I couldn't resist the urge to post another picture in the Everyday Usability series after seeing this:
I'll reserve my thoughts on the "green" movement for another forum, but the labeling of this trash can is pure genius from the Starbucks folks. It is clear that they would like their patrons to recycle. But, instead of labeling it "Recycling" and "Trash", they cut straight to the latent impact of throwing items away: Trash fills up landfills. It poses the question to the consumer, "Do I really want to populate a landfill."
In a way, it is exactly the opposite of the example I provided in the second installment of the Everyday Usability series. With that example, I lauded the Double Wide Grill for their use of "Yes" and "No" to illustrate which door it was acceptable to use when entering/exiting the kitchen. It removed that split-second thought of which door to use in an effort to avoid the all-too-often doorway collisions involving restaurant staff. In this example, the text on the recycling/trash can introduces the very same type of split-second thought to promote something Starbucks is passionate about. The nuance of usability is incredible.
-RTK