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 As a parent with young children, I have found that it is almost as hard to keep up with technology as it is to keep up with a two year old. Old model computers, televisions, and cell phones are replaced faster than you can say VCR. But where do all those gadgets go when they die?
According to Earth 911, Americans tossed 1.5 billion tons of e-waste in 2006, including 44 million computers and televisions. Worldwide, 88 billion tons of e-waste were trashed in 2006.
Each one of these electronic gadgets is chock full of toxic chemicals like mercury and lead that create an environmental mess when they leach into the soil and groundwater. CRT-based computer monitors and televisions (the kinds that have tubes) contain on average 4-8 pounds of lead. Flat panel models contain less lead but more mercury. (Earth 911 site can give details about the nasty stuff that can be found in your TVs, cell phones and computers.) Industry experts estimate even though e-waste currently accounts for only 1 to 4% of municipal waste, it may be responsible for as much as 70% of the heavy metals in landfills, including 40% of all lead.
Landfilling electronics also wastes the otherwise useful materials such as glass, copper, aluminum, plastic and other components that could be extracted and reused. Finally, of the e-waste that is recycled (an admittedly small percentage of the lot) roughly 50-80% is exported to countries such as China and Mexico where it is dismantled without regard to human or environmental safety.
So if you have an old gadget that you want to get rid of, it is extremely important to make sure it is disposed of properly. Here’s how to green your e-waste:
Find It A New Home: Keep your old electronic devices out of the landfill by finding them a new home. Ask around among friends and family, Freecycle, or donate the item.
Send It Back: Contact the product’s manufacturer to find out if they have a policy for taking back their old gadgets. Some companies, such as Dell, will take back not only their own products but their competitor's as well.
Recycle It Right: Check out the EPA’s Plug-In to Recycling site for a list of companies that sponsor e-waste take back events and to find an e-cycling event in your community. If you can’t find one nearby, check out the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition’s list of Responsible Recyclers in your area.
Oddly enough, one of the most common green parenting questions that I am asked is centered on those pesky toilet paper and paper towel tubes that accumulate so quickly in the family recycle bin. Sure, you could do a craft with them (there are several craft ideas list below) but that idea may lose its luster after you've made your 18th eyeglass case or pencil holder. So here are some great green parenting tips for reducing, reusing, and recycling your old toilet paper and paper towel tubes.
Reduce
Want A Deeper Shade of Green? If you want to be really hardcore, you can reduce your family’s overall use of toilet paper tubes by eliminating the roll altogether. Enter, the family cloth. If you’re not familiar with this concept, here’s a quick primer. You take a couple of clean old rags (old t-shirts and towels are popular choices), cut them into “wipe” size pieces and place them in a basket next to the toilet. On the other side of the toilet, place a clean bucket to hold the used cloths until you are ready to toss them in the wash. It may sound a bit extreme, but it is similar in concept to cloth diapers. And in addition to being very green for the planet, it will save you some green on paper products each month.
Reuse Give your toilet paper and paper towel tubes a second life by reusing them before or instead of recycling them. Here's how:
- Donate old toilet paper or paper towel tubes to your local school or library to use as craft projects.
- Use toilet paper tubes as packing material.
- Give them to your pet hamster or bird (or to a friend that has one) to play with.
- Store holiday lights by rolling them around paper towel tubes to prevent tangling.
- Attach 2 or 3 toilet paper and/or paper towel tubes together to make an art organizer that holds pens, paint brushes, markers, etc.
- Do a Craft: Here are some great craft ideas for reusing toilet paper and paper towel tubes:
Toilet Paper Tube Crafts Gift Box
Puppets
Vase
Napkin Rings
Glasses Case Menorah/Kinara/Advent Wreath
Recycle
Recycle toilet paper and paper towel tubes with your cardboard or paper products. Also, consider buying toilet tissue and paper towels made from recycled paper as these products are most likely to also contain tubes made from recycled paper. For example, Green Forest paper towel and bathroom tissue tubes are 100% recycled, with a 75% post-consumer recycled content.
