As an Orthodox "black hat" Jew, I was brought up with the concept of bal tashchit. This means, "not to waste". 
These two concepts should be the focal point of "bal tashchit".
Destroying and wasting a useful item is considered to be a sin.
For example, if a child is eating his dinner and he throws his unwanted portion on the floor, his mother might say: "Do not throw your food away, it is bal tashchit"; i.e., wasting food for no reason. This notion is not limited to food. For example, giving a baby a full box of tissues for him or her to pull out and destroy is also considered to be bal tashchit, as it is wasting tissues that could be used for a purpose.
The concept actually comes from the Torah (Deuteronomy 20:19), "It is forbidden to destroy a tree that bears fruit because you may eat from the fruit and benefit from it." Our rabbis extend this law to include any wasteful or destructive act that will harm things that are useful to man.
So, a question comes to mind. How is it that the Orthodox communities are not activists and leaders in the eco-friendly movements? They ultimately agree on this subject 100 percent. Whether they see eye-to-eye about the subject of climate change and global warming is irrelevant. What's important here is that they concur when it comes to the issue of not being wasteful.
I believe that recycling and renewable energy will be extremely beneficial to our environment, and that these two concepts should be the focal point of bal tashchit, not wasting. After all, the fundamental law of not wasting applies to the world and all its riches.
Take metal, for instance. It can be reused countless times. So every single piece of tin foil - and not only metal cans, broken scissors, etc. - should be recycled. This way, we would not be wasting materials; we would be reusing them to their full capacity.
Moving on to renewable energy. In 1981 the Lubavitcher Rebbe publicly said there is an open and clear way to 
It is mind boggling to me that the Orthodox communities are not the leaders in the "green" movements.
energy independence, which is solar energy and how we should tap into the power from the healing sun. The Rebbe also said that we should not be scared of those who oppose this notion, because they have personal interests in other energies (not renewable ones) that might be more profitable for their own wallets.
Therefore, it is mind boggling to me that the Orthodox communities are not the leaders in the "green" movements. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying they are not involved at all, but I think it is fair to say they are far from the leaders; and this truly puzzles me.
After all is said and done, the Torah teaches that Man must not destroy and not be wasteful, and there is no better way to observe this than recycling and using renewable energy.
And with this I lay a challenge to every single Torah-observing home to think twice before throwing something in the garbage.