’re all correct. But if you answered “d,” consider yourself a prime candidate to volunteer for Keep Indianapolis Beautiful’s Great Indy Cleanup kick-off event, taking place Saturday, April 17. The event is part of KIB’s Every Litter Bit Helps campaign, and the concept is simple: community groups all across Marion County will pitch in to pick up assorted debris in their neighborhood or somewhere else in the city. Register to participate at any YMCA of Greater Indianapolis, Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, or National City Bank location in Marion County. You’ll be provided with a pair of gloves and KIB trash bag.

You need not be a Marion County resident to help. Suburbanites, here’s your big chance to give back to the county that gives you Colts football, this year’s NCAA Final Four (go Butler!), and enough restaurants, bars, museums, concert venues, and shopping malls to make you forget about that pesky 1% food and beverage sales tax you pay every time you cross county lines.

Can’t participate on April 17? Visit Keep Indianapolis Beautiful’s site to learn about additional ways you can help, well, keep Indy beautiful throughout the year.

Unlike electricity, Green Piece Indy’s Earth Hour party is completely free. To reduce your carbon footprint even further, biking, carpooling, or IndyGo-ing to Whole Foods is highly recommended. Snacking from the store’s bulk granola bins, on the other hand, is not.

The Indiana State Museum will host the Going Green Festival Saturday, March 20 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Learn how to improve the planet, as well as the environmental health of your home and workplace (without spending a pot o’ gold!), peruse the museum’s Footprints: Balancing Nature’s Diversity exhibit, or take part in their hands-on greening activities.

Make the rounds at the Indiana State Fairgrounds the following weekend (March 26-28) for Green Fest Indy, a gathering of local environmental businesses, services, and not-for-profit groups. Sit in the front row of an eco-chic fashion show, get schooled in Organic Gardening 101, hear local green living expert Sara Snow’s advice for greening up your home, and get helpful hints on hard-to-recycle items like carpet.

Better yet, stop by either of these festivals and say hello to the ladies of Green Piece Indy. We’ll be signing up new subscribers, high-fiving the current ones, and selling off the rest of our 2009-10 Green Savings Indy coupon books (now only $5!).

Commuting to the festivals in County Marion from another neighboring county? Don’t forget to carpool!

Terracycle has found a unique way to turn this trash into cool products like bags, pencil cases, flower pots, and even a cool kite stitched from Skittles wrappers.

Before you or your child gets ready to toss that empty Capri Sun or Honest Kids drink pouch, consider sending it to Terracycle instead. Form a team and join a brigade, and they’ll pay for the shipping and even give $0.02 per pouch back to your school or other non-profit organization. To date, Terracycle has donated more than $600,000 to charities through this program.

Ready, set, upcycle!

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management and Marsh Pharmacies are teaming up next weekend to host Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Day once again. Bring your unwanted pharmaceuticals to any Central Indiana Marsh Pharmacy from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 13 or 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 14, and they will be disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner.

The following items will be accepted if brought in their original containers. (Leave the name of the medication visible on the label, but mark out personal information.)

• Prescription medications
• Over-the-counter medications
• Vitamins and nutritional supplements
• Veterinary medications
• Sharps or needles in re-sealable hard plastic containers

Not sure about a particular item? Call (317) 594-2408 or visit IDEM’s recycling site for more info.

Thanks to the 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee, we now have a winning strategy. The 1st and Green household challenge encourages fans and non-fans alike to reduce carbon emissions and save water through simple actions like carpooling, taking shorter showers, and turning off the water when brushing your teeth. Though the challenge officially ends when Super Bowl 2012 begins, we hope you’ll incorporate eco-friendly habits well beyond the postgame celebration. The host committee also plans to incorporate several eco-friendly practices that will make Super Bowl 2012 even greener, including multi-source recycling, food rescue, using biodegradable or compostable disposable plates, utensils, and napkins; and opting for electronic communication instead of printed materials when appropriate.

The Super Bowl may be a celebration of all things big (big crowds, big plays, big money spent on commercials), but with your help, we can make its environmental impact a little smaller. Besides, the only thing better than a victory for the home team is a victory for the home team AND the planet!

Never fear, spring chicken, Rush Hour Recycling is here for early birds like you! Through our partnership with Workforce, Inc., and Createc Corporation, Green Piece Indy is pleased to offer our award-winning recycling program once again this spring. Rush Hour Recycling allows morning commuters to recycle cardboard, electronics AND EPS foam the easy way…simply pull up to one of our designated locations, pop the trunk, and let staff do the heavy lifting. View a full list of recyclable items.

We’ll be at the following locations between 7 and 9 a.m. on these dates.

March 5 (South): Sam’s Club, 1101 Windhorst Way, Greenwood
March 10 (Northwest): Bjava, 5510 Lafayette Rd.
March 17 (Northeast): Hawthorne Plaza, 62nd and Binford
March 24 (East): Lazy Daze, Irving Theater and Jack and Jills Antiques, 10 S. Johnson Ave.
March 31 (West) Family Video, 7301 Rockville Rd.
April 7 (Downtown): Earth House, 237 N. East St.

Tend to spend rush hour sleeping in? Take cardboard and electronics to the Chancellor A. Keesling Community Recycling Center (754 N. Sherman) and clean, white EPS foam (#6) to Createc Corporation (6835 N. Guion Road) during daytime hours.