 Cleaning house? Consider donating things you no longer want or need to someone who does. Donating old stuff is not only great for folks in need, it is also great for the environment, as it reduces waste and the consumption of new resources. Get your kids involved by filling them in on where the old items are going and how they will help. Here's where you and your kids can donate anything from appliances to eyeglasses.
Appliances: Most thrift stores, including Goodwill and the Salvation Army accept small appliances for donation. Contact them first if you have something large to drop off or consider listing the item on Freecycle to see if someone in your local area might be interested. Also check with your local women’s shelter or group home.
Books: Contact your local library to find out their policy on donations. Most will accept virtually any book or magazine (within reason, of course.) Other options include children’s museums, women’s shelters, hospitals, or your local thrift store.
Cars: Got an old jalopy clogging up your driveway? Contact area high-schools, colleges, or vo-tech programs to find out if they could use your old car. Advertise the heap in Freecycle to see if anyone in your local area is interested in it for parts. Or look into donating it to a charity programs such as The National Kidney Foundation’s Kidney Cars or Habitat for Humanity’s Cars for Homes.
Cell Phones: Donate old cell phones directly to your local women’s shelter, or check out The Wireless Foundation’s Call to Protect Campaign or Verizon Wireless’s HopeLine, where money raised through phone sales are donated to domestic-violence shelters.
Clothes: Click here for a recent post on donating (and fixing, selling, or swapping) old clothes.
Computers: Check with your local schools, libraries, or charity organizations to see if they could use your old computer. If not, contact The National Cristina Foundation, Computer Recycling Center, or The World Computer Exchange to make sure your computer gets in the hands of someone who can use it.
Eyeglasses: Don’t toss your old frames, donate them instead. Check out The Lions Club’s eyeglass recycling program or New Eyes For The Needy, an organization that distributes glasses, sunglasses, and hearing to those who need them.
Furniture: Freecycle your old furniture or contact your local thrift store to see if they will accept it and/or pick it up.
Toys: Clean out those overflowing toy bins and pass along those old toys to your local thrift store, hospital, children’s museum, women’s shelter, or library.
What's your Trash Can I.Q? Do you know how long it takes each of these items to break down in the waste stream? Take this quiz to test your knowledge and find out why recycling is so important!
http://quibblo.com/trackback/iA-3K4
 Have you ever met a kid who didn't love jumping into a pile of freshly raked leaves? I certainly haven't! So with a beautiful fall weekend almost within reach, it's time to rev up you rakes and get ready for some weekend fun. And after your kids get finished smashing the leaves to smithereens, be sure to add any leftover bits to your compost pile. Composting is the ultimate recycler, turning your yard waste and kitchen scraps into usable (and sought after) plant food. If you don't already have one, this is the perfect time to get started.
Why Compost?
- Save Money: Why pay money for plant food and fertilizers when you can make your own with some broken down leaves and newspapers. Composting is not as hard as you think and it can save you a fortune in yard care products.
- Reduce Waste: Every scrap you put in the compost bin is one less scrap that's locked away in a landfill.
- Protect Your Plants and The Planet: According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "compost has been shown to suppress plant diseases and pests, reduce or eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers, and promote higher yields of agricultural crops." The organization has also found that the composting process can help absorb odors, bind heavy metals, and break down toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Starting A Compost PileThere are tons of resources out there that cover the composting process inside and out. Basically, to get started you will need 2 types of ingredients: - Carbon (shredded newspapers, cardboard, and straw)
- Nitrogen (lawn clippings, kitchen waste, and weeds).
