Image by U.S. Army Environmental Command / Creative Commons

To many, recycling e-waste ranks right up there with going to the dentist and protecting your compost pile from marauding wildlife. But leaving a 36-inch TV on the curb really is not the best way to ensure it’s going to find a safe afterlife. E-waste is defined as televisions, computers, laptops, printers, cables, VCRs, cell phones, copiers, fax machines, stereos, and electronic games. If this goes into a landfill, its toxic component goes into our water table. In many states, such as California, it is illegal to place your e-waste in with the regular trash. So how to ensure our electronics are being disposed of in a responsible manner?

You can sell your electronics to recyclers via the web. Sites such as Gazelle.com will buy your old electronics off you, compensating you by Paypal. Gazelle allows you to donate your proceeds to charity. Other companies doing similar work are Nextworth.com, which allows you to recycle your electronics for cash. YouRenew.com does the same for your “old” iPods, mp3 player and more.

But what if your product is broken or otherwise unusable? You can find a responsible recycler from e-Stewards who will make sure it is disposed without harm to developing nations. Sometimes, old products are shipped to developing nations, where they are dismantled without concern for workers and communities absorbing the toxic materials from the products. This leads to a chain of waste containing PVCs, lead, mercury, and solvents, all which poison communities, workers, and ultimately, the planet.

Finally, feeling altruistic? You can always drop your e-waste at your area Best Buy. The giant chain of electronic stores offers up a substantial electronics recycling program at store locations through a program of responsible recycling. Give them your tired, your poor, your huddled 2003 iPods, yearning to breathe free. Best Buy will take them. Here’s a complete list of what Best Buy will accept into their e-waste program.

Want to learn more about e-waste? Check out Annie Leonard’s “The Story of Electronics”. In this clip, Leonard explains the “design for the dump,” or when companies design our electronics to be thrown away quickly into our landfills.

Many thanks to Katherine Butler (whose regular articles and posts can be found on MNN, EcoSalon, and 89.3KPCC) for this timely guest post. With the holidays approaching and the possibility that Santa, or maybe a loved one, will bring you one or more of the latest electronic gadgets, now is the perfect time to recycle your existing e-waste.

Image by Jaine / Creative Commons

Although November 15th, 2011 is the official America Recycles Day, there are actions each of us can take every day of the year to increase recycling and reduce waste. You are probably already aware of the importance of recycling and why it is better for the environment. Maybe you even take steps now and again to recycle. The question is…how can you contribute today, right now, to the recycling movement?

Here are 5 easy ways to contribute on America Recycles Day:

1) Take the America Recycles Day pledge: New Year’s resolutions, personal declarations, and all manner of decisions start with a pledge. Pledging you will do something is one of the first steps towards reaching your goal.

2) Get yourself a recycling bin: Think about it. Whether large or small, a recycling bin serves to remind you, on a daily basis, that you should recycle certain items rather than trash them.

3) Get educated: Learning what can and cannot be recycled is key. There are many things people throw away which could in fact be recycled. Take a few minutes and get yourself educated.

4) Switch from disposables to reusables: Go through your home and find one-use, disposable items. Figure out what reusable items you could use instead and use those. In other words, instead of grabbing a bottle of water, grab a reusable water bottle. Instead of using paper towels to wipe up every kitchen mess, use a washable rag.

5) Reduce your waste: The best way to reduce waste is to not buy as much in the first place. This is a key point, especially with the holidays coming up. Why buy tons of new things, just to have them lying around, when you can reuse existing items or buy/trade to get gently used items.

As americarecyclesday.org says:

“One day to educate. One day to motivate. One day to make recycling bigger and better 365 days a year. Get Involved!”

What steps do you take to recycle or contribute to generating less waste? Even the little actions add up quickly and can make a big difference. So, in honor of America Recycles Day, take a few minutes and make a decision to change how you think about recycling.

Image by Mary Ann Enriquez / Creative Commons

When you talk to people about what steps they are taking to save the environment, or live a greener life, you will more than likely find out they are doing some sort of recycling. Recycling is a good thing in that it takes items which were headed for a landfill and instead, allows them to be broken down and used to make something new.

There is more than just recycling though. In reality there are three main parts to being an environmentally-friendly consumer. Yes, I’m talking about the three R’s: reduce, reuse and recycle.

