How to recycle your cell phone battery

Conveyor belt spreads Visy factory fire
SIXTY workers have fled Melbourne’s Visy cardboard recycling plant after a conveyor belt helped spread a fire through three buildings.

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LifeSpan Technology Recycling
[PR.com]

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Close to home: Lexington, Cayce, West Columbia
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department is accepting used cell phones to donate to Cell Phones for Soldiers. The organization sells the phones to a recycling company to buy pre-paid phone calling cards that are given to U.S. military personnel who are deployed outside the country.

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Business news: Bank begins recycling effort
LAW George Ripplinger, principal of the law firm Ripplinger and Zimmer LLC, of Belleville and St. Louis, accepted an invitation to be an Illinois member of The American Trial Lawyers Association. Membership is limited to the top 100 trial lawyers from each state. Selection is extended to civil plaintiff and criminal defense attorneys by special invitation. Ripplinger concentrates his practice in …

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How to recycle your cell phone battery
The increasingly prevalent rechargeable batteries that power cell phones and other electronics aren’t supposed to go in the waste basket; they need to be recycled, according to Call2Recycle, a free battery collection program sponsored by manufacturers.

Read more on Birmingham News

How To Recycle Beer Bottles with Limes

Ask Umbra, Grist’s astute advice columnist on all things environmental, brings you the answer to that age-old question, “Can I recycle a beer bottle with a lime wedge in it?” Go ahead. Give yourself a wedgie.

Can You Recycle Vinyl Flooring?

The big push in the flooring business today is how to address the growing issue of recycling. Consumers are becoming more and more conscious of how their buying choices affect the environment both inside and outside their homes.

When it comes to flooring, industry, government and concerned citizens have begun to work together on ways to reduce the potential negative environmental consequence that comes from disposing of used flooring materials.

The short answer to the question of whether you can recycle used vinyl flooring is yes. Vinyl flooring products are no exception to the recycling movement and like many types of plastic products, strategies and methods for safely disposing of and reusing these materials are growing, often into profitable businesses.

There are two ways of looking at the recycling of vinyl flooring. One way is to consider how the disposal of used vinyl flooring can be accomplished in an environmentally friendly way. The other involves the decision to use vinyl flooring and whether the vinyl flooring product you choose contains a significant amount of recycle content. You can help reduce adverse effects on the environment by choosing to go as green as possible.

Vinyl flooring products like tile and sheet flooring have been around for many years and the chemical compounds used in the manufacturing of these products are not very green. The durability and the ease of installation make these products popular flooring choices for many people and can be used in a wide variety of locations around a home or business. Some of the environmental concerns about vinyl flooring begin at the very beginning of the products life cycle, the manufacturing process and end when the product is removed or replaced and discarded. In the middle, there are some environmental advantages to choosing vinyl flooring over carpet floor coverings.

Unlike carpet that can trap and hold dirt and bacteria, vinyl flooring, like other hard flooring products is easier to keep clean and sanitary than fabric floor coverings. In general, there are fewer chemicals needed to maintain modern vinyl flooring especially with the introduction of no wax floor finishes. So with the potential of less exposure to cleaning solutions and the problems that can be associated with properly disposing of waste cleaning solutions, vinyl flooring seems to have some significant advantages.

A significant environmental benefit can be realized from the growing practice of properly recycling or disposing of old vinyl flooring. The idea behind recycling is to keep used vinyl flooring out of the landfill and to prevent disposal methods like burning that can have very serious environmental and public health consequences. The increased availability of recycled material can be an incentive to manufacturers to increase the amount of recycled material used in the production of new vinyl flooring.

Linoleum was phased out several years ago but is making a comeback because it is easier and less hazardous to dispose of.

Before you recycle old vinyl flooring it may be necessary to know what type of material you are dealing with. Some products made with PVC or polyvinylchloride is not recyclable. A good idea might to be to check with your local flooring retailer for help in identifying what the old flooring is made of. Your local flooring retailer may also be able to advise you on proper disposal methods and the location of a recycling facility that will accept old vinyl flooring.

Many flooring retailers participate in a recycling program and might be willing to take the old flooring off of your hands. Some retailers may charge you a disposal fee, but the money could be well spent knowing that the old flooring is properly disposed of.

What Is Reduce Reuse Recycle ?

The Environmental Protection Agency wants you to learn the three “R’s” when it comes to your trash. Those three words are very important if you want to continue living on a clean planet and one that is not overflowing with yesterday’s garbage.