Combine them together and before long you'll have compost. If you're feeling lazy you don't need to do anything else (but wait and wait). You'll have usable compost by next year even if you never touch the pile again. If you'd like things to move along a little more quickly, you'll need to turn the pile and add a few drops of water every few weeks. If you really want to get the most from your waste, check out a few online resources: How To Compost.orgHow To Make CompostU.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Composting Info
The office water cooler is an excellent place for gossip, but not so great for the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency,
Water coolers use 4 billion kilowatts of energy each year, producing annual pollution roughly equivalent to the emissions of over 700,000 cars.
In addition, the agency estimates that Americans spend $300 million each year on utility bills to operate water coolers.
You can eliminate the waste consumption and resource depletion of traditional water coolers, bottles, and fountains by installing an inexpensive water filter on the office kitchen tap. Keep a stash of water pitchers and cool reusable cups and mugs nearby so that employees always have access to cold, fresh, clean water. Make the kitchen area a fun spot for employees to gather (and gossip) and they'll never miss that wasteful old cooler!
Image courtesy of Lotus Head http://www.pixelpusher.co.za
Here's a high-tech way to clean up your neighboorhood. Next weekend (Oct 13th-14th), Google is hosting an International Cleanup Weekend in an effort to spread the word about taking care of the planet. They are hoping to inspire folks to make an impact by thinking globally and acting locally.
Log on to Google's clean-up site and join up with a clean-up event in your area. Or, if you're feeling ambitious, organize your co-workers, friends, family, or neighboors to clean up your local area. Using their step-by-step tutorial, you can learn how to organize your own local clean-up event and "map" your event to make it part of the international effort. If you don't have time for a big event, keep it simple and grab your kids, a few bags, and a picnic lunch to spruce up your favorite local spot. After your clean-up, you can post photos and videos of your event for the whole world to see.
As a Green Parent, I try to minimize my impact on the environment each day, especially at the store. I take the time to buy organic and locally grown foods as well as all-natural personal care products whenever possible. I check ingredient labels and “vote with my wallet” to support companies with an environmental backbone. But all of this effort used to go out the window when I got to the checkout line and was forced to answer the inevitable question…Paper or Plastic?
According to the Environmental News Network, 90 percent of all grocery bags are plastic with Americans alone going through about 100 billion plastic bags each year. Yet only 1 to 3 percent of these bags are ever recycled. The rest line our waterways, sewers, street corners, and occasionally landfills where they take hundreds of years to break down into toxic particles that leach into the water and soil. And paper is no better, the 10 billion or so paper bags that Americans use each year consume 14 million trees and cause pollution and recycling problems of their own.
In the past, I tried to reuse plastic bags whenever possible around my house. But the time has come to for a more eco-friendly option...reusable totes. If it sounds too dauting, just start slowly. Toss 1 or 2 reusable tote bags in your diaper bag or in your car so that you will have at least a few on hand the next time you’re at the store. Once you get the hang of it, try adding a few more totes to your collection until you no longer need to use plastic. Here's a few more tips:
- Look around your favorite store to see if they offer a reusable alternative. Trader Joe’s, Wegmans, Publix, Giant, and Albertsons all offer reusable cloth bags for sale in their stores (some for as little as $1 each).
- DIY: I’m not that handle with a needle, but even I can whip up a homemade tote bag. Here’s a few instructional sites you can try:
- Buy "Preloved": Tote bags multiply faster than rabbits so you are sure to find a good deal at your local thrift store or area garage sales.
- Win: If you have scoured your house and local thrift stores and you still can't find a decent tote, register to win one through The Green Parent. Just enter your info in the column on the right. I'll give away one free bag each week for the next year!
Oh...and if you still have a bunch of plastic bags laying around your house, check out these sites for some creative ways to reuse them: Reader's Digest LivingThe Frugal LifeGreen Parent Tip: If you have a problem remembering to put your totes back in the car after you've used them; try hanging them on the doorknob or in the same place you put your car keys!