Recycle is the last in the line, probably because when you’ve already purchased an item, used it, have no further use for and don’t want to trash it, recycle is what you have left.

Reuse is the concept of taking an item which no longer has a use in its original form and turning it into something else of use. For example, taking old t-shirts and reusing them as cleaning rags, taking used bottles and turning them into small herb planters and more.

Reduce is the headliner here. In order to significantly cut down on the volume of waste we generate every year, (which is truly astounding), we need to start with reducing what we purchase in the first place.

There are so many things we can recycle or reuse, and yes we all should make the decision to do this. We have to get ourselves out of the frame of mind that when we are done with an item it can only go in the trash. But, in my opinion, if we can each move reduce to the top of our environmentally-friendly “to do” lists, we’d be better off.

Image by Rupert Ganzer / Creative Commons

When you start at the beginning, such as reducing what you purchase, then you will generate less waste and have less that needs to be reused or recycled. See how that works? So here are 3 simple ways you can reduce:

1) Instead of buying products that can only be used one time, buy reusable products. (You can even fit in a little reuse here, by using existing materials to make multi-use products.) This is a guaranteed way to not only save money, but prevent excessive waste.

Image by Project GreenBag / Creative Commons

2) Buying in bulk may be good for large families, but for smaller families or individuals, buying in bulk is probably not the way to go. Many times you don’t need volumes of food, and if you don’t need it, then why buy it? It is cheaper to go to smaller discount stores or local stores and buy only what you know you can eat.

Image by Cathy Stanley-Erickson / Creative Commons

3) Take a list when you go to the store. Whether you are going grocery shopping, to the hardware store, clothes shopping or any other kind of shopping, make a list first. One of the biggest ways people spend more money or buy things they don’t need is when they go shopping without a list of the items they NEED.

Image by John Blower / Creative Commons

If you have any special tips or ways you reduce, reuse and recycle, please share them in the comment section below. I love hearing about people’s great ideas for saving money and living smarter (aka greener).

We’re almost through the first month of the new year and hopefully you’ve been hot and heavy working on your eco-New Year’s resolutions. Maybe you’ve even been working on making some biofriendly changes in the way you live. Or maybe you started off with the best of intentions, but haven’t really gotten anywhere yet. Whatever situation fits you best, I wanted to give you a simple tip to help you recycle, or actually precycle, your way into the new year.

Image by loop_oh

Now I could tell you to recycle your bottles, cans, newspapers, plastics, etc. I could also say to get a separate recycling bin in your house to make it easy to recycle. I could say compost leftover foods rather than putting them in the trash, etc.

However, recycling your way into the new year starts way before all those steps. It starts back around the point of purchase. Deciding what items to purchase can go a long way in terms of reducing waste, reusing materials and recycling. For example, rather than buying plastic water bottles, invest in a reusable drink container.

Image by peyri

Rather than buying pre-cut vegetables packaged in a container with plastic wrap on them, buy fresh fruit and vegetables or grow your own. No wrapping required. Local growers or Farmer’s Markets are great places to get fresh fruits and vegetables. You support your local community and get fresh food without the need for additional packaging. Don’t forget to bring your re-usable bags.

Recycle or reuse any uneaten food. Here’s another place where many people forget to recycle or reuse items. Of course it’s common sense to save leftovers and/or reuse them in later meals. However, you should also work on portion control. By correctly portioning out your meals you can actually end up with less waste and less uneaten food.

Image by cathyse97

When it comes to buying items, such as toys for your kids, be aware of how much packaging is being used. Most packaging is completely unnecessary. If you are the kind of person who does a lot of their shopping online, Amazon has a whole section dedicated to items that come with “frustration-free packaging” (i.e. they are easy to open, come in recyclable packaging and ship in their own packaging without the need for an extra box). Simple and smart.

I guess when it all comes down to it, the key is really in the precycling. Precycle whenever and wherever you can and you’ll be rapidly recycling, or precycling, your way into the new year. Here are some tips that can help you even further.

When it comes to recycling, not everyone has the same point of view. Some people are die-hard recyclers and recycle everything from bottles and cans to glass and newspapers to e-waste. They are even dedicated enough to refurbish or donate their used furniture and home appliances rather than let them find their way to the local landfill.

