recycling

Another Way to Recycle Electronics: Radio Shack

jplatt — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:00:00 -0400

Great news -- yet another retailer is jumping into the "we'll recycle your old electronics for you" bandwagon.

This time it's RadioShack, one of the most ubiquitous electronics chains in the country. Through The Shack's new trade-in program, you can bring products or accessories to their stores or mail them in, and you'll get a gift card with a small dollar value in return.

The program accepts MP3 players, cell phones, cameras, gaming consoles, and even laptops. (Laptops, HDTVs and a few other items can only be traded in through their website.)

Here's what happens: you present your item for trade-in, Radio Shack makes you an offer, and you accept the offer to get your gift card.

If you do the trade online, you'll get to print out a pre-paid postage label, so the whole program is free to you.

There's no word on the website about how your old electronics will be recycled or re-used, but since the one major requirement for your trade is that the products are in working order and can turn on, it appears the old devices will be refurbished and resold.

Give it a try. I'm sure there's a Radio Shack right around the corner from you.

How to Recycle Those Old VHS Tapes

jplatt — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:00:00 -0400

My wife and I are finally getting rid of most of our old VHS tapes. It's about time. I mean, we haven't plugged our VCR in for more than a year. Those old tapes were just sitting around gathering dust, and some of them can be re-used, while others can be recycled.

Our first trip was to the local library. Many of the older patrons in this town still use their VCRs quite heavily, as do the vacationers who have cabins here and haven't upgraded to DVD yet. Our library stocks a supply of video tapes for patrons, and also runs a very nice used book store which sells tapes for a few bucks each. So a few boxes of tapes went there.

Next stop was another nearby used bookstore, which also sells used VHS tapes. They took another box. (Did I mention that we had a lot of video tapes?)

Thrift stores could have also been an option. There are three within a few miles of our home, but the library and the used book store took so many, we didn't need to make another stop.

A few rarities (old horror movies and the like) went up on eBay or Amazon's Marketplace. There wasn't a huge market for these flicks, but collectors did pick up a few that weren't available on DVD.

That got rid of 99% of our pre-recorded tapes. But we also had several boxes of movies and TV shows that we had taped off the airwaves. You can't sell or give those things away, but we didn't want to chuck them in the trash, so it was time to look into recycling.

GreenDisk served our purposes pretty well. They'll take a 20 pound box for $6.95, and every additional pound costs just 30 cents. The price goes toward a shipping label, and you send them your video tapes (or anything from a whole list of products) for recycling.

There, problem solved! Give it a shot yourself. Free up some space, put old tapes to good re-use, and keep that trash out of the landfill in the process!

How to Recycle Your Old CDs and DVDs

jplatt — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:00:00 -0400

How many old CDs, DVDs or computer disks do you have lying around your home or office? If you're not using them any more, do you know how to dispose of them?

CDs and DVDs contain a variety of substances that make them bad candidates for landfills. In addition to plastics, there's aluminum and other materials that can be re-used rather than thrown away. So if you're planning on throwing some old CDs away, consider recycling them instead.

Your local community might accept and recycle CDs, so check with them first. If not, there are a number of companies that will collect your disks and recycle them for you. All of them will properly dispose of data disks so your data will be safe and them recycle the materials so they can be re-used for a variety of purposes.

In addition to the disks themselves, most of these companies will also recycle your old jewel cases and even the paper inserts that came with the disks!

Now, there is a catch: you'll need to pay for shipping to send your disks to any of these recyclers. But if you collect them instead of sending them one at a time, it should be worth the cost. (For example, you can set up a recycling program at your workplace to collect a great big pile of data disks before you send them in.)

Here are a few recycling companies worth checking out:

Oh, and don't forget: a used compact disk or a DVD might not have much value, but in addition to recycling, you can also re-use a disk for a variety of craft projects. Check out this list for some fun ideas.

Donate Your Old Computer Equipment to A Good Cause

jplatt — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:00:00 -0400

Got any old computer equipment lying around? You could recycle it (see the Green Tech archives for plenty of stories about how), or you could put it in the hands of someone who will get some good use out of it.

That's the idea behind Computers With Causes, a charity that accepts old computers from individuals and businesses, refurbishes them, and gives them to people or organizations who need them.

This reduces e-waste, cuts down on clutter, and puts perfectly good electronics back to work where they can help change the world for the people or groups who receive them.