Reduce reuse recycle is your mantra to repeat to yourself each time you go to throw something away. Once you learn the three “R’s” you will be able to set a better example and help your environmental services program combat the never ending supply of garbage.

The first “R” in the three refers to reducing. This means to reduce the amount of garbage you generate. Try to buy items that are going to last longer so you do not have to buy them as often. Sure, there will be some items that do not have a long shelf life but you can still try to find those items that do.

Some packaging contains harsher chemicals than others. It may cost you a dollar or two more but try to go with items that have less packaging.

In the quest for reduce reuse recycle; reusing is next on the agenda. Try to reuse as many products as possible in your own household. Plastic milk jugs make great pitchers for tea and water.

They can also be used as plant holders once you decorate them a bit. On a municipal level, reusing also occurs when recyclables are turned into different products, such as asphalt for paving roads or new notebooks.

The final “R” relates to recycling. This means utilizing a recycling program from your sanitation department or local environmental services. You can ask them what materials are accepted locally and then get the appropriate recycling containers into which you can place that material for pick-up.

Plastics go into one container. Paper goes into another container and glass goes into a separate container. Then all three, along with garbage that cannot be recycled, is picked up by your local sanitation or recycling program. As well, you can recycle your food waste products by starting a compost heap.

Just remember to “reduce reuse recycle” and you will be doing your part, not just for yourself but for future generations. It is remarkably easy to get started and once you have mastered the basics you will be a recycling guru. If you need help getting started or just want more information, then visit the Environmental Protection Agency’s website at “Epa”.

Recycle Your Cell Phone (Moex #6)

This challenge tasked us to create a PSA for cell phone recycling, the second best kind of recycling. Wooooooooo! samsung.com

Why It Is Important To Recycle Cell Phones?

Some of the most toxic products being tossed out as household trash are cell phones and electronic devices. This type of trash is called e-trash, and especially problematic are cell phones.

Cell phones contain a very high level of toxic substances that enter the environment when discarded cell phones are incinerated or when rainwater leaches these chemicals out of the landfills into our drinking water.

Cell phones are known to contain toxins such as antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc. These chemicals are listed by the EPA, as persistent toxins (persistent bioaccumulative toxins, PBTS), meaning they do not readily breakdown and remain in the environment for years. Of these metals, lead and cadmium accumulate in both plant and animal tissue, and have been known to be responsible for many disorders in humans.

The dangers of lead has been known for many years. It is thought to be a carcinogen and adversely affects the central nervous system, kidneys, immune system and has been associated with development disorders in children. Lead was banned from paint years ago, and manufacturers are now beginning to eliminate lead from electronic components. Every electronic device contains a circuit board and most often, lead is used to solder components on to these circuit boards.

Another especially toxic component of cell phones is brominated flame retardants. This chemical is added to plastics to reduce the risk of fire. Many components of the cell phone use this chemical. Scientific research has shown that some of these brominated flame retardants are also persistent bioaccumulative and toxic, but it is not know what long term effects this chemical has on humans and the environment.

Some of these flame retardants have been linked to cancer and disturbances in the immune and endocrine systems. When these products are incinerated, they give off highly toxic by- products. As with lead, many manufacturers are eliminating these chemicals from electronic products.

At the time when cell phones first became available to the average consumer, nickel-cadmium was used as a power source. Nickel-cadmium batteries, called Ni-Cds, were the battery of choice because they were rechargeable. The problem is that the metals used in these batteries are highly toxic. Cadmium is a PBT and a probable carcinogen. It has been linked to lung, liver and kidney damage, and has been found to be toxic to wildlife. As with the other toxic chemicals mentioned, cadmium is being eliminated from electronic products by many manufacturers.

The Lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride rechargeable battery has typically replaced the Ni-Cds, but they contain their own supply of toxic chemicals.

The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation is a non-profit organization that recycles rechargeable batteries. The program, Call2Recycle, has collected millions of pounds of rechargeable batteries and kept them from the landfills. They are trying to educate people on how easy it is to recycle a rechargeable battery or cell phone in the United States and Canada. A Google search on Call2Recycle will direct you to a recycling center near you. It’s free. It’s convenient. It’s responsible. Unfortunately, few people know about this program, so most cell phones and electronics end up in landfills.

