When you’re celebrating Halloween today, remember the three R’s: reduce, reuseand recycle.
Here are some tricks to making your Halloween a treat for the environment:
When you’re done enjoying your caramel apples and jack-o-lanterns, add the apple cores and pumpkins to your compost pile. Some cities will pick up pumpkins on yard waste collection days (check with yours to see if they compost). If you compost it yourself, remove candles before cutting up the pumpkin and mixing it into the pile.
Use a reusable shopping bag to collect your Halloween candy.
Get in the spirit of the night and reducethe amount of lights in your house, using candles or only minimal lighting.
Buy candy that comes in the least amount of packaging – or, instead of candy, give away items that are fully consumable, such as apples.
Remember to check labels to see if your candy wrappers can be recycled.
Pack up your decorations and reusethem again next year.
There’s a new green monster in town and his name is Big Green Head! He’s an eco-friendly monster on a mission to change your perception about going green. It doesn’t have to be difficult, time consuming or costly; but you may wonder “where do I start?”
Where Do I Start Going Green?
This is the very same question Kate and Karen asked themselves. They’re the two moms who created Big Green Head with the purpose of leading their families and others down an easy green path. Their website, BigGreenHead.com, takes everyday tasks and provides a less wasteful, healthier and many times less expensive alternative.
BigGreenHead.com
Not only will you find Kate and Karen’s friendly, approachable, monster on their website, but a positive attitude and a little fun and humor. They have created a platform for themselves and others to share their green trials and tribulations on the Big Green Blog. The site also reports on green current events and interesting stories, and introduces businesses, products and organizations that can help you on your green journey while keeping in mind a busy lifestyle on a budget.
Simple and Positive
“Taking baby steps and keeping a positive attitude is how real change happens”, says Karen. “The benefits we reap will be worth the efforts we put forth: a healthy family, community and planet”.
ecycler is a new way to recycle! In an effort to spread the word about ecycler, we are sponsoring a giveaway. Simply register on ecycler.com as either a collector or a discarder. That’s it! You’re then entered to win…
So, what’s the difference between a collector and a discarder?
Collectors - Collectors are those who pick recyclables up from a business or house and then sell them to their local recyclable buyer.
Discarders - The discarders are those who give away recyclables.
We will randomly select a winner from all the registered ecycler users. Why all the fuss? The winner will receive a brand-new Apple iPad.
What to WIN:
Up for grabs is an Apple iPad that retails for $499 on apple.com
How to Enter:
Simply register on ecycler.com as a real user–if we can’t verify it, then it’s not a valid registration. Six bonus entries are available by doing one or more of the following:
On, or about, December 1, 2010, we will randomly select one winner from all the registered users on ecycler.com. We’ll include everyone’s bonus entries in addition to the registration as additional opportunities to win (up to seven entries per household).
Available in the US only (and you must be 18 or older), this giveaway will end at 11:59 Central Time on November 30, 2010 – See the official Rules here.
UPDATE
Thanks to everyone who entered our giveaway. It has officially ended and the winner has been selected using random.org–once verified, the announcement will be made.
People who want to sell their recyclables can find out where to take them by going to RecycleBills.com, a site started by co-owners of Salvage America, a recycling center.
The co-owners noticed that search engines weren’t directing people to the right sites. For example, people searching on Google were taken to directories that left the impression that Salvage America sold used auto parts, when in fact that was not the case.
RecycleBills.com allows people to type in their location and find a listing of recycling centers and a list of the type of recyclables they purchase. For example, if you type Chicago, IL, into the site’s search box, you’ll find that a company called Universal Scrap Metals buys scrap metals, aluminum and junk cars while J & S Metals buys aluminum, brass, copper wire and scrap steel.
The site also features RecycleBill’s RecycleBlog — http://recyclebills.squarespace.com/recycleblog — which includes postings on green topics and urban farming. There’s a new and exciting posting (or two) every day, so visit often!
