ecycler, a new way to recycle online!

Did you know that the recycling of VHS tapes is available? There are hundreds of thousands of people that have old VHS tapes and don’t know what to do with them. Many people feel guilty giving box loads of these tapes to donation services because in reality most people don’t even own VHS machines anymore. This doesn’t have to happen anymore because now you have the ability to recycle those tapes. Ecycler.com developed their website to make it possible for you to begin recycling almost everything you own.

VHS, cassettes, reel-to-reel and old 8-track tapes can now be recycled relieving you of the guilt of dropping them off on someone else. Over the years people probably have collected hundreds of different types of recorded media and as a result, they probably have boxes and boxes of these items stored somewhere in the garage or basement. Many of these tapes have probably already been digitized and now people are wondering what to do with them. You have to realize that by simply throwing them away doesn’t really do the trick because they aren’t biodegradable. If you do throw them away it will take thousands of years for them to break down.

Why take a chance when you can turn those old tapes into jobs, reusable resources and a positive contribution to the environment. That’s right, you can turn those old tapes into a job for someone else. You will also be providing a reusable resource by allowing the recycler to turn those tapes into new products or materials that will be used for future items. You are also helping the environment by decreasing our need to deplete more natural resources and not allowing those tapes to be buried in the country’s landfills.

You see, ecycler.com understands that people simply need to know that they can recycle items like VHS tapes, and by doing so they are able to see the positive effects it creates for their environment and the community. The neat thing is that all of this can be done quickly and easily right here on our website. Ecycler.com provides a way for people that have stuff to recycle the ability to connect with specialized recyclers, in this case, for VHS tapes.

The collector breaks down the VHS tapes into their basic components (plastics, metal, etc.) and gets paid for their recycle value. The items get recycled into something new, the collector as been provided a job, and all of this has been created by the person that submitted the items to be recycled. Pretty neat idea, but it all starts with you. Recycling of VHS tapes is available and what a better way to do it then by helping your environment, and the people that live in your community. Start recycling today to begin helping your environment one collection at a time.

If you have materials (in this case, VHS tapes) to recycle, sign on to ecycler.com, submit all the information, package the tapes (reuse a box!), print out out the label and ship the package. It’s that simple!

Thanks to makelessnoise for the image!

You now have a place for the recycling of crayons which is a well received alternative when it comes to discarding crayons in landfills. It has been found that between 45,000 and 75,000 pounds of broken crayons have been documented as the annual amount discarded in landfills throughout the country. This is no small number when you consider that crayons are a bi-product of petroleum called paraffin. Although the crayon wrapper may deteriorate over time, the wax is not biodegradable and will never break down leaving a waxy sludge in our landfills for centuries to come.

There is hope because ecycler.com has developed a service that will allow people, restaurants, education systems and community services programs to get rid of all those unwanted crayons in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. If you have broken, rejected, and very unusable crayons that need a new home, you can simply sign on to ecycler.com and a label will be provided to ship them to a specialized recycler. The process is simple and can be done easily and effectively. When using this service you are contributing to much more than saving your landfills.

When properly recycling your crayons you are actually creating jobs. You are not just creating jobs for the recycling industry but also for the ecycler collectors. You are allowing them the ability to work and redeem any recycling credits that can be used to sustain them and their families. You are also helping to decrease the need for foreign resources and materials that are needed to make new crayons. So what you’ve done is help to create jobs, helped to decrease our dependence on outside resources, and saved the environment from the crayons you may have discarded.

This is not to be taken lightly because look at what you have actually achieved. People are working because you simply decided you weren’t going to throw something away and instead decided you were going to recycle. Now you alone are just one person that has the wheels of sustainability moving forward. What if everyone were to do the same thing? Instead of throwing all their recyclables in the trash, they’ve decided that they too want to recycle. Not only would thousands and thousands of pounds of crayons be eliminated from landfills, but all the other items that could be recycled would be eliminated from landfills as well.

The program is simple! If you have materials (in this case, crayons) to recycle, sign on to ecycler.com, submit all the information, package the crayons (reuse a box!), print out out the label and ship the package. Depending on the company that recycles your crayons, they may come back as non-toxic recycled crayons that can be used over and over again. The recycling process all starts with you because in order for people to really be sustainable and lower their dependence on foreign resources, they will need to understand how important it is to begin right here at home recycling something as small as a simple crayon.