According to their website, "Computers with causes evaluates each and every donation on a case by case basis. Whenever financially beneficial, computers with causes will repair, refurbish, and properly prepare donated property for placement into an educational environment or other cause we support. The ultimate goal being to maximize the benefit of your donations both financially and through educational purposes to the communities in which we live."

Functioning computers will be put back to use in the community (say, for education purposes, use in foster homes, or for disabled veterans or other needy Americans). Non-fuctioning computers can even be useful, as they'll get donated to schools to help teach computer repair.

Anything Computers With Causes receives that can't be used gets recycled, using what they call a "zero landfill" process.

Donations earn you tax deductions, and some donations can even earn you a free vacation!

So if you've got an extra computer lying around, give Computers With Causes a shot. You'll benefit, the earth will benefit, and so will your community.

Finally Time to Recycle that VCR?

jplatt — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Do you still have an old VCR hooked up to your TV? Well, it just might end up being a useless paperweight in a few months. When the DTV transition takes places, television broadcast signals will switch to a digital format that is incompatible with many old VCRs.

This won't affect every VCR, and there are some expensive work-arounds you can try to keep your old VCR working, but if you finally decide to give up the video ghost, make sure you recycle your old electronics properly. Those VCRs contain circuit boards and other materials that can end up as toxic waste in the ground and water if they are not recycled carefully.

First of all, check with your local town to see what their rules are about electronics disposal. They might be able to handle it for you, for free or for a small fee.

You can also check Earth911.org to find a recycling center near you.

As for your old videotapes, why not donate them to your local libary? Not everyone will want to get rid of their VCRs, and those tapes might have a few good viewings left in them. Better to re-use something than to throw it away, after all.

Let Apple Recycle Your Computers, iPods and Cell Phones -- for Free!

jplatt — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:00:00 -0500

Looking for a way to recycle your old electronics? Try Apple. They'll recycle your old computers, iPods and cell phones -- for free!

Computers -- In order to qualify, you need to buy a new Mac computer. But when you do, you can mail Apple your old computer and monitor, no matter who made it, for recycling. Good deal.

iPods -- Apple will take back any old iPod and recycle it responsibly. Just visit their site, enter in your name and address, and print out a postage-paid mailing label.(Sadly, they don't take any old MP3 player, just iPods.)

Cell Phones -- This is the easiest of all. It doesn't matter what kind of cell phone you have, or who made it. Apple will recycle it for you. Same process as above, just enter your name and address to print out a mailing label.

For iPods and cell phones, you can also request a free mailing envelope instead of printing a label yourself.

Three cheers to Apple for helping consumers to act responsibly when they dispose of their old devices!

A Blow to Cell Phone Recycling? Recycled Phones Found to Still Have Your Data

jplatt — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Hundreds of thousands of new cell phones are sold every year. Most of them go to replace older phones, which can end up being donated, refurbished and resold, thereby keeping them out of landfills and extending their life cycles.

But now comes word that, in a study of 2,000 recycled phones, a shocking 99% of them still had some amount of private data stored in their memory. This even included personal data like passwords and private emails, according to Regenersis, the UK-based cell phone recycler, which conducted the random test on the phones it was recycling.

Now, if your cell phone is a golden oldie like mine, there's probably not a lot of data on it. But if you're been migrating to smarter phones, or if you use yours for any type of online services, this could be more of a problem in the long run.

There are a few steps you can do to help ensure that your data is safe when you donate or recycle your phone:

1. Remove the SIM card. (This contains a good chunk of your private data.)

2. Take the time to clear your memory of your contacts, bookmarks, photos and other data.

3. Reformat your cell phone yourself, wiping out all of the old data in the process.

4. Confirm that the company recycling your phone wipes out all data, and does it well. (I think it's important to note here that Regenersis does not seem to be one of those companies that wipes phones clean. They rely on the people doing the donating to do that, which is kind of weak.)

Here's an earlier post that offers more tips on recycling your old phones.

Eco-Friendly Batteries?

jplatt — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:00:00 -0500

At last week's Consumer Electronics Show, Fuji announced a new line of disposable batteries that the company says are so eco-friendly, they are "landfill safe."

The Fuji EnviroMAX batteries are free of cadmium, mercury and PVC, three of the chemicals that make other disposable batteries so dangerous when they are disposed of improperly. The batteries are also encased in plastic, not steel, making them, theoretically, more recycleable.

