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I have a cast-iron tub in the garage that contains one old computer monitor dumped on our lawn by some jerk last spring, a broken clock radio, and a broken VCR. Inside, I have three plastic bins filled with functioning, but technically obsolete cameras, old cell phones, video recorders, old blackberries, at least five remotes, and lots and lots of cords. We even have the “ornamental” computer—it still looks good sitting in the kitchen, but hasn’t worked very well for months. We are a mountain of e-waste waiting to happen, especially with spring cleaning fever beginning to set in.
The temptation is to dump it all at the town recycling center–and declare victory for managing to find it during the 4 hours it’s open on a weekend. But that doesn’t seem very green—so what to do?
1. The first decision is to fix it or nix it. Greenerchoices.org is part of the Consumer Reports family and provides a useful “Fix it or Nix it” guide of whether you should bother fixing an item and a surprising number of ways to fix stuff. It also suggests repair and upgrade options. Alternatively, if you decide to nix the item, the site suggests where you can donate or sell the item or recycle it responsibly.
We are fixing the computer, one DVR, and one camera. Everything else is on the nix list.
2. OK–now for nix list. Should you sell, donate, or recycle?
To determine whether any of your electronics have value, you can visit gazelle.com or yourenew.com. They also offer e-recycling options for those products that don’t have any value. Thanks to those sites I have confirmed my stuff is totally worthless…at least to them. You may find some luck on eBay or Craigslist, but my personal opinion is the $2 I’m likely to clear isn’t worth the effort.
The next stop for anything working, or perhaps even something that isn’t, can either be the charitable route (earth911.com has a fabulous zip code based list of charities that accept electronics) or the neighborly route through freecycle.org. Freecycle has worked well for us for most items and the only downside is coordinating pick-up times.
And last, but not least–there is the recycling option. I love that BestBuy will take one item back a day, whether you bought it there or not, and the majority for free. Staples also has a pretty comprehensive program although only the Dell branded items are totally free. And then, if you are fortunate to have access to one, there is the town recycling center. Most aren’t open as often as Best Buy, but now that you’ve winnowed down the load, you can also add the broken chair, CFL bulbs, and old paint cans piling up in the garage to the trip.
What’s piling up in your home? Have you found any “impossible to recycle” electronics items? Good ideas for donating or reuse of electronics? Let us know…
News Picks:
5 Surprising Things You Can Recycle: You know about bottles and cans, but this article has some other good recycling ideas for less obvious items like phone books, hangars, and tin foil.
Tried and True Eco-paints: NY Times writer tests 10 environmentally friendly indoor paints and shares his favorites.
4 Secrets About Fast Food: Men’s Health editor-in-chief reveals list of shocking ingredients in common fast food items, including chicken nuggets, filet-o-fish, and a Frosty.
Multimedia Link:
Note from Susan: The first time I visited the Healthy Child Healthy World site, it scared the bejeezes out of me. I had no idea that so many things we did every day were negatively impacting the health of our child. It definitely was a wake-up call. This beautifully produced video “A Wake-Up Story” summarizes the key issues, but also encourages parents to take action—in their own homes and in their communities. Hope you enjoy it!
New and Cool Pick:
The first Green Map iPhone App helps users find green things in their communities.
It’s Superbowl Weekend, right? I don’t know too many moms who get a full three hours to actually watch the game, but it is still a great excuse for a party, even if it’s just you and the kids watching the funny ads and a few downs in between bathtime and loads of laundry. But if you do get to throw a party, it’s actually pretty easy to green the game. Here are three practical, simple ways to do it:
1. Save Energy: serve a local beer
There are over 1,500 breweries in the US so one of them has to be near you. In Boston, that’s Harpoon Brewery and yes, Sam Adams still brews a little bit in Jamaica Plain. In San Francisco, Anchor Steam is found pretty easily. In NYC, Brooklyn Beer is the most popular. Here’s a site where you can find local breweries and brewpubs by zip.
