Ecycler featured on StartUpLift.com! Come check it out and make a comment. StartUpLift.com was created to help promising startups get exposure and receive insightful feedback. People come to StartUpLift to learn about new startups and to engage in stimulating conversation. Sounds good to us!
Feedback sought:
Do you find the site intuitive? Meaning, upon arrival to ecycler.com, is it obvious as to what the site is all about?
We would love some suggestions on the registration process.
I think it’s very cool that this company allows you to schedule a time and place to pick up recyclables…
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.
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.
On the ecycler contest page, click on the “Vote for it!” below 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 an email address, username and password. It will then send a confirmation message to that email account. To finish the registration (thus the vote for ecycler), you’ll need to go to your email and confirm with the link provided in the message from Myoo Create. BTW, 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 or 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.
Ecycler further enhances the social value of recycling as the discarders will feel good about the environment and helping someone in need. They also have the ability to track their recycling in terms of the number of units and their combined carbon offsets.
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:
Many thanks to everyone that made the effort to vote for ecycler. Unfortunately, we were not selected for the subsequent rounds of competition. However, stay tuned, we have some excellent news to share.
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.
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.
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/high 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.
Living without curbside recycling? Don’t fret … a new website called ecycler aims to connect recyclable discarders and collectors in your community.
How to use ecycler
Want to start 2010 off on the right, green foot? For those living in areas sans a curbside recycling pick-up service or a convenient recyclables drop-off station, a recently launched website called ecycler is looking to make things a whole easier via a virtual “Collect, connect, recycle” system.
Using ecycler is easy breezy — it’s essentially an online classifieds community for folks looking to get recyclables off of their hands or “discarders,” and those who are willing to pick them up and take/sell them to recycling centers or “collectors.” Not only do desperately seeking “discarders” benefit from using ecycler, but “collectors” can find the site beneficial as well with opportunities to turn green do-goodery into a small but thriving eco-enterprise (read: money-making).
Of course, ecycler won’t work without a committed network of collectors, so if you’re interested in taking a few hours a week to play the role of “friendly local recyclable man or woman” take a gander at the site’s homepage — and blog and community forum — to see how you can become involved. And for more info on recycling facilities near you, check out the indispensable Earth911.
Folks without a convenient way to dispose of recyclables: would you sign up to become a member of a site like ecycler? And dedicated recyclers: is taking on the role of an entrepreneurial ecycler collector something that would interest you?
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.
Come check out our profile on Ziipa.com and give us five stars. Ziipa’s goal is to showcase the best Web 2.0 websites, start-ups and applications. Sounds good to us!
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!
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How Much are Your Cans Worth?
* Prices vary by recycling center. Take 60% of the value for consumer pricing.