Image by mackensienicole

What about you? Where do you stand when it comes to recycling? Do you recycle? Do you reuse or re-purpose items? To be completely honest, I’m not as good at recycling as I could be, but I do try to recycle and definitely would rather donate than toss larger items.

So, since November 15th is America Recycles Day, let’s remember to spread the word as well as take the pledge to recycle more. Now, let’s go over just a few of the many kinds of items you can recycle:

1) Glass: Items such as bottle and jars.

2) Paper: Things like newspapers, office paper, magazines, catalogs, junk mail, etc.

3) Aluminum: Such as soda cans, etc.

4) Steel Cans: Aerosol or paint cans, food cans, etc.

Image by auntjojo

5) Batteries: Used car/truck batteries

6) Plastics: Certain plastics can be recycled. Click here for more information on the different types of plastic bottles/containers and how they are recycled.

7) E-waste: E-waste items such as computers, light bulbs, electronics, etc are sometimes harder to recycle, but here is a simple list to help give you some ideas about “Where to Recycle Household E-Waste“.

Image by Greenpeace India

For a more complete list and a little Recycling 101, check out Earth911.com.

Additionally, Greenopolis will be having its first online “Recycling Forum” being held on Monday, November 15th at 3pm PST and 6pm EST. Don’t forget to register to reserve your spot so you can be involved in an “interactive discussion that will help shape the future of recycling – inspiring environmental thought, discussion, and progress for years to come“. Make sure that your voice can be heard and that you become part of the positive change.

Image by Jason Tester

Then, with the holidays rapidly approaching, please remember to keep recycling in mind when you go on your holiday shopping spree. Even Amazon.com offers “frustration-free packaging” and more environmentally-friendly packaging as a smart (and greener) option for shipping your holiday gifts.

Image by vagawi 

Whenever you have tires that just don’t have any tread left on them it’s time to get rid of them.  But what happens to tires that are worn down or no longer able to be used effectively?  Is there a biofriendly way to recycle them?  What kinds of things can be made by recycling tires?

First of all, before I go into tire recycling, let me mention a few tips to improve the life of your tires.  Make sure you rotate your tires regularly and keep them properly inflated.  Keeping your car tuned up (regular oil changes, using a proven fuel additive, tuning up your brakes, etc), driving on paved roads, ensuring your car isn’t weighed down with heavy items and even car-pooling are also steps that can help improve the life of your tires.  

But, when the time has come time to trade in those worn tires and get new ones, make sure you take your tires to a company that will recycle them.  Recycled tires can be used for a wide variety of products and with approximately 290 million tires discarded every year, recycling them is vital. 

For example, Vulcana® has a leather alternative (RubbRe™), which is made using recycled rubber from tires that were dumped in landfills.  Recycled tires can be used as planters in gardens or for that all-important tire swing in the backyard.  There are even companies who make tire mulch for use in gardens and playgrounds.  Mats, runners and truck bed liners are also common uses for recycled tires.   Another great use is as a fuel supplement for power plants, steel mills, etc.

Needless to say, there is no reason to fill up landfills with “used” tires when there are so many products that can be made by recycling tires.  Additionally, biofriendly tire advances continue to be made, like the researchers at Oregon State figuring out a way to “insert cellulosic plant material into tires, thereby cutting down the amount of dirty carbon black needed to make tires“.   Their cellulosic tires are not only more biofriendly, but have better traction on wet surfaces and are less affected by the heat.  Sounds like a winner all around!

Image by biofriendly 

I’m not sure what your weather has been like, but where I am, we’ve been hitting temperatures in the 90-100+ range. (It was 105 a few weeks ago, with the inside temperature already at 82 before 7am.)  So obviously, one of the things I worry about is our energy/electric bill.  I need to ensure it doesn’t get too warm in the house for my two kids and our dog, but I can’t afford to be wasting money either.