2. Improve health: choose healthier, but still delicious chips & dips
I love Fritos. But they are so not healthy, scoring a 2.3 in health from the GoodGuide (but we knew that already). But there are some tasty and healthy options that don’t taste like a side of cardboard with some salt. Trader Joe’s soy & flaxseed tortilla chips scored a perfect 10 in health. We’re also fans of Green Mountain Gringo and Wild Harvest Organic Tortilla chips for the big people and Newman’s Own pretzels for the little ones. In terms of dips, Whole Foods has a really good store-branded organic jarred salsa and black bean dip. I also loved this recipe for sour cream & onion dip that gets rid of the MSG and other nasty stuff from the packaged onion powders without tasting bland.
3. Reduce Stuff: Use recycled plastic or biodegradable serving ware
Preserve Products makes fun and colorful tableware that has all the benefits of plasticware (no breakage), but can be reused hundreds of times and is made from 100% recycled plastic. You can find them at Target, Trader Joe’s & Whole Foods. If you don’t want to go the reusable route, new disposable plates, cups and utensils made of cornstarch or sugar cane fibers can biodegrade in 180 days. These are a bit harder to find offline, but one of our local Whole Foods has carried them. If you know of where to get them nationally–let us know! And last, but not least–use reusable napkins, or at least recycled paper ones.
Do you have other ways you are greening the game? Let us know! (And also, here’s a cheer to the underdog–Go Saints!)
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkn/ / CC BY 2.0
It’s a bit long. It gets political. But if you want a very friendly and easy to understand explanation for how many green issues have to do with stuff—and how we make it, transport it, consume it, and throw it—it’s really worth watching. Some parts are funny. Some of what you learn is maddening. And be prepared to never look at all your stuff in quite the same way.
I recently joined the Freecycle Network, which I had read about for a few years but just never got around to trying. But I found myself needing a desk for our fabulous new Practically Green intern and decided to take a look. First you have to sign up for your local community group using Yahoo! and I have to admit it is not a great user experience. But once you are in, you can see what’s available and sure enough, I found a great desk! I emailed, we arranged a time, and the very nice freecycler who lived a mile from me even helped me pack it into the car.
Since joining, I’ve procured a whiteboard and given away some bubble wrap that I had been saving until I could figure out how to recycle it. And it’s kind of amazing to see what people are trading for free—everything from new sippy cups to furniture to a coconut cake that was a Christmas gift no one wanted. It’s now my first stop when I need something and so far, it’s working well. And I’m beginning to see a way to finally find a good home for the Thomas the Train set that no one really plays with anymore.
Landfills are one of two ways to bury trash. A landfill is a carefully designed isolated structure built on top of or into the ground where municipal trash can be dumped.
The danger in using landfills is that leachate (the water from rain, snow, dew, and natural precipitation that passes through the layers of trash) can leak into local water supplies. Methane gas can build up and cause fires or explosions, however, new technology can be used to trap the released methane gas and use it for energy.
To learn more, go to:
Compost is a soil-like material created by the transformation of organic material (such as food waste and plant matter) through decomposition. Insects, earthworms, bacteria, and fungi help the material break down into compost through the decomposition process.
Composting is a natural form of recycling that can be completed by a household and can eliminate 700lbs of waste per household per year. The nutrients in compost make it a natural and highly effective fertilizer.
To learn more, go to:
http://www.howtocompost.org/info/info_composting.asp
Cradle to Cradle certification is a mark companies can earn for a product from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDG) that indicates it is designed and manufactured in an environmentally friendly way. The evaluation looks at whether they use environmentally safe and healthy materials; design for material reuse, such as recycling or composting; use renewable energy and energy efficiency; efficient use of water, and maximum water quality associated with production; and institute strategies for social responsibility.
The mark looks like this:
Learn more, including a full list of products certified: http://www.mbdc.com/c2c/
Freecycle is a nonprofit movement (and business) of people who give and get free stuff from others in their own towns. Its main mission is to reuse and “keep good stuff out of landfills.” Membership is free and each local group is moderated by a local volunteer.
To learn more, go to:
http://www.freecycle.org/
Recycling is the method of turning waste materials into valuable resources. One way this can be done is by collecting used bottles, cans, newspapers and packaging materials and taking them to the curb to be picked up by a municipal recycling crew. If your town does not have this service, the recycled materials can be taken to a collection facility.
(to look up a nearby recycling facility, go to http://earth911.com/ )
Recycling decreases pollution caused by the manufacturing of products from new materials. Recycling also saves energy and reduces the need for incineration and landfilling.
To learn more, go to:
http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/rrr/recycle.htm
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