Before you dispose of your old glass jars and bottles, old cardboard boxes, plastic bags and your old newspapers and magazines, think – “how could I make better use of these items?”

9 recycling tips at home – One way to keep fit…!

By User: Vmenkov

You will be amazed with a little forethought at how ingenious you can become at reusing and [easyazon_link asin=”B000QJEW9K” locale=”US” new_window=”default” tag=”glocaszon-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” nofollow=”default” popups=”default”]recycling[/easyazon_link] your disposable waste products.

So, to get you started here are 9 recycling tips at home that will make a big difference and save you some money.

How to Reuse Recyclables
by Dawn Walls-Thumma, Demand Media

Although preferable to sending trash to the landfill or incinerator, recycling still requires energy and produces waste by-products.

Because of these effects, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers waste prevention – activities that reduce the disposal and recycling of waste materials – the best way to reduce waste.

Reusing paper, jars and bottles destined for the [easyazon_link asin=”B001C94HY8″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” tag=”glocaszon-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” nofollow=”default” popups=”default”]Rubbermaid FG295673 Blue Medium Deskside Recycling Container with Universal Recycle Symbol, 28-1/8 qt Capacity, 14.4″ Length x 10.25″ Width x 15″ Height[/easyazon_link] not only eliminates the energy expenditures needed to recycle them but also the resources needed to produce the items you would use instead.

Courtesy WikiMedia

Shifting from recycling to reuse requires some creative thinking, but ultimately saves money and cuts waste.

Step 1:
Bottle your own water. Instead of buying new bottles each time you want a drink, save old bottles and refill them from the tap for the convenience of bottled water without the waste.

Step 2:
Save glass jars and bottles and use them for storage.

Step 3:
Keep a few extra plastic bags folded up in your purse or glove compartment in case you find yourself at a store without a reusable tote.

Step 4:
Reuse cardboard boxes, gift boxes, gift bags and paper bags for storage, gift-wrapping or wrapping parcels to send in the mail.

Step 5:
Shred paper or newspaper and use the shredded piles in place of foam peanuts as packaging material.

Step 6:
Cut in half paper printed on only one side. Staple it together to make notepads.

Step 7:
Use old coffee cans as flowerpots for houseplants. Yogurt cups and other small plastic containers work well for starting seeds in the spring.

Step 8:
Compost. Many of the items that you [easyazon_link asin=”B007ZF638G” locale=”US” new_window=”default” tag=”glocaszon-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” nofollow=”default” popups=”default”]recycle[/easyazon_link], such as paper and cardboard, can go into a compost pile, where they break down into a garden soil amendment rich in organic matter and nutrients.

You can also use cardboard to cover bare garden soil over the winter, preventing erosion.

Step 9:
Wash and reuse sturdy plastic cups and tableware.

Warnings

Do not reuse containers that hold hazardous products, such as pesticides or motor oil.
Follow instructions on the label to learn how to properly dispose of or recycle these containers and any leftover product.

….More at: National Geographic, Green Living

What if you could find ways to be paid for recycling, I bet your children would soon become interested.

There are companies out there that will actually pay you for your rubbish, you won’t get rich on it, but how cool is it to be able to sell your garbage for real money.

I found an interesting article in the San Francisco Chronicle that I think you may find fascinating.

6 Things You Didn’t Know You Can Recycle For Money
Linda McMaken

Recycling is great for the planet, saves resources and basically helps clean up our world. Many of us know that we can recycle things like plastic, paper, glass bottles and metals. However, there are many other items that you probably didn’t know could be turned in for cash or a tax deduction. Here’s a list of a few of them.

Trash
A company called TerraCycle will pay for your trash. This program works best with schools or other non-profit organizations that can collect a lot of trash. The company will donate money to your cause for every piece of trash you send the organization.

Wine Corks
While this may seem a bit odd, cork is a heavily used resource and recycling them won’t make you rich, but they could definitely pay for a free bottle of wine. See eBay

Gift Cards
Many of us receive gift cards for a holiday or a birthday to a place we will never shop, eat or visit. If you have a few of those lying in a drawer you might consider trading them. Gift Card Rescue will take your unused gift cards and send you a check for them.

Cooking Oil
As odd as this seems, there are many recycling centers, biodiesel firms and individuals that will pay you for used cooking oil. Scan Craigslist in your area or search online.

[easyazon_link asin=”B001Q3KUA0″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” tag=”glocaszon-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” nofollow=”default” popups=”default”]9 Recycling Tips at Home[/easyazon_link]

Tennis Balls
There are 300 million tennis balls manufactured every year. They are made with a rubber that is not biodegradable creating over 20,000 metric tons of rubber waste a year. A small company, Rebounces, has come up with a solution. It has created a machine that “re-bounces” tennis balls, and will give you money for donated balls.

Human Hair
There is a lucrative, high-paying market for human hair. If you have long hair or the ability to grow it fast, you could be looking at some serious cash. Rates for unbleached, natural hair can range from $200 to well over $1,500 depending on shade, length and condition. Hair extension companies, wig makers, and even heirloom hair weavers will pay you for hair.

You can even find buyers of hair on eBay and Craigslist.

The Bottom Line
If you look around, almost everything we use can be recycled.

Most of it won’t bring you any cash or compensation, but if you take a few minutes to recycle it will save the planet from being overloaded with debris.

There is approximately 2.5 million pounds of e-waste created per year from our cell phones, computers and other electronic devices.

It is becoming necessary for everyone to seriously consider recycling electronics.

All of us should recycle as part of our daily routine whether it is for cash or for the sake of the environment.

More at…  San Francisco Chronicle

[easyazon_link asin=”B000QJEW9K” locale=”US” new_window=”default” tag=”glocaszon-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” nofollow=”default” popups=”default”]9 Recycling Tips at Home[/easyazon_link]

So all in all, I think there is lot of ideas to fuel your imagination in this article, I hope you have found it useful and will inspire you to think of even more ways to recycle and reuse your waste items.

I hope you have found this article – 9 Recycling Tips at Home – informative, and you will share your own experiences below in the comment box and please take the time to click on the share button, many thanks; see more articles on The Daily Green Post home page.

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If we want to leave our planet in a fit and habitable condition for the generations still to come, we really have no other choice but to try and save the planet from all the mindless actions that take place daily on a global basis!

Save the Planet

When you watch the news or read the newspapers, there is doom and gloom almost every where you look:

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• Global warming
• Acid Rain
• Landfill sites exhausted

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The list goes on and on, but why should we recycle to save the planet, will it ever make any real difference to anything?

The answer is: because green living has to become a way of life for the good of us all and the generations still to come.

So, what actually is recycling?

Basically, it means re-using the things we already have so we don’t have to keep producing more and more things to just throw them away.

Makes sense, don’t you think!

Grey Living vs. Green Living…you choose!

Serious Air