Results for recycle anything

I Didn’t Know You Could Recycle THAT: Styrofoam

Rethink Reread Recycle
JENNIFER MORKUNAS, CELILO GROUP MEDIA / Tuesday, November 4, 2008 05:31 PM

I think we’re all in agreement that trying to recycle Syrofoam is a pain. With the holiday season coming, there’s bound to be an avalanche of this material surrounding our gifts and arriving at our doorsteps. Not even my huge recycling facility takes that stuff, so I had to dig a little deeper. It seems that polystyrene’s blessings are also a curse. Its light weight and durability make it such a great packaging material, but also give it a low scrap value. Currently in the USA, expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam packaging is being recycled at a rate of only about 10-12% each year. The best place to recycle, it turns out, is local shops. More...

TAGS: HOME, recycle anything

Happy election! Here's how to recycle those campaign signs...

ECOMETRO EDITORS / Tuesday, November 4, 2008 04:12 PM

If you have a political sign in your yard, you're probably wondering what to do with it right about now. Depending on whether your signs are are plastic, metal, wood, or corrugated plastic commonly called coroplast, there may be a special collection pickup or drop off location near you. A call to the King County recycling hotline revealed that most plastic signs are unfortunately garbage, but cardboard can be recycled. Obama supporters can put materials up for free at ObamaCycle to be claimed by another user.

With coroplast signs, you can make bike panniers, fenders, or handlebar bags with these guides from Kent Peterson, formerly of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington and now at Bike Works, where he will host a coroplast workshop on Saturday. Novice DIYers can start with the handlebar bag, while the more adventurous ecomaniacs can tackle fenders. The step-by-step instructions for panniers (pictured at right via Peterson's blog) are especially easy to follow. Recyling election signs into bike gear lets you prepare for winter weather and continue to show your political opinions. More...

TAGS: GO, bikes, ecomaniac, recycle anything

Battle of the Bags: Will a plastic bag fee pass in Seattle?

EcoConsumer
TOM WATSON / Tuesday, October 21, 2008 08:27 PM

What ever happened to Seattle's fee on plastic and paper grocery bags? For awhile last summer it was one of the hottest topics in the city. Then the plastics industry put nearly $200,000 into petition drives to get it on the ballot. They were successful, so the city called off its January 1 start date for the fee.

Rumors are that it will be placed on the ballot in the August, 2009, primary election. I predict voters will not approve it. Personally, I believe this sort of fee system has merit, from a product stewardship standpoint. You wouldn't have to pay the fee if you used reusable bags. This would make people realize there are environmental costs to using single-use bags. But, even though it has a fair amount of support, these are the reasons I think it won't pass when it goes on the ballot in Seattle: More...

TAGS: LIVE, recycle anything

I Didn’t Know You Could Recycle THAT: Toothpaste tubes, VHS tapes, and more

Rethink Reread Recycle
JENNIFER MORKUNAS, CELILO GROUP MEDIA / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 04:12 PM

Even though it is not one of my favorite things to do, it’s become sort of a hobby to reach into the garbage and pull out something that should have been placed in the recycle bin. I find myself saying to no one in particular, “Didn’t you know this liquid soap bottle is made out of low-density polyethylene #4? Hello! Even curbside recycling takes that!”

While most people are aware that items like used batteries and old cell phones can be recycled, there are a host of other every day things where the thought that it’s recyclable may not even occur. It may take a little extra effort (or spending a little on postage), but things like used toothpaste tubes, and even old cassette and VHS tapes- can definitely be recycled. More...

TAGS: LIVE, recycle anything

DIY Tech - Replace Your iPod or MP3 Player's Battery

Technically Green
WILL VILLOTA / Wednesday, July 23, 2008 12:42 AM

Rayovac iPod Replacement BatteryIn April I wrote about iResQ, a website that can help you resurrect your ailing iPod.  But if all you need is to replace your iPod battery I recently discovered an even easier option – Batteries Plus. More...

