Top 5 Reasons to Recycle Your Cell Phone

Image via CrunchBaseTrycm

Technology is constantly evolving, especially in the realm of cellar devices. You can’t turn on your TV without being bombarded by the newest, fastest, sleekest cell phone model. Each one comes with more capabilities and bells and whistles. So the time comes in every cell phone’s life to say goodbye. Change is good, but what happens to your old friend? Does it end up in a junk drawer? In an old box somewhere? If you’re like millions of Americans, it ends up in the trash….and this can be a serious problem. Recycling cell phones is an easy process which has many benefits. Below are 5 reasons why recycling your cell should be a priority.

Cell Phones Contain Toxic Materials

That sweet gun metal finish, back lit LCD screen, and QWERTY keypad come at a price, and that price is toxic materials. Most all cell phones these days contain lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic. Yeah, arsenic. When you toss it in the trash, it ends up in an incinerator or landfill, where those materials can combust causing some major environmental issues. These materials often times sweep into the soil or drinking water which ends up affecting a lot more than just the landfill they get dumped in. Many of these materials like cadmium and lead are known to cause liver and lung cancer in humans. With the average shelf life of a cell phone peaking out at 18 months, it’s easy to see how these little devices can result in a much larger problem.

All Those Phones Add Up!

When was the last time you met someone without a cell phone? Nowadays kids take notes via text message and surf myspace on their iPhones. Just about everyone has a cell, and they all want the newer, better version coming out next year. If the average cell phone user is only holding on to a phone for 18 months, that creates a LOT of waste. The EPA predicts that more than 150 MILLION cell phones are thrown away each year. That’s 75,000 tons of toxic material waste every single year. There is no sign of those numbers slowing or decreasing in the future. By recycling your phone, you are helping to cut down on this growing problem.

Just Because It’s Not New, Doesn’t Mean It Can’t Work

Wait, you’re telling me that my phone only has a 7 mega pixel camera, but this super new phone has a 16 mega pixel camera?? I’m ready to upgrade. But that doesn’t mean that Mr. 7 mega pixel no longer works. In fact 80% of the 150 million cells that are thrown out each year are in perfect, or close to perfect working order. When you recycle your phone, it is thoroughly inspected for its quality and whenever possible, it is refurbished and resold. But how does this benefit you? You’ve moved on to higher quality pictures and unlimited texts. By recycling your phone, you’ve helped keep production costs down, and in turn it keeps product costs down as well. That’ll come in handy next time you upgrade.

Even If Your Phone Is Dead, It Can Still Be Recycled

You spilled coffee on your phone, your dog chewed it up, and the screen is dead? It can still be recycled even if it can’t be reused. Many times broken phones still have many working parts which are reused in the production of new phones. Even in the event your old faithful phone is truly dead, all the metals and materials used to make it can be broken down and reused to make new cell phones. By recirculating the materials, it can significantly cut back on the need for new metal mining. All this is done in a completely environmentally safe process.

Recycle and Get Involved

November 15th is “America Recycles Day”. This national holiday is in its 11th year and going stronger than ever. Through the countless efforts of many local and national recycling and environmental facilities millions of Americans will learn what they can do to help. According to the EPA, if only 1 million cell phones were recycled, they could produce enough energy to power 1,940 homes with electricity for a full year! If 150 million phones got recycled that’d mean electricity for 291,000 homes. What better way to be a part of ARD than by starting off with recycling your old cell phone.

If you’d like more information on cell phone recycling, or if you’d like to find out what you can do to help, contact GRC Recycling, http://www.grcrecycling.com/

Apartment Recycling Tips

Image by Christine Renee via FlickrNina Seidl

According to a 2007 news story by the CBC, Ottawa’s apartment tenants throw out an astonishing 81 per cent of all materials that could be recycled!

While the routine behind garbage and recycling collection can certainly be different when you’re living in an apartment (compared to living in single-family house), just because you’re in a high-rise doesn’t mean you’re above recycling.

What You Can Recycle

Although the bins might be different sizes and different colours than the ones in single-family homes, the same types of materials can still be recycled when you’re living in an apartment building:

· Plastic containers with a recycling triangle on the bottom, including all bottles, pails, tubs and jugs

· Aluminum drink cans

· Tin food cans

· Milk and juice cartons

· Juice boxes

· Glass jars and bottles (clear and coloured)

· Newspapers and inserts, flyers and junk mail

· Magazines, phone books, household paper, shredded paper and envelopes

· Cardboard egg cartons and paper tubes

· Flattened cardboard (e.g., cereal, cracker, tissue, laundry, shoe and packing boxes)

All apartment buildings should have onsite recycling containers (and some even have dedicated recycling rooms on each floor, for maximum tenant convenience). If you’re not sure where the recycling bins in your building are located, check with your building manager.