Recycling is a great way to keep stuff out of the landfill and reduce the need for new materials. And if you are lucky enough to live in a community that heavily supports (or even mandates) recycling, the task may be as simple as remembering which stuff to put in the recycle bin. But for most folks (like me) recycling is more of a DIY adventure involving washing, sorting, and transporting recyclables to the nearest recycling center. Click here to read all about the benefits of recycling. Once you're convinced, check out these tips on what, how, and where to recycle:
What Should You Recycle?
The Top 10 Items To Recycle - Aluminum
- PET Plastic (#1)
- Newspaper
- Corrugated Cardboard
- Steel Cans
- HDPE Plastics (#2)
- Glass
- Magazines
- Mixed Paper
- Computers
Source: National Recycling Coalition How To Recycle
- Look Locally: Find out what items your local recycling center will take by plugging your zip code into the Earth 911 website.
- Play By The Rules: Take a minute to learn the recycling rules at your local center. They may require you to take a few extra steps like removing the caps from plastic bottles or excluding medicine bottles from your recycling. Play by the rules to make recycling work for everyone.
- Get Sorted: Set aside a spot in your kitchen or laundry room for recyclables. If you really want to get organized, try using stacked bins that keep everything sorted and tidy. The Recycling Center's 3-tiered stacked recycle bin is available here. No space? Place a small trash can under the sink to hold it all. Personally, I like the Apartment Recycling Bag. It's sturdy, lightweight and easy to schlep with children.
Where To Recycle
Whether it's paint, plastic, or used motor oil, if it's recyclable, the Earth 911 website will tell you the closest place to drop it off.
 New parents are inundated with new decisions, often on topics that have never before crossed their minds; bottle or breast? paci or thumb? co-sleep or crib? Of these decisions, none is more vexing than diapers. It would seem from the great diaper debate that there is simply no eco-friendly way to diaper a child. Sure, cloth diapers are reusable and therefore lighten the landfill load. However, their need for frequent washing uses both water and energy.
Independent studies over the years have consistently come to the conclusion that there is no significant difference in the environmental impact between disposables and cloth. So what’s an eco-minded parent to do? Here are the options:
One alternative to consider is a new product called gDiapers, which combines a washable cloth pant with a biodegradable and flushable insert liner. Unlike disposable diapers, they don’t use any elemental plastics or landfill space, and they require less of the water and energy used to wash standard cloth diapers. These “hybrid” diapers are good in a pinch, but they still require paper and packaging (and midnight trips to the store for refills!) Some parents have eschewed diapers all together and turned to a method called “elimination communication” where parents learn to “read” their baby’s cues and rush them to the potty when they appear ready to go. Inevitable messes aside, this method is unquestionably better for the environment because it doesn’t require water, energy, or landfill space. However, it is not for the faint of heart. If you can’t devote your full attention to watching your baby for “cues,” save yourself and your baby some frustration and use another method. For those who prefer a traditional diaper, cotton diapers can take the environmental edge over disposables with some energy and water saving techniques, such as line-drying, skipping the pre-soak, and washing diapers in large loads using low temperatures. And today’s parents don’t have to go old-school with pins and plastic pants. Cotton diapers are easier to use than ever before; and, let’s face it, they are just way cuter than disposables. My pick of the bunch is Fuzzi Bunz cotton diapers...they are great looking, ridiculously soft, and a snap (literally!) to use. Cotton diapers now come in such a wide array of styles and colors, that green parents may finally be able to put an end to the great diaper think about more important things (like sleep!).
Want to save money and the planet while reducing the clutter in your home? Try this old money saving trick the next time you are at the store...if you see an item you want, leave it at the store and promise yourself that if you really, really need it, you will pick it up the next time you shop. Do it for yourself and encourage your kids to do the same. When my eldest daughter sees a new toy at the store, she thinks her life will end if she doesn't have it. But she knows that nothing new is coming her way until the next birthday or holiday. In most cases, she will have forgotten about her "favorite" toy by the time we turn the corner!