Hurray for Nevada!

Nevada will study the establishment of a bottle bill for the state after legislators there approved a measure to look into deposits for various items. Several other states including Texas and Tennessee are also seeking to create a bottle bill for their states.

Previously a deposit proposal that would force a 5¢ deposit on various recyclables, Assembly Bill 427 was changed in early June to a “study”. Both the Assembly and Senate passed the measure which goes into law today (1 July 2011).

The study, according to the bill, must consider which recyclable materials should be included in the deposit program including plastic, glass, aluminum (or tin) containers, and paper & plastic grocery bags. The study must also include an analysis of the process for the payment and refund of the deposit, including the creation of redemption centers. The study will be delivered for the next legislature.

We, at ecycler, are always encouraged to see another state strive to become a bottle bill state.

Reasons to Support The Bottle Bill

• Keeping current with consumer habits
• Promotes Recycling and Reduces Waste
• Provides Financial Incentives for Recycling
• Produces High-Quality Recyclable Materials
• Creates Jobs

Read our full posting on the reasons to support your state’s bottle bill.

There are many great options to enable your business across facebook and twitter in what we, ecycler, call second tier social media channels. A couple of obvious examples are YouTube, TwitPic and Flickr. We would also include del.icio.us in this group. One way we’ve found to go beyond the standards is to engage our community with these great services.

One of our favorites is a site called foursquare.com––it is a geo-centric check-in service. It is a friend-finder, a social city guide and a game that challenges users to experience new things, and rewards them for doing so. Foursquare lets users “check in” to a place when they’re there, tell friends where they are and track the history of where they’ve been and who they’ve been there with…

In addition to monitoring the commodities market (aluminum, cardboard, paper) via special websites, we find going to (or calling) our local recycling center for “on-the-ground” reality an important aspect of ecycler.com. If you’re following ecycler on foursquare, you’ll see our occasional check-in to various recycling centers.

We also foursquare any of the green events ecycler attends. For example, in late May we attended an event at St. Pascal School in Chicago to show support of the rally’s mission of raising awareness among students about the importance of recycling. St. Pascal won PepsiCo’s Dream Machine Recycle Rally Dream Green School Makeover contest, a $100,000 prize that it will use to make green improvements at the school including a new energy efficient computer lab powered by solar energy.

Naturally, we check-in to ecycler HQ regularly to update our followers on upcoming site features or to send out random messages.

Follow us on foursquare! We are foursquare.com/ecycler

The recent rise in social media has enabled ecycler (and many other businesses) to get in front of more customers than they ever would have been able to before.

The recognition that social media sites have created for various brands can work offline, as well. Companies can include their twitter handle or facebook page address in traditional marketing campaigns or post it on decals in their brick-and-mortar stores to point customers to their products and services online.

The possibilities for harnessing the power of social media offline are limitless. Ecycler, for example, has labeled all of its recycle bins located at various businesses and restaurants. Also, the front door to ecycler HQ has a social media window cling applied to it; these are available for anyone to attach on their establishment’s windows and doors. Companies could, perhaps, print their social media information on shopping bags, the sides of city buses and on billboards. It’s basically double advertising-– social media engages consumers with brands in the virtual world and points real world customers-–or potential customers-–to their brand online.

The logos and identities of the top social media sites-–including twitter, YouTube and facebook-–are so recognizable to people now, that once they see that a product or service they like has a social media presence, they are more likely to seek that company out online, too. That can lead to more purchases-–and therefore more revenue for your business.

Another fantastic way to let someone really know about your business is adding your QR code to your advertising. This will allow people to scan your offline social media ad with any QR code supported phone and learn more information about your business. Everything they need to know about your business will pop up on their phone.

Ecycler is rolling out a new feature that will make it easier for people to tell their friends, family and co-workers about our site.

Spreading the news of ecycler is a great way to be more green. You can simply tell your friends about our site, or you can send to them an e-mail introduction directly from ecycler.com.

The new feature will enable a message to be sent to the e-mail addresses of anyone you choose. A link will appear in your friends’ inboxes that will take them directly to the ecycler sign-up page where they can choose to register as discarders or collectors.

Or, you can enter your gmail or yahoo account information and choose who would want to invite. And, the site will automatically send an email to those contacts.