Here are all of Fuji's claims about the EnviroMAX:

Most of the resources used in the Fuji EnviroMAX production process are reused and recycled.
The substances of lead, cadmium and mercury are "totally abolished" in all FDK/Fuji Battery Factories - no matter what the usage.
No ozone depleting compounds are used in Fuji EnviroMAX production.
Fuji EnviroMAX batteries are packaged in recycled paper and recyclable P.E.T. plastic - Not hazardous and non-recyclable PVC plastic.
All Fuji Batteries plants comply with the European Union's RoHS Directives.
Fuji Batteries monitors all of its suppliers for environmental responsibility and requires certification that they do not use hazardous chemicals.

Of course, any battery that you still have to throw away is still less green than a rechargeable battery, so there's no way I can actually recommend this battery, but still, at least Fuji is thinking outside of the box.

Fuji EnviroMAX batteries will be initially available at Big Y stores in central Massachusetts and Shop' n Save in the St. Louis/Missouri areas, or through the Fuji EnviroMAX website.

Motorola Introduces First Phone Made From Recycled Water Bottles

jplatt — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:00:00 -0500

At last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Motorola introduced its new MOTO™ W233 Renew phone -- what it billed as "the world’s first mobile phone made using plastics comprised of recycled water bottles."

Of course, the entire phone isn't made of recycled plastic -- they're only really talking about the exterior. The guts of the phone -- the parts that make it work -- are still all metals that need to be carefully recycled when the phone is at the enf of its lifecycle.

But still, there's more good news. As Motorola writes, "Not only is the plastic housing of Renew made from plastics comprised of recycled water bottles and 100 percent recyclable, but it is also the world’s first carbon neutral phone. Through an alliance with Carbonfund.org, Motorola offsets the carbon dioxide required to manufacture, distribute and operate the phone through investments in renewable energy sources and reforestation. The phone has earned Carbonfund.org’s CarbonFree® Product Certification after an extensive product life-cycle assessment."

The phone comes in smaller-than-usual packaging, which is made entirely of post-consumer waste. It also comes with an envelope so you can mail your old phone in for free recycling.

The W233 Renew will be available from T-Mobile later this quarter.

Six Simple New Years Resolutions for Greener Electronics

jplatt — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:00:36 -0500

Hey, it's a New Year! And with it comes all of those little vows we always make -- lose 5 pounds, call your mom more often, get a promotion ... and live a greener life.

Well, here are five easy (and important) promises you can make to yourself to improve your footprint by greening your electronics and other devices.

1. Ditch the disposable batteries. There's simply no reason to use disposables any more. They only reason they're still for sale everywhere is because so many stores make so much money on them. But every battery that gets thrown out leaches toxic chemicals into the environment. Break the chain. Go completely rechargeable. It's an easy step, and you won't regret it.

2. Go off the grid -- at least a little bit. Rechargeable batteries are great, but they still suck power off the electric grid. Break that chain, too. Buy devices with solar chargers (like flashlights), or pick up a solar charger (such as the fantastic Solio). Leave the solar charger in your window, then use it to power your iPod, cell phone or other portable devices. Instant green karma.

3. Pull the plug. When you're not using your electronic devices, turn them off. Better yet, unplug them or turn off their surge protectors. TVs, DVD players, computers, printers, game consoles and dozens of other devices keep using power even when they're "off." This stand-by mode can account for 10% of your power use. Slash and burn, baby.

4. Be a Star. When buying new electronics or appliances, look for the Energy Star logo. This signifies that you're buying an energy-efficient device, which can save you anywhere from 10-30% on energy usage. A no-brainer.

5. Recycle your old electronics properly. If you're replacing something, or getting rid of something that no longer works, don't just toss it in the trash. Take it to a recycling center where it will be disposed of properly. Electronics contain too many toxic materials for them to be disposed of improperly, so make sure you do the right thing.

6. Finally, fully, break the incandescent chain. I still have two lamps and two outdoor light fixtures that oddly enough won't work with CFL bulbs. It's time to get rid of them. Even though changing the lamps will create some waste, the energy savings from being able to use CFL bulbs will be worth it.

Looking for more specifics on any of the ideas above? Scroll through the Green Tech archives. You'll find plenty of examples and ideas to help you live a greener life.

Happy 2009, my eco-friendly friends!