Recycling is a great idea, but when you’re pressed for time, it may seem just so much easier to toss things in the trash. Let’s face it, when you’re trying to clean up the dinner dishes, help your kids with their homework, and put up a load of laundry, it can be a real drag to rinse out that empty jar of spaghetti sauce or can of soup. But keep this in mind…the more stuff you recycle, the fewer trips you will have to make to the dumpster. Take a minute now to rinse a jar and you'll save time and energy later schlepping garbage. As a bonus, recycling creates jobs, saves energy, preserves natural resources, reduces greenhouse-gas emissions, and keeps toxins from leaking out of landfills.
Call the Plastic Loosefill Council at 1-800-828-2214 for a list of locations where you can drop off those plastic peanuts that you get in shipments. Most UPS Store locations accept foam packaging peanuts for reuse. Check out www.theupsstore.com for a location near you.
Bagging up leaves and other yard trimmings not only wastes your time and energy, it also puts a tremendous strain on the environment. Instead, try grasscycling. After you mow, leave the grass clippings on the lawn. They will naturally decompose into the soil, helping to hold in soil moisture, prevent freezing, and return nutrients to the soil.
Whether you’re at home or at work, get in the habit of using both sides of a piece of paper. Kids’ art projects, grocery lists, and messages can give paper a second life. Check with your kids’ school to see if any of your waste (such as jars, magazines, paper towel rolls, newspapers, or plastic bottles) could be used for art projects. At the store, bring along your own shopping bags; either the plastic bags from your last trip, or better yet, a reusable tote bag.
If it’s worth something, you can make a tidy profit by selling toys, clothes, and books at a yard sale, consignment shop or on sites like Ebay or Craigslist. If that doesn’t work, donate it to your local thrift store or use Freecyle or Recycler’s Exchange to find someone in your area who might need it. One person’s junk is another’s treasure.
Every time you order something online, fill out a warranty card, or join a club, your personal information is collected and sold to marketers who will flood your mailbox with offers, wasting paper as well as your time. To stop junk mail, start by contacting the Mail Preference Service to request that your contact information be removed from lists run by The Direct Marketing Association (a trade group of marketing companies.) Removing your information from this mailing list will cost $1 but it will also help to stop junk mail for up to five years. This can be done online at: http://www.dmaconsumers.org/offmailinglist.html, or by sending a postcard or letter to: Mail Preference Service Direct Marketing Association PO Box 643 Carmel, NY 15012-0643 Credit card offers are another big source of junk mail. You can call 1-888-5 OPT OUT (or 1-888-567-8688) 24 hours a day to stop any and all unsolicited credit card offers from coming your way.
Many parents rely heavily on pre-packaged and disposable goods when packing lunches. Sure, they’re convenient, but what is the cost of this convenience? Much of the trash generated in the American home comes from the packaging on the food we buy. According to Wastefreelunches.org, each school-age child who packs a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That works out to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school. Ditch those pre-packaged goods and make your kids a waste-free lunch. How do you make a waste-free lunch? Instead of wrapping sandwiches in aluminum foil or plastic bags, use a reusable container that can hold the sandwich as well as fresh veggies and other treats. Substitute cloth napkins and reusable silverware for disposables. Replace juice boxes and water bottles with reusable drink containers. And use a lunchbox or cooler instead of paper lunch bags.
Start a toy exchange with friends. As every parent knows, today’s favorite toy is tomorrow’s closet clutter. Instead of buying new toys every week, bring a box of your old toys to a friend’s house and bring a box of their old toys home. Swap them back after a few weeks. Instead of buying books, movies, and magazines, utilize your local library or movie rental store.
Think twice before you hit that PRINT button. Read documents, news, and magazines online. Pay bills over the web to save paper from bills and checks. Send out e-cards to save both paper and cash. At work, distribute memos and circulate documents by email.
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As a parent with young children, I have found that it is almost as hard to keep up with technology as it is to keep up with a two year old. Old model computers, televisions, and cell phones are replaced faster than you can say VCR. But where do all those gadgets go when they die?
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