For proper disposal of special waste such as paint, construction materials, appliances, tires, or old mattresses and furniture, talk to the building manager or superintendent of your building – don’t just mindlessly throw it away!

Avoid Recycling Bin Contamination

With so many things capable of being recycled, why then is so much of it thrown away? A leading factor in the amount of recyclables that are tossed out with the trash is the contamination of apartment recycling bins – and it’s an issue that apartment tenants can prevent with just a little bit of effort.

When materials are placed in the wrong recycling bin, nothing can be recycled! The bin is either left behind or the contents must be collected as garbage, as it is too costly and time-consuming to sort through. To avoid this:

· Don’t put your recyclables in plastic bags. These bags cannot be recycled, and as a result, anything placed inside plastic bags cannot be recycled either. As well, don’t tie your materials together, as processing facilities cannot remove string or wires.

· Remember, glass, metal and plastic go into one bin. Paper and cardboard go into the other. Don’t put your material into the first recycling bin you see, and don’t toss any sort of garbage into the recycling bin!

· Not everything is recyclable. Items such as hard plastics (cups and dishes), styrofoam packaging, motor oil bottles, aerosol cans, chip bags and candy wrappers, etc. should not be put in the recycling bins.

Get Paid to Recycle

If, for whatever reason, you need a bigger incentive to recycle than helping the environment, how’s this – recycling can save you money, too! Instead of placing them in your apartment building’s bins, you can always return your empty wine, beer, and spirit container to The Beer Store for a full deposit refund. This includes glass bottles, bag-in-box, Tetra Pak containers, plastic bottles, and aluminum and steel containers on which deposits have been charged.

It’s clear that as apartment tenants, we need to work extra hard to make sure we recycle everything we can. To this end, the City of Ottawa has made a Recycling and Disposal Guide available to all Ottawa residents living in apartment buildings. It can be downloaded at: http://www.ottawa.ca/city_services/recycling_garbage/apartment/index_en.html.

Why is Recycling Important?

Image via WikipediaBeverly Saltonstall

Recycling is not so hard, yet it is one of the best ways you can do something positive for the environment. Your home is one place where you can find plenty of items to recycle.

If you have the room, you can even set out labeled containers and use them to sort recyclable items. Plastic garbage cans are perfect for this project.

The easiest items to sort are plastic, glass and cardboard. If you drink soda pop from aluminum cans, there should be a container especially for those cans. While you are at it, check with your local schools and churches to see if they collect the pop tops from these cans. Another use for the pop tops is to make household items. A Google search can give you ideas on what can be made with aluminum pop tops. Novica, a division of National Geographic sells beautifully crafted purses from aluminum pop tops.

Most towns have recycling centers. Find out where the one in your community is located so you can dispose of your recycled material properly. Towns often have a day set aside for hazardous waste disposal. Check to see what items they take and have a container especially for those items. Extreme care should be taken in storing hazardous wastes.

Towns that don't have a recycling center may have large containers in a designated area where you can bring recyclables. These containers are emptied on a regular schedule.

Since you know why recycling is important, if your town doesn't have recycling containers, or a recycling center, you need to find out why. Contact your government officials, either in person or by writing them a letter, to voice your concerns over the fact that recycling is not available for the citizens. If containers are not readily available, people will not be motivated to recycle.

Once you have your recycling program at home working, consider expanding your recycling efforts to your workplace and your schools. If you have children, they should be taught at an early age to recycle. After all, recycling is important for their future. Schools must have recycling programs in place to set a good example. Creative recycling programs are very exciting for children, and this excitement is often brought to the home. Parents are then encouraged by the children to recycle.

Offices and health care facilities are one of the largest consumers of our natural resources, yet many of these facilities do not have an active recycling program.

People need to be educated on why recycling is important and the benefits it has for our environment. The same items that are recycled at home can easily be recycled in the work place. Encouraging employees to avoid the use of paper cups and plastic water bottles (unless they are refilled at home), and to recycle computer paper and aluminum cans.

In order to complete the cycle of reduce, recycle, and reuse, purchasing products that have been made from recycled products is a must. Buying paper products, such as greeting cards, napkins, and computer paper that are made from recycled paper is essential to complete the cycle. Your use of these products shows your support for the recycling effort.