Recycling is not the end all to solve our environmental problems. The recycling program is heavily dependent on consumers. When the economy sags and consumers are not buying, the need for recycled materials sags along with the economy. This became painfully evident with the economic crisis that began in October 2009. Recycling plants across the nation were hit hard. The demand for recycled products needed to manufacture new products was severely curtailed. The price for recycled products in some cases dropped 90% taking away the profit from these recycling facilities.

Our only hope is to make an effort to reuse as many products as we can at home, and to aim for zero waste. If recycling is no longer profitable for companies, we may see a future where we are charged for all the garbage we generate, and at a much higher rate than many of us pay now. Disposing highly toxic chemicals may be very expensive for the consumer.

Recycle your old jeans to Make A Cool Laptop Bag

www.Easy2Trial.com Recycle your old jeans to Make A Cool Laptop Bag.

Green Fundraising Ideas – Recycle Cell Phones for Ca$h

www.phoneraiser.com The Phoneraiser Basics – The first video in the Phoneraiser Video Series. We’ve take the hassle out of cell phone recycling and fundraising! From time to time, organizations such as schools, churches, and non-profit groups need to raise money. Phoneraiser offers all of these organizations and individuals a fast, easy, and environmentally friendly way to get cash by collecting used cell phones, iPods, digital cameras, video game handhelds, and inkjet cartridges from people in the community. The best part is you can use Phoneraiser as many times as you want! To sign up with Phoneraiser, visit http Thank you for taking a few minutes to find out how Phone Raiser can help you or your organization raise funds buy recycling used cell phones and ink jet cartridges. So far over 30000 organizations have signed up with the Phone Raiser program and enjoyed free easy and environmentally friendly fundraising campaigns. Heres how it works. Your group collects used cell phones and ink jet cartridges. You send them to Phone Raiser who pays you cash for every phone and cartridge. It really is that simple. There are no fees to pay and there is nothing to sell. And getting a fundraising campaign started is just that easy too. Register at www.phoneraiser.com and download the Phone Raiser guide, collect the phones and cartridges. Send them to Phone Raiser and well send you a check within 10 business days. Again there is nothing to sell and nothing to buy. Phone Raiser …

Why Recycle Printer Cartridges?

Want to help and save the earth? Why not recycle printer cartridges? You can do this by purchasing recycled printer cartridges at a variety of different outlets, including those online. By choosing to recycle printer cartridges you will get the same quality cartridge as you normally get with your printer, and the same quality ink but you do not have to continue to litter landfills with the empty plastic cartridges.

In order to recycle printer cartridges and get the best deal, follow these tips:

Know your product number

Make sure that you know the number of your printer or the type of cartridges that your printer takes. You still have to use the same cartridge, but the ink will be refilled. If you are not sure about the type of printer that you have, take a look on the back and look at the number that is listed on your printer. You can also look at the cartridge and see if there is a number. This will help you figure out which type of recycled printer cartridge that you need.

Get the cartridges for your printer

Beware of places that offer to sell you generic printer cartridges. Many of these will not work with your printer and you end up throwing your money away. You can save money when you choose to recycle printer cartridges by getting the authentic cartridges that have been recycled. This way, they are sure to work.

Shop online for the best price

You will be shocked at the prices when you recycle printer cartridges. Not only are you doing your best for the environment, but you are also saving yourself quite a bit of money. If you are used to spending over $50 for one brand new cartridge, you will be pleased to see that you will only pay a fraction of that cost when you choose to recycle printer cartridges.

When you recycle printer cartridges, you are doing the wise thing for both the environment as well as yourself. There is no reason to throw away the entire plastic casing every time your printer cartridge runs out of ink. By choosing to recycle printer cartridges, you will save money and also be doing the right thing for the environment.

Recycle Goddess rescues, refurbishes furniture

It began with worms – Trenton-based TerraCycle has become a high-profile player in a niche corner of the recycling …
Tom Szaky’s ambitions to turn one of America’s fastest-growing private companies into a multi-billion dollar global empire didn’t have glamorous beginnings.

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Iron butterfly
If a butterfly made out of trash flaps its wings in Worcester, would it help clean up the world?

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Wisconsin begins recycling electronics Sept. 1
Wisconsinites looking to rid their homes of unwanted TVs, computers and other electronics soon will have to do more than drop them on the curb with the trash.

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Neighboring Businesses Hurt After Recycle Fire
“This was my biggest fear that this place next door would catch on fire.”

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Recycle Goddess rescues, refurbishes furniture
A one-minute news video at a local event. A two-minute newscast of news within your county. A one-minute high school sports story. A one-minute interview with someone in the news and important to a story in your community.

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