TAGS: LIVE, e-waste, recycle anything

Sex and Sustainability, Part 2 of 2: The 3 R's of Sex Toy Disposal

JENNY SEIFERT / Tuesday, March 18, 2008 01:33 AM

Love doesn’t always last forever, and neither do sex toys. Whether your relationship with your sex toy has just gotten old, the toy has lost its steam, or you’ve found someone else, at some point you and your sex toy will have to part ways. So where do sex toys go when they die? More...

TAGS: PLAY, recycle anything, sex, the sustainable mystique

Carseats Part Two

baby greens
HILLARY RYAN / Friday, February 22, 2008 02:20 PM

Now, I recently wrote about how there are no recycling programs in the Pacific Northwest that will take used carseats. But what I hadn’t begun to think of was all the environmental impacts that carseats actually have on our planet and our lives.

I found this excellent report called The Healthy Carseat Guide from The Ecology Center, an environmental non-profit in Michigan. The guide looks at the dangerous components that can be found in carseats including stuff like: bromine (used as fire retardant), chlorine (in the form of PVC), lead (as an additive to PVC) and heavy metals- including arsenic, chromium, cobalt, copper, nickel, mercury and tin. YIKES. If that isn’t enough to send you screaming to the hills, I don’t know what is. Luckily for us, the people at The Ecology Center tested over 60 different carseats for these possible chemicals and then did a ranking. More...

TAGS: LIVE, babies, recycle anything

Sex and Sustainability, Part 1 of 2: A Sex Toy Story on PVC, Phthalates and Parabens in the Bedroom

JENNY SEIFERT / Sunday, February 17, 2008 10:43 PM

Let’s talk about sex…”green” sex. More specifically, let’s talk about the birds of an artificial feather and the bees with a battery-operated buzz. That’s right – sex toys, lubes, goos and whatever else we use to enhance our adventures in the bedroom, with or without a playmate. These toys, however, don’t come with the warning labels and regulations that children’s toys normally come with. So, unless you’ve done you research, we don’t really know what we’re putting in our…well, you know.


In uncovering what’s used to make those toys made for playing with under the covers, we find the usual suspects – PVC, phthalates, and parabens – giving “getting dirty” a new meaning. Not surprisingly and rather unfortunately, the cheapest and most ubiquitous toys and products are the most harmful. The squishy, jelly-like (and frankly frighteningly life-like) kinds, i.e. jelly rubbers and “cyberskin” toys, are made with PVC and phthalates. Aside from the toxins they put into the waste stream, they leach toxins into your blood stream, which scientists suspect are a cause of cancer and reproductive system damage (I smell irony). Additionally, many lubricants contain petroleum derivatives (read: flammable fossil fuel) and parabens – those hormone-mimicking chemicals that have been found in breast cancer tumors and may be a contributor thereof. There’s nothing like a global warming-inducing or carcinogenic sex toy to kill the mood. More...

TAGS: PLAY, recycle anything, sex, the sustainable mystique

Car Seats- No Green Alternatives!?

baby greens
HILLARY RYAN / Tuesday, February 12, 2008 10:59 PM

As my little one is quickly approaching the weight limit for his infant carseat, I began to think about these gigantic masses of plastic, foam and fabric that are taking up the entire backseat in my car. Until recently, carseats, if you happened to have one, were made of fabric and metal and could be placed anywhere in the car, front seat, back seat, no one really cared. I have plenty of friends who don’t even recall riding in them at all.

These days carseats weigh 10lbs or more, are usually tethered to the frame of the car and every state has some pretty tough laws enforcing their use. In Washington state, all kids under eight or under 4’9” must be in a child restraint system or the driver faces a fine of $112. Now, I am all for child safety, but I started to wonder, where do used carseats go? More...

TAGS: LIVE, babies, recycle anything

The Story of Stuff

MEREDITH SORENSEN / Wednesday, February 6, 2008 06:57 PM

When my friend forwarded me a link to the “Story of Stuff" website, I thought, "This is pretty cool." When my mom forwarded me the link, I thought, "Wow. I guess everyone on the planet knows about this movie...and thinks it's cool." My blogging world (if such a world exists) must know about this resource. More...

TAGS: HOME, arts & culture, recycle anything, talkin' trash
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