Tag: RECYCLE

Many of us have starting loading our homes with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) looking to go green, and save some green in the process. But there's a problem -- it turns out that compact fluorescent bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, which means that the bulbs must be recycled properly and can't just be thrown out with the rest of the trash. Most cities, however, do not have recycling ...

digg_url ='http://www.switched.com/2008/04/22/environment-what-can-i-do/'; So you gave your buddy a high-five when 'An Inconvenient Truth' won some Oscars -- that's a good start. Too bad some of your favorite gadgets -- not to mention the TV you used to watch the Academy Awards -- use up a boatload of energy, even when you think they're turned off. That said, some technologies can actually ...

If you're anything like us, you've probably got a house or apartment filled with obsolete gadgets and computer gear. Pretty much your only options until now have been eBay or garbage. Dealing with customers on eBay can be difficult, and shipping large equipment is expensive and inconvenient, while throwing out some of your gadgets is not only wasteful, but may be illegal depending on what you're ...

Yesterday, the New York Times Magazine ran a fairly comprehensive piece on the life cycle and environmental impact of mobile phones. The story detailed how many phones are reused, how many others are broken down and "mined" for useful metals such as silver and gold, and how still others – most others, in fact – end up in heaps of discarded electronics, left to leach often dangerous ...

Some people believe Hell is a kitchen sink and a never-ending pile of dirty dishes, and for those people salvation lies at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. That's where grad student Leonardo Bonanni has developed the DishMaker, a machine that creates dishware on demand, and will someday be able to recycle dirty dishes into the raw material needed to make new ones. The machine is ...

As we mentioned a few weeks ago in our round-up of the least earth-friendly technologies, Greenpeace has some issues with Apple. It seems it really digs the Apple design aesthetic but can't stand the associated pollution. It launched www.greenmyapple.org, a site dedicated to encouraging Apple to clean up its ways -- and CEO Steve Jobs is listening. In an entry on Apple's news site called "A ...

Each year on Earth Day, the shocking facts surrounding the poor health of our planet guilt many people into promising to take action. Unfortunately, once the bamboo noisemakers go silent and the organic-cake hangover wears off, those oaths to be greener suddenly aren't such a huge priority anymore, particularly when it involves shutting off some of our energy-hogging, toxic-ingredient-filled ...

Audit Yourself To see just how much of your act you need to clean up, give yourself an energy audit. Most utility providers will audit your home's power usage for free, but devices like the Energy Detective allow you to monitor your home's energy expenses in real-time, providing your with second-by-cent-burning-second utility estimates. Related Links: Environmentally-Friendly Tech How to ...

Take Advantage of Tax Breaks It's a shame Earth Day comes right after you've spent days plotting ways to write-off your Netflix expenditures. Had you known earlier, you could have gotten Uncle Sam to reach further into his pockets for 2006, the first year the Energy Policy Act tax-incentives were made available. Designed to bring about eco-friendliness through bribery, the new policy offers as ...

Go Easy on MySpace A word of caution for overzealous MySpace designers who lean a little too heavily on the fuchsia-and-yellow: The display of certain colors requires more power out of computer monitors than others, with light colors using up to 20 percent more wattage than darker colors. This fact actually lead to the creation of Blackle, an unofficial version of Google displayed on a ...

Service Your Car Regularly Keep on top of your heap! Regular tune-ups and properly inflated tires can help improve gas mileage. Aside from the obvious financial benefits, even the slightest mileage improvements help decrease the amount of carbon dioxide your ride coughs up. << Back Next >> ...

Plug Intelligently Consider the machine you're currently staring into. When that screensaver pops up or your computer goes into standby mode, it still eats energy. The same goes for other electronics that don't really turn off when you think they're off. What do you think powers the clock on your microwave -- sorcery? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, three-fourths of the electricity ...

Everything Else E-Cycling Central offers a state-by-state rundown of the various recycling centers that accept a variety of electronics. If leaving your front door isn't an option, services such as GreenDisk will accept most anything computer-related you send them and they will recycle or refurbish it -- guaranteeing your data will be wiped clean and erased entirely. Related Links: ...

Ink Cartridges When ink cartridges run out, the actual cartridges still work fine. That's why recycling them is not only important for landfill's sake, but profitable for wallet's sake. Emptysolution.com will buy your ink, laser and toner cartridges off of you, which the company refills and then resells as "remanufactured." Save them in bulk and they'll even send you a prepaid packaging ...

Batteries Heavy metal? Good. Toxic heavy metal? Bad. Unfortunately, batteries have too much of the latter. Dropping off the little guys (as well as larger, recyclable phone and laptop batteries) is as easy as visiting earth911.org or rbrc.org/call2recycle and finding a collection site nearest you. In fact, as of last December, recycling those larger ones has been the law in New York. ...