Lastly, you will be able to grab a customized link to post on your twitter stream or facebook wall.

From your ecycler dashboard, you will be able to track everyone who registers from your invitation(s). You will receive credit for every successful registration.

We developed this feature because sometimes word-of-mouth only goes so far. You might mention ecycler.com to your friends, but they might forget to go and register later. Having a tangible reminder in their inbox, while they’re right there at their computer or on a mobile device, might just nudge them to sign up right then and there.

ecycler.com – A new way to recycle!

Make improvements to the environment through recycling–it all starts with one can or one bottle. Collect. Connect. Recycle.

Enjoy!

Ecycler provides an alternative to the many U.S. (and Canadian) households, institutions and businesses that are not offered curb-side recycling. It’s also an option for people who have to pay for curb-side recycling or who want to have their recyclables picked up when and where they desire.

We’ve entered the Green Giant “The Green Awards” contest.

Come Vote for ecycler!

On the ecycler contest page, click on the “Vote Now!” next to the video… It will most likely ask you to register which takes less than 120 seconds.

The registration process is easy, it will ask for a name, email address, password, birth date, city, ZIP code and where you grocery shop.

This is a spam-free site…

We really appreciate the vote! Please also tell your friends and family.

ELEVATOR PITCH:

At ecycler.com we bring together those who have recyclables to give away with those who want to collect those recyclables. Many US households, institutions and businesses are not offered curb-side recycling; we’re giving them that option.

The collectors—or community entrepreneurs—will redeem the recyclables they collect for cash.

We believe that the easiest way for individuals to make a difference in the improvement of the environment is to recycle, and our goal is to make it even easier by pairing discarders and collectors through our web site.

We currently are trying to reach people who would like to become ecycler discarders; we hope to get businesses apartments and groups of friends to start saving their recyclables for their local collector. Also we are looking for people to become a local ecycler collector and pick up recyclables from the discarders.

Don’t forget: Check out the contest and Vote for ecycler, we really appreciate it: http://voteforecycler.com/

Today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced ecycler as one of 25 Free Enterprise Honorees, recognizing our critical role in job creation and economic growth.

The Awards Program is designed to commend businesses across the nation for their strong business practices and contributions to the economy.

“We are proud to recognize your business’ success story and are impressed with your company’s accomplishments.”

Award criteria were based on staff training and motivation, community involvement, customer service and business strategies & goals.

Congrats to the 75 Blue Ribbon Small Business Award winners. We’ll see you next year!

Ecycler has won the Fairfield Inn & Suites Small Business Road to Success Challenge!

As one of ten small business finalists vying for the grand prize of $20,000, ecycler received 15 free nights at Fairfield Inn & Suites to be used between September 13 and December 9 to travel around the country for the sole purpose of growing its business.

Ecycler shared its journey with the public by blogging, tweeting and posting photos. Several videos were also produced and uploaded to YouTube accessible via ecycler.tv. During the Fairfield Challenge, ecycler exceeded its goals of improving the environment, enhancing the social value of recycling and supporting local communities.

Timothy Laurent, co-founder of ecycler, said, “This win is a real boost to ecycler!” Laurent goes on to say, “We set some difficult goals, but succeeded at each one.”

Craig Robertson, co-founder of ecycler, adds, “We are excited about being recognized and look forward to using this momentum to get the word about ecycler to more people, businesses and cities to use ecycler for their recycling service.”

Ecycler plans on using the $20k to create a mobile application for the iPhone / iPad and to host a recycling bin contest. The contest will encourage people from communities around the US to design and to build the most cost-effective, yet durable recycling bin using materials from the Home Depot or Lowe’s or their local building supply store. A high-quality recycling bin typically costs a couple of hundred dollars and it’s heavy to ship. The goal of the contest is to see if someone can come up with a creative way to build recycling bins locally without the need to ship to businesses.

During the 15 hotel stays, Fairfield Inn & Suites was used as home base; ecycler spread word to numerous businesses and individuals about how ecycler can help them recycle for free. Ecycler posters were posted at grocery stores, coffee shops and restaurants in all of the cities visited as a way to encourage discarders to join. Discarders are those who give away recyclables on ecycler.com.

For more information

http://news.marriott.com/

http://www.businesspundit.com/

http://www.prlog.org/

http://www.patch.com/

http://www.bizplancompetitions.com/