And, if you need a diversion from your day of collecting cans, don’t miss The Adventures of The Vegetable Stalker. Currently at over 80 excerpts from the biography of Veggie Head Stalker, green superhero and champion of the war to save the world from invasive and life threatening Genetically Modified Foods.
Ecycler recently had the honor of being showcased on MakeUseOf‘s website–a daily blog that features cool websites, computer tips, and downloads that make you more productive. The aim of MakeUseOf is to guide you through the web and tell you about hot websites that you have never heard of, best software programs, and all kinds of “how to” tips for Windows, Mac and Linux computer users.
MakeUseOf launched in July 2006 and now has approximately 350,000 active subscribers and serves about 7 million pageviews a month. It also ranks among the most popular blogs on the web according to Technorati.
An excerpt of their article titled: Online Marketplace for Recyclable Stuff
Living green used to be a hard thing but with all the technological advances, anyone can change their lifestyle for the better. People often have a hard time figuring out what to do with their recyclable items since not all the neighborhoods provide resources to take care of your recyclables. Ecycler is a tool that can help you with that. Using Ecycler you can list your recyclable stuff for free. Simply choose the kind of items you want to give away such plastic bottles, paper etc., select your area and Ecycler will show you a list of recyclers that can come pick up your recyclables for free. You can also specify if your items are bagged or not and also specify the quantity.
On the other hand, if you want to make some quick cash, you can find people who are giving away their recyclable items and pick them up. You can search for items in specific areas or simply post your listing specifying what kind of items you are interested in and how much you are willing to travel. You can then sell these items to a recycling plant and make money, while helping the planet at the same time. You can also register to keep track of how much you have recycled and share that info with your friends.
350.org is an international campaign that’s building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis—the solutions that science and justice demand.
The theory of change is simple: if an international grassroots movement holds our leaders accountable to the latest climate science, we can start the global transformation we so desperately need.
ecycler will be out in full force collecting cans and other recyclables!
Check out their site… Find an event… Make a difference in our World!
Some people are really serious about recycling. The photos of these men in China prove that you don’t need a car to redeem recyclables – a motorcycle, bicycle or rickshaw will do.
With ecycler, we hope to make redemption of recyclables easy for all collectors, regardless of whether they own a vehicle. In fact, if people don’t use cars or trucks to pick up recyclables, it will be even better for the environment. Our hats off to these men for keeping all of that plastic out of landfills.
As a steward to the recycling community, ecycler is tasked to educate the public on recycling best practices. In some cases, a re-education or myth squashing. Our latest encounter led to a discussion regarding aluminum cans and their pull tabs.
Pull tabs have no special value.
It is always best to recycle the whole can! The pull tabs have no special value; in fact, they contain only a fraction of the aluminum the comprises the can as a whole. The value of recycling is at its fullest when the entire can is recycled. Both in terms of benefit to the environment and the dollars and cents in your pocket.
As we continue to speak with business owners and consumers we sometimes meet people with misinformation, our duty is to correct or redirect these situations.
We found this great article that backs up our stance to debunk the myth of saving only the tabs. Check it out here on Snopes: Keeping Tabs
We’ve kept a running list of the places we’ve visited during the Fairfield Road to Success Small Business Challenge. Check out the ecycler has Accepted the Challenge posting for the challenge details and ecycler goals.
We had 15 nights available to us. And, we’ve managed to utilize all 15 stays! For your viewing pleasure, we’ve put together a photo montage. And, summarized all 15 stays…
Steve Apotheker, a leader and advocate in the recycling world since the late 1970s, died on June 20 in Portland,…
iCanRecycle
iCanRecycle is a virtual can crushing app. And, the best part is you can take any stored image or take a picture with your iPhone camera and apply it to the can, then crush away!
How Much are Your Cans Worth?
* Prices vary by recycling center. Take 60% of the value for consumer pricing.
When you’re done enjoying your caramel apples and jack-o-lanterns, add the apple cores and pumpkins to your compost pile. Some cities will pick up pumpkins on yard waste collection days (check with yours to see if they compost). If you compost it yourself, remove candles before cutting up the pumpkin and mixing it into the pile.
