February 28th, 2010
craig
Ecycler.com has introduced new features that will make connecting with discarders and collectors easier.
ecycler's recycling exchange
A new collector directory allows people with recyclables to discard to find collectors in their state. Likewise, a new discarder directory allows collectors to see which discarders are nearby. It also enables discarders to see which other discarders are joining the ecycler revolution.
In addition, the site has a new recycling exchange feature that allows people to see what kind of recyclables are available in their state. For example, a collector could click on “ Florida ” and see that someone in a particular zip code has a trash bag of aluminum cans to give away. If that discarder resides in the collector’s area, the collector can then contact that discarder directly through ecycler.com to arrange for a pick-up.
Come check it out!
We recently ran an article on the decision process of using either paper or plastic while in the checkout line (check it out here: Which is Better… Paper or Plastic?). Our conclusion? Best to use a re-usable bag. So, we thought it would be a great idea to give away a pile of our bags to one lucky winner. What’s a pile? How about five bags!
ecycler Bag Giveaway
As always, the ecycler bags are available at shop.ecycler.com for $5.99 each.
WIN:
We have a pile of FIVE of these fun ecycler Eco-Friendly Bags to giveaway!
How to Enter:
To enter, make a comment telling us how you are trying to be more GREEN.
Extra Entries:
For extra entries you may do the following, make sure you indicate your extras in a separate comment.
Available in the US only, this giveaway will end on March 1, 2010 – See the official Rules here
We need your help in getting people to recycle more!
I recently spent a few evenings in St. Petersburg, FL posting our ecycler posters. To post posters in your own community, all you’ll need are:
- Posters printed preferably in color on recycled paper.
- Thumbtacks
- Green Transportation: a bicycle or hybrid/low mpg vehicle
- Internet access before you go
- Phone
ecycler Marketing Poster - PDF 180KB
Before heading out from the hotel I used maps.google.com to make a list of businesses that I know have community boards or are very likely to have community boards where posters can be posted. The following franchise businesses usually have community boards: Starbucks, Panera Bread, Jimmy Johns and Whole Foods. I made a list of these and called each to find out if they have a community board. Panera and Jimmy Johns all had boards and did not have restrictions. About half of the Starbucks had community boards, though some only allow non-profit organizations to post. Some of their boards even say “This board is for information, not for selling stuff,” so keep that in mind for your cause. With ecycler posters, Starbucks managers were cool about it. When I explained that the purpose of the poster is to let people know about ecycler and how they can create their own recycling program or list their recyclables, the managers approved the posters.
The other category of business that usually has community boards are independent coffee shops and organic grocery stores (as well as some regular grocery stores). I called three of the coffee shops and all three had community boards or allowed posting in the window. The Whole Foods and organic grocery stores also had boards.
The next step was to create an optimal route (for the engineers out there creating an optimal travel route is the classic operations research problem called TSP or Traveling Salesperson Problem). I used the website: http://gebweb.net/optimap/. It allows you to add up to 24 addresses and create a round trip optimal travel route. The site will list the order in which you should go to the stores to minimize travel time. If you are going on a trip from one city to another you can choose A-Z which then optimally determines which places to go. But since I my start and end point was my hotel I needed the round trip choice.
I saved my list to my blackberry and headed out. Starbucks stores usually have magnets so you don’t need a tack, but other places may or may not have tacks. As you are posting posters you will see and meet interesting people. I got several questions when I was posting the posters and had some good conversations about recycling!
So you may want to know if it worked. A week after posting 12 we had one person interested and people visited the site! When I returned to Florida two weeks later, I visited some of the locations where I posted posters and found that people had torn off the tabs that direct them to ecycler.com.
December 18th, 2009
craig
Come check out the write-up on TrendHunter.com and give us a “Hot” rating. TrendHunter.com is the world’s largest, most popular trend community. Fueled by a global network of 30,000 members. Sounds good to us!
Some neighborhoods don’t have free recycling pickup services but now, with the Ecycler site, there is no excuse not to recycle. The Ecycler site fulfills everyone’s green aspirations by connecting people who need a recycling service with those who want to do the recycling.
Basically, using the Ecycler site, eco-conscious consumers can find people in their communities who are ‘recycling entrepreneurs.’ These entrepreneurs get a customizable URL, downloadable personalized business cards and posters for publicity, while consumers with recyclables can simply choose from the list of entrepreneurs and arrange a pickup. Check out Ecycler.com to learn more.
Showcase here: http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ecycler-site
Need to make some quick cash while at school, follow these tips:
- Recycle bottles and cans: Throw a party and make sure that all cans and bottles stay at your place. ecycler is King
- Get a job: You might have to work at McDonald’s and you might hate life, but at least you’ll have money.
- Sell your body for money: No, not prostitution…give plasma!
- Sell your unused stuff on eBay or Craigslist: Go through your old stuff at home and see what you can get rid of.
- Sell your old textbooks on Amazon: You can usually get more money from selling your books on a site like Amazon than you would from the bookstore.
- Take notes in class and sell them: You’re already in class taking notes, might as well try to sell them. Post this on your facebook and you might just find some interested buyers writing on your wall.
- Be a tutor: Tutor the dumb dumb in class and then make them pay you for it.
Register at ecycler.com
The United States Government Printing Office (GPO) and the U.S. Congress have announced that the GPO began printing the Congressional Record on 100 percent recycled-content paper.
The Congressional Record, the official record of the proceedings and debates of Congress, is printed by GPO every day that Congress is in session. In a news release, GPO says it has been testing 100 percent recycled paper throughout 2009. “Those tests showed no difference in printability or run-ability as compared to the 40 percent post-consumer [scrap] recycled paper GPO has been using for years,” says the organization.
“It puts the official proceedings of Congress on recycled paper and that is good for our environment and good for our future,” says Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. “This is one more step in the ‘Green the Capitol’ program—making sustainability a priority, placing conservation and energy efficiency at the top of our agenda, and putting America’s leaders at the forefront of an issue that affects all Americans.”
Pelosi offered the remarks when Public Printer Bob Tapella presented her with copies of the Congressional Record printed on 100 percent recycled paper.
“Sustainable Environmental Stewardship is both good business and good government,” declared Tapella. “The Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader of the Senate are both very much in favor of environmental initiatives, and printing the Congressional Record on 100 percent recycled newsprint is one step further in advancing their agendas.”
The GPO describes itself as “the federal government’s primary centralized resource for gathering, cataloging, producing, providing, authenticating, and preserving published U.S. government information in all its forms.” More information on the organization is available at www.gpo.gov.
Video: GPO YouTube video
September 29th, 2009
craig
I saw #haveuever trending on twitter today and it got me thinking. What first came to mind was, “Have I ever thrown away something recyclable?” I think we are all guilty of it, so I decided to look up some facts. In California, nearly 22 billion CRV-eligible containers were sold last year.
Of those, nearly 15 billion were recycled. That is great — but more than 7 billion that ended up in landfills!
Here is something else to think about because California is a bottlebill state, no one claimed the nearly $300 million worth of deposits!
Here is the link to the article: Bottles and Cans
September 21st, 2009
craig
Hello Everyone! To get ecycler going, we need collectors to sign up on the site and start marketing their own ecycler recycling programs. If you have recyclables to give away, please be patient as our base of collectors grows — and be sure to point potential collectors you know to the site.