Now, I know basic steps to ensure I keep my energy costs down and I’m sure you do too.  You could go out and invest in solar panels or a wind turbine…both good things to do…but let me start with some of the simpler steps each of us can take to cut down on our energy costs right away:

• If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, get one! I usually set ours to around 80-81 degrees, so the A/C won’t click on until then.  This way I don’t have to constantly check the temperature in our house and I cut down electricity costs by not running the A/C all day. (Did you know that for every degree you raise your thermostat, it will save you about 3-4% on your energy bill?)
• If you have east/west facing windows, be sure to keep the blinds closed during the time of the day when the sun is shining directly in the windows.  This will help keep the heat out.  Why make your A/C work overtime when it doesn’t need to?
• Since north and south facing windows don’t usually get direct sunlight, opening the blinds will help let in some natural light.  This will help brighten your house during the day and save costs on lighting.  No need to have the lights on inside when you get some light from the beautiful outdoors.
• When you leave the house, to enjoy some time outside, ensure you turn off the A/C. Don’t keep it running when nobody is in the house. Believe it or not, the inside temperature won’t go up that much while you are gone.
• If you have ceiling fans, use them.  They don’t cost very much to run.  Besides if it is a nice day and you have a house that has a relatively open floor plan, you can always open your windows and let the cross-breezes flow through your house to help cool it down.  This also usually brings in a fresh, clean smell.
• Make sure you replace or clean your air filter regularly.  We do ours usually every 3 months or when we notice it is getting clogged up.  Doing this helps ensure your A/C doesn’t have to work harder to deliver the same amount of cool air.
• If you have an older refrigerator, you may want to look at trading it in for a new one as it is probably using a lot of electricity.  Many stores will take your old one (when you buy a new one) and recycle it.  One area’s utility company even set up a “Cash for Clunkers” trade-in program for old refrigerators.
• Make sure the seals on your fridge/freezer are tight.  We had a fridge that had a broken seal.  It wouldn’t fully close and so whenever we came back into the kitchen, we would see the refrigerator light on.  We solved it by putting a child lock on the refrigerator door (which we needed anyway for our toddler).  This kept the door fully closed.
• Make sure you do only full loads in your dishwasher or washing machine.  Don’t overstuff them, but make sure they are full – doing that will save energy.  Plus washing dishes or clothes in the evening hours or early morning, when it is cooler, helps as well.
• Hang your clothes out to dry.  It gets you time outside and will save on dryer costs.  If you do use the dryer, make sure you clean the lint trap after every use, so it doesn’t work overtime. 
• Did you know that electronic devices such as computers and stereos can sometimes account for up to 25% of a typical household’s electricity use?  When you aren’t using them, turn them off and unplug them.  Power strips work great for this as you can plug everything into the power strip then turn it off when not in use.

Anyway, by following these simple tips you are pretty much guaranteed to save on your energy bills.  So before you start pulling your hair out or deciding that you have to leave your A/C off all day, try following these tips first.  What steps do you take to lower your energy costs?

Image by VirtualErn

One of the things I always see are articles covering biofriendly cleaning tips for around the home.  What I haven’t seen much of are tips for cleaning your car.  Since most people spend hours a day in their car, you’d think they’d want to ensure their car was clean, smelled fresh and wasn’t full of toxic odors.

Many cleaners, and especially car cleaners, contain chemicals that while they might “clean” your dashboard, seats, console, etc., they don’t do anything for the environment or for the air you are breathing.  Besides, unless you have a convertible, you are going to spend your drive in the confined space of your car, breathing in the chemicals you cleaned with.  Personally, I can’t stand the smell of store-bought car cleaners or air fresheners, convertible or not.  I mean really, who needs a “pine tree” air freshener hanging from their rear-view mirror?

So, here are some biofriendly tips for cleaning your car:

• Rather than using a store-bought cleaner for the leather inside your car, try linseed oil.  It is a great natural cleaner and helps protect the leather.  If you want to get a store-bought cleaner, try organic leather cleaners.
• Some people like to wash their own car rather than taking it to a car wash (NOTE: Many car washes are designed to recycle and reuse the soapy water so it doesn’t just run into the nearest storm drain.)  If you want to wash your car, remember to turn the water off when you aren’t using it.  Then use an environmentally-friendly car soap such as No Rinse™ Wash & Shine, which they say requires only 1-2 gallons of water to wash your entire car.
• For an air freshener, make your own. Here is a good tip from Planet Green on how to do that.  The nice thing about home-made fresheners is you can make one to match a scent you like and it doesn’t have the chemicals other air fresheners have.
• Then don’t forget to clean the inside of your car’s engine by using an effective fuel additive.  An effective fuel additive will help create a more complete burn of the fuel you are putting into your car.  This way you won’t end up with as much sludge.  Instead, you’ll increase fuel efficiency and generate less harmful emissions.  Good for you and your car.

