Recycle by Mail
By: gbb.org
There are now more recycling options than ever for conscious consumers looking to responsibly dispose of unwanted stuff. Many of us have access to curbside recycling for the basics and several retailers offer convenient take-back programs.
Still, it can be hard to figure out what to do with often overlooked things like plastic hotel key cards, wine corks, and CDs. Luckily, a simple trip to the post office can accomplish a lot.
Plastics and Packaging
- Earthworks recycles PVC plastic cards (hotel keys, gift cards, etc.) and turns them into sheets that new cards can be made of. Drop cards in the mail if your retailer doesn’t already take them back. Address is: Earthworks, c/o Halprin Industries, 25840 Miles Road, Bedford, OH 44146. Magnetic strips are okay. Don’t send credit cards or those that contain paper backing.
- Recycline’s Preserve Gimme 5 program collects clean plastic containers that have a #5 stamped on the bottom (yogurt cups, ketchup bottles, sour cream containers, and more). Recycled plastic is transformed into razors, bowls, and many other cool products (that you can also send back when you’re done with them). To maximize eco-benefits, the company suggests using ground shipping.
- TerraCycle creates shower curtains, totes, and funky fashion accesssories out of old energy bar wrappers, drink pouches, and other packaging. It recyles wine corks too. In some cases, you need to mail in large quantities so look for a drop-off location or send in your neighbors’ stuff too.
Apparel and Shoes
- Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program has collected almost 22 million worn out athletic shoes since 1990. The shoes are ground up and turned into athletic fields. Nike’s prefers that you drop off shoes at participating stores, but you can also mail them.
- Patagonia’s Common Threads Garment Recycling Program turns your old Patagonia clothing into new garments. Visit it website for specifics on what they take back and where you can send it.
E-waste
- Battery Solutions sells boxes that you can fill up with batteries (both rechargeable and non-rechargeable), cell phones, PDAs, iPods, and others. The $24 fee includes a pre-paid FedEx shipping label.
- GreenDisc recycles CDs, DVDs, video and audio tapes, and their cases. You can also send in most computer related waste-anything from printer cartridges to mice to laptops. It costs $6.95 to process up to 20lbs of waste.
- Waste Management’s Think Green program sells recycling kits for batteries, CFLs, fluorescent tubes, and electronics. Prices vary depending on item. Fill the box they send you and mail it in.Source: Lori Bongiorno
Categories: Consumers, Green Lifestyle, Recycle, Recycling, Sustainability Tags: E-Waste, Green Lifestyle, Recycling
Five Ways Going Green Can Help Your Business Save Money
Making a difference for the environment means making a difference for your bottom line. You can reduce costs and grow your revenue just by following some simple green business practices.
i. Modest changes can lead to drastic savings. Did you know that 600 tons of steel could be saved if every office worker in the United States used one less staple a day? Sounds shocking, but it’s just another example of this crucial principle in action: Tiny things add up to big impacts. Apply the same idea in your workplace and watch your savings soar.
ii. Use less, save more. Green businesses make use of this simple financial strategy better than anyone: Reduce costs by reducing consumption. You can start curbing paper consumption by storing all files on computers instead of in file cabinets, using glassware instead of plasticware, keep your supply costs down.
iii. Using green products can cost less. Yes, it’s true. Remanufactured toners and recycled printer cartridges are significantly cheaper than their non-recycled counterparts.
iv. Efficiency is cheap. Wholesale prices are cheaper, so buy in bulk. By doing so you’ll simultaneously reduce shipping and packaging costs and waste.
v. It doesn’t cost a thing to try green. You have nothing to lose by taking the first step toward greening your business. The GBB tracking tool allows you to monitor your progress, and you can start slowly and see for yourself how each small step yields economic gains.
To learn more visit the Green Certification link above or visit GBB.org
Categories: Carbon Footprint, Energy, Green Building, Green Business, Green Jobs, Green Lifestyle, Sustainability, sustainable entrepreneurship Tags: Carbon Footprint, Clean Energy, E-Waste, Energy Consumption, Green Business, Green Jobs, Green Lifestyle, Green Office, Green Teams, Sustainability, Sustainability Officer
Deloitte: Best Practices for Going Green
By Deborah Fleischer
What do you think of when you hear Deloitte? You might think of a professional services firm or Big Four auditor. Today, the company has also put a big green stake in the ground, both looking internally to green its operations and as an offering in its consulting practice.
Two aspects of this work are worth noting: Deloitte’s internal green team, working to engage employees in sustainability, and its Green Sync™ tool.
I had the chance to have an e-mail exchange with Thomas Dekar, vice chairman of Deloitte LLP, regional managing principal of the North Central Region and corporate responsibility officer for the Deloitte U.S. Firms. He shed some light on the origins of Deloitte’s programs and offerings.
Read on to learn about Deloitte’s best green business practices for engaging employees in sustainability. Read more…
Categories: Carbon Footprint, Consumers, Energy, Green Building, Green Business, Green Jobs, Green Lifestyle, Green Office, Sustainability Tags: Carbon Footprint, Clean Energy, Consumers, E-Waste, Energy Consumption, Green Building, Green Business, Green Jobs, Green Leadership, Green Lifestyle, Green Office, Sustainability, Sustainability Officer
The 20 Most Popular Stories of 2009
Oakland, CA — What to make of the 20 most-read stories among the 2,350 (or so) articles and blog posts we ran during 2009 on GreenBiz.com,ClimateBiz.com, GreenerBuildings.com,GreenerComputing.com andGreenerDesign.com
It’s hard to make head or tails of them, in terms of the themes, interests, or. Yes, packaging and Walmart seem to be two recurring themes. Rankings and ratings stories always rank high. Beyond that, 2009 seems a muddle — as, perhaps, in real life, it was. After all, what links termites and windvertising?
Themes or not, here are the stories of ours that you, dear reader, clicked on, Googled, Digged, Scribd, StumbledUpon, tweeted (and retweeted) and linked to the most. Do you see any noteworthy patterns or trends herein? Let us know if you do. Read more…
Categories: Carbon Footprint, Consumers, Energy, Green Building, Green Business, Green Finance, Green Jobs, Green Lifestyle, Green Office, News, Solar, Sustainability, Wind Tags: Apple, Bottled Water, Carbon Footprint, Cisco, Clean Energy, Coca-Cola, Consumers, E-Waste, Energy Consumption, Google, Green Building, Green Business, Green Finance, Green Jobs, Green Lifestyle, Green Office, Green Teams, Intel, News, Starbucks, Sustainability, Sustainability Officer, Walmart, Wind
