Conservation 101: the Compete to Conserve Blog

photo credit: striatic

Laptops, Camcorders, Game systems, printers—nearly any electronic product you have lying unused around the house could potentially be traded-in FOR MONEY. Well, technically not everything may qualify for trade-in value, but ecoNEW, the program behind this offer, does promise that items will, at the very least, be properly recycled.

Here’s how it works:

1. You choose a retailer—Sam’s Club, NEX Navy Exchange or Office Depot—and enter info about your product into the “Value Calculator.”

2. A trade in value is determined and a prepaid mailing label is printed so you can send your product to a certified partner. When the product is received, a branded gift card is sent to you in the amount of the trade in value. And if there is no trade in value assessed, you can still send the product for recycling.

3. Your traded in product may be resold or broken down for sale in parts, while the remaining pieces are recycled.

Although the program is administered by N.E.W. Customer Service Companies, Inc, a provider of extended service plans, buyer protection programs and product support for retailers, etc, the end game is undeniably in line with the green goals of Reuse and Recycle. 

For more info and a list of accepted products, check out: http://www.econewonline.com/

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   photo credit: cursedthing

   Buying in Bulk Saves Money
   We’re not just talking about buying giant boxes of food a warehouse store. (Although, if you eat that many Cheerios in a month, it can save you money.) We’re talking about the bulk bins at your local grocery store, where you can buy everything from rice, beans, flours, and spices to cereals, nuts, dried fruits, and pastas.
   You can save serious money shopping from these bins—10 to 30 percent off prepackaged prices.

2. Less Trash
   Compare the packaging of 10 cans of kidney beans to one bag. Or three 10-ounce boxes of cereal (three cardboard boxes and three un-recyclable plastic liners) to one bag and a twist tie. You can also reuse your bulk bin bag and twist tie to reduce your waste even more.
   If you’re super-attached to your old cereal boxes, save them and place your reusable bag inside.
3. Less Goes to Waste
   When you buy from the buy bins, you can buy the exact amount you need, so less is likely to spoil and go to waste.
4. Food Often Tastes Better
   Canned beans, for example, are more convenient, but once you get into the rhythm of pre-soaking beans and cooking them the night before, you’ll find beans from the bulk bins taste much better. They harbor none of the metallic aftertaste found in canned beans.
5. A Chemical Found in Most Canned Foods Is Linked to Cancer
   Unbelievable as it sounds, it’s true. Most food and drink cans are lined with a plastic resin that contains a chemical compound called bisphenol A (BPA). Due to a growing concern about the harmful health effects of BPA, it is being banned from baby bottles in Canada and many plastic-bottle manufacturers are voluntarily phasing it out of their products. The makers of cans, however, have not felt the wrath of consumers yet, so most plan to continue using it.

   More resources on BPA in cans, and, if you can’t buy fresh, who offers BPA-free cans:

   “BPA Danger May Be Greater in Tin Cans Than in Water Bottles,” TreeHugger
   http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/bpa-danger-from-cans.php

   A list of companies that use BPA in cans, from Organic Grace
   http://organicgrace.com/node/316

   “Where to Find BPA-free Cans,” Julie’s Health Club
   http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2008/06/where-to-find-b.html

photo credit: clurr

Merely hours after our trash, recycling and compost bins hit the curb, a distinct rustling can be heard outside our building. The clink-clang of someone shuffling through the blue recycling container lasts only moments, but somehow I feel like we’ve done a small part to help someone in need.

Apparently, I may be mistaken.

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photo credit: Mulad

I think it’s super cool that my new compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) give off as much light as my old 60-watt incandescent bulbs, yet they use just 13 watts and last years longer. It speaks to both my cheap side (in lower electricity bills, fewer bulbs bought) and my eco side (less electricity used often means less coal burned).

What’s not so cool is the thought that, because CFLs contain mercury that can leach into our waterways and groundwater, I may have to schlep out to the hazardous waste dump to dispose of them when they eventually burn out.

Fortunately, as CFLs catch on, there are more places to recycle your used bulbs. Swedish retailer IKEA now collects used CFLs at its 34 U.S. stores and manufacturer Osram Sylvania offers a mail-in program. The Home Depot, many local hardware stores, and some Wal-Mart stores also accept bulbs. Just make sure that you seal your used CFLs in a zip-lock type plastic bag and handle them with care. You don’t want a bulb containing mercury to break in transit.

(For consumers) To find a CFL recycling center near you, visit:

Recycle A Bulb’s site locator (also includes mail-in instructions, if you prefer)

EPA’s recycling site locator

Osram Sylvania’s mail-in recycling site

(For businesses)
EPA Recycling information for businesses

Compared to Bounty, this brand from Whole Foods won’t win on performance or softness. But next to other recycled paper towels, 365 Everyday Value is a contender true to its name.

First off, they are pretty inexpensive—two rolls for less than $2.00. Second, they are surprisingly durable. They aren’t going to be able to do any of those neat tricks we used to see on paper towel commercials, but I was able to wet/soap one, clean sticky kid hands, rinse same towel off and use for last wipe on fingers. And they are somewhat absorbent, removing a moderate amount of Grape juice (purple not white) off of the floor in a flash. Not bad for a recycled product.

Another bonus: 100 percent recycled materials, with a minimum 80 percent post-consumer content, and bleached without chlorine—that’s enough to make you feel downright good about yourself.

While they sometimes tear in half when you need them whole, and don’t immediately instill confidence that one, maybe two sheets will do the job, they do pretty well. Still, I may not be completely converted from my beloved Bounty. But this may also be because I don’t live all that close to a Whole Foods. Were there one next door, I may opt for this all the time. For now, I plan to stock up when I’m near Whole Foods and try to rely on Bounty as an option between trips. We’ll see how it goes.

PS- Liking the toilet paper, too. Go Whole Foods!

To help consumers make educated choices, the National Resources Defense Fund created a Shopper’s Guide to home tissue products. (This chart is replicated on many other sites.) Check it out, along with some stats on how changing old habits can help the planet, here: http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/gtissue.asp

Greenpeace also has a tissue products guide with similar suggestions here: http://tissue.greenpeace.ca/