Choosing to use biofriendly cleaning products for your car is a personal choice.  But why bother spending the money on costly cleaners full of chemicals when natural cleaners will do the trick, without the harm to you or the environment.  What are your biofriendly car cleaning tips?

Image from Pricegrabber.com 

Ziploc recently launched their Ziploc® evolve™ Sandwich and Storage Bags which are designed to be better for the environment. Great news, right?! But, why did they make a new line of bags instead of just making their existing bags more environmentally-friendly?  Well, according to their website, the new bags “are an option for those consumers looking to make better environmental choices in their lives”.

Wait…if you don’t want to make better choices for the environment, then Ziploc will continue to make their regular plastic bags so you can have more plastic, fill more landfills and continue polluting?  That seems a little off to me.

But let’s check out the new Ziploc® evolve™ Sandwich and Storage Bags anyway.  According to Ziploc, these new bags use a resin blend that uses 25% less plastic.  One other good thing is the boxes they use are 100% recycled paperboard.  SC Johnson also states their Ziploc products do not contain harmful BPA and they are 100% dioxin free.  All good things!

Here’s my question though…if Ziploc is really serious about making a change for the environment, why aren’t all their bags made with 25% less plastic, packaged in recycled paperboard boxes and manufactured with wind power?

What are they waiting for? Their website states they are “continuing to explore environmental improvements for all of our products”. That’s a good thing, but does that mean these bags were just a stop-gap measure designed to promote how “Ziploc is going green”?

A few other things to note: these bags are NOT reusable.  You also should not use them in the oven or microwave.  As far as whether they are recyclable, One Earth Recycling suggests that most recycling centers will take these types of plastic bags.

So, what do you think? Do you think Ziploc is making some good environmental changes or do you think they should go a little broader?  Let me know, I’d love to hear what you think.

Image by CSatch

The other day I was flipping through Woman’s Day magazine and I saw this great little article titled “the best way to recycle it”.  It basically said how to recycle old outdoor equipment.  Of course that got me thinking, what other odds and ends (or even every-day use items) can you recycle rather than toss?

So I figured I’d do some looking and see what I could find.  Here are just a few things I found:

• Old sports equipment, balls, hockey sticks, skis, camping gear, etc – donate it to your local community center or youth organization.  I’m sure there are many kids/adults who would be happy to use your “recycled” equipment.
• CDs, DVDs and their cases – If you don’t want to donate them for someone else’s enjoyment, you can always give them to a recycling program to be recycled into an egg carton or automotive part. 
• Tennis shoes and other athletic footwear (no cleats) – Nike has a great program caleld Reuse-a-shoe that turns athletic footwear into a material called “Nike Grind” and then uses it to surface playgrounds, running tracks and outdoor courts.  Talk about giving back to the sport.
• Glasses, please don’t throw them away – You can donate glasses or frames to the Give the Gift of Sight Foundation or drop them off at your local eyeglass chain such as LensCrafters or even Walmart has recycling bins for glasses/frames (cell phones, too).
• Your “old clunker” - rather than trying to sell it to someone else so that they drive around in your high-emission, low-mpg vehicle, trade it in at your local dealer as part of the Car Allowance Rebate System (aka Cash for Clunkers).  Oh wait, they just suspended that program as it was a little “too successful”.  Well, you can still donate your old car to programs like PurpleHeartCars.org where your donation supports combat-wounded veterans and their families.

And remember, until they reinstate the Car Allowance Rebate System, you can always do simple actions to increase the fuel economy and lower your emissions.  Rotating and properly inflating your tires, using a proven fuel additive, getting your car a tune-up, etc. all help lower emissions and improve fuel economy.

Now of course most of these items can be donated to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, your local church, shelters or other non-profit charities that accept goods.  The main thing to remember is even if you can’t use it or no longer use an item, it doesn’t mean you should just throw it away.  If it is in workable condition, someone else can most definitely make good use of it.  If it really is “junk”, then ensure you recycle it if you can.  You never know what wonderful things your recycled junk could bring to life.