Another simple way to help the environment is by using "green" bags instead of plastic bags when you are grocery shopping. Every bit of plastic that has ever been manufactured is still in existence. Plastic takes hundreds of years to degrade. A reusable grocery bag helps keep those plastic bags out of the landfills.

Everyone is beginning to realize why recycling is important, but many people can't be bothered to recycle. Education and readily available recycling centers is essential if we are to save this environment.

Why Buy Recycled Paper and Tree-free Paper ?

Image by London Permaculture via FlickrWhy Buy Recycled Paper and Tree-free Paper?

You may wonder, "Why buy recycled paper and tree-free paper?" According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), making paper from recycled materials produces 74 percent less air pollution and 35 percent less water pollution. When you ask yourself, "Why buy recycled paper and tree-free paper?" it's important to realize that using recycled paper helps save valuable natural resources in our forests and reduces the paper waste filling up our already over crowed landfills.

Why buy recycled paper and tree-free paper? Because recycled and tree-free paper work just as well as virgin paper. They’re used in many homes and offices for printing, faxing, copying and other administrative duties. In order for paper to be considered recycled, the government currently requires that it contain at least 30 percent recycled material.

The Benefits of Recycled and Tree-free Paper

When consumers use 100 percent recycled paper, they automatically use less chlorine. Chlorine produces Dioxin, a dangerous chemical that studies show can lead to cancer in people and wildlife. Why buy recycled paper and tree-free paper? Because they can lead to a healthier environment for everyone.

Tree-free Paper Alternatives

The production of tree-free paper is another step toward decreasing deforestation. Tree-free paper is not made from tree fiber. Plant fibers derived from hemp, kenaf, cotton, sugarcane, flax and many other easy to grow agricultural plants may be used instead of trees. Right now tree-free paper is considered the most environmentally friendly paper available.

Reduced Chemicals Mean Reduced Pollutants

Why buy recycled paper and tree-free paper? Since products made from tree-free paper can be made from other plant sources instead of trees, fewer chemical are needed to break down and separate the paper fibers from the plant. They are usually chlorine-free, and some brands are even pesticide-free. Fewer industrial chemicals mean a cleaner environment. Trees can take anywhere from seven to 20 years to grow while it only takes about 10 weeks to grow the plants needed for tree-free paper.

Why Buy Recycled paper and tree-free paper? Environmental Solutions

So when you ask, "Why buy recycled paper and tree-free paper?" One answer to consider is the fact that it significantly cuts down on the depletion of our natural resources and contributing to overfilled landfills, and environmental pollution. Buying recycled and tree-free paper is a big step in the right direction.

Recycled Wood for a Greener Environment

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeSmit Mathur

Recycling, a process of converting scrap into reusable form has been term long associated with electronic, chemical, glass and textile items but recently. Recycled wood is the latest popular word among the responsible citizens who care for the environment and the future. The concept of recycled wood is becoming popular because of its environment friendly aspect. Apparently, reusing wood will lessen the demand for green wood and thereby save a lot of trees.

So how is the wood recycled? Mostly demolishers of old buildings and bridges carefully strip out the wood used in the structures before demolition. This salvaged wood is sold to the merchants, who then re-mill the wood by manually scanning it with a metal detector. This allows them to denial the entire piece of wood. This recycled wood or recycled timber is then often sold to the consumer as recycled flooring, beams and decking.

However, the use of recycled wood doesn’t only stay limited to the construction aspect of a human living. Recycled wood furniture is becoming quite popular among the homemakers these days. Not only because the Recycled Furniture is environment friendly, but also because it is rather affordable. People are fast doing away with the stigma of second hand stores and looking towards recycled furniture for home decorations. To suit their personalities, they get the furniture coated with trendy colors.

Another use of recycled wood comes across when you plan to pick up windows for your home. Though glass windows cannot be recycled commercially, people are using recycled windows to build up complete news structures in their backyard. A greenhouse or a sun house made from recycled windows can not only give a new dimension to your home but also save a large part of your budget, you thought of spending on new construction materials.

With the increase in consciousness among the consumers, the producers are also gradually becoming innovative in the use of recycled wood. Woods are now not only recycled but are made water resistant, termite resistant before they are sent in to the market. Home decorators are now suggesting use of recycled wood in making balconies, court yards and garden paving.

Before purchasing the wood, you can always ask the supplier about the origin of the wood. Some suppliers may fail to answer the proper source from where the wood came from; in that case you can consider a different supplier. Breathing becomes much easier in your home when you know that you have saved a tree and contributed towards building a greener environment for the future generation.