Recycling Ideas

I was going through some old files and cleaning out my desk yesterday and I came across some recycling tips. I thought I would share some of these great ideas for recycling or reusing items that are past their usefulness to you but perhaps not for someone else.

Cars, boats, trailers, rv’s and motorcycles – you can always donate the car to a charity or you can use www.junkmycar.org. They will pick it or any other heavy equipment up and take it away. You won’t get a write off but you will get rid of it. If you want the tax deduction then donate it NPR or any number of charities out there that will take them.

Cell phones – fewer than 20% of these are recycled (so sad). You can find cell phone charities on www.recyclewirelessphones.com

Computers – most manufacturers will take them for recycling – you will pay the shipping though – check www.mygreenelectronics.com
or donate them to charity – you can find charities that accept them at www.sharetechnology.org

I love this one because I have kids and years of collected crayons – you can recycle your crayons at www.crazycrayons.com/
They will melt them down and turn them in to new crayons. Fun!

Freecycle – this is one of my favorites and it goes for pretty much anything you no longer want. Go to Yahoo Groups and sign up for your local freecycle group. You post items that you no longer want on the group bulletin board and other people who want them will email you and come by and pick them up. I have used this a lot and its great. Everything ends up going in just a day or two. You can take stuff to goodwill but then you have to load it up and take. This way, the people who need or want it get it directly. You can also post items that you want and people who may have one they aren’t using anymore will donate. Like a missing computer cord or something like that. It is wonderful.

Books – I donate mine to the local public library – some they put in to circulation, others they sell to raise funds.

Carpet – www.carpetrecovery.org click on “what can I do with my old carpet”

Shoes is good condition – www.soles4souls.org – we did a big shoe drive one year at work and donated all the shoes to this organization. They distribute to the needy. Also, Nike accepts old shoes to donate for inner city sports venues – www.letmeplay.com/reuseashoe

Check out www.earth911.org this is a great overall resource for recycling and being green.

Tyvek – this is the stuff that some Fedex envelopes are made of as well as the wrap used to insulate new homes under construction. Dupont is the manufacturer and they accept Tyvek for recycling into the plastic lumber used in decking. Mail them to Tyvek Recycle, 2400 Elliham Ave #A, Richmond, VA 23237 – if you have large volume you may want to call ahead and get more specific instructions. Check their website.

Phonebooks – www.yellowpages.com/recycle

Prescription drugs – wish I had known about this one last year when my Dad died. The Starfish Project www.thestarfishproject.org They recycle meds to clinics in Nigeria – they won’t take everything – check the website on what they will take and they will send you a prepaid envelope.

Christmas lights – wish I had this last week when I threw out some old lights! Ship your old lights to HolidayLEDs.com, Attention:Recycling program, 120 W. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1403, Jackson, MI 49201. They will send you a coupon for a discount on new LED lights which are much more energy efficient. Ace Hardware Stores also accept lights – just check their website for a location near you. www.acehardware.com

General recycling info – if you are separating your plastic, paper and cans – make sure you wash out food residue from cans and bottles – this can make the process more cumbersome and less profitable – causing some cities to halt their programs. Check to see what kind of paper your local hauler accepts. Ours only takes newsprint – not magazines or cardboard.

Here’s to a greener earth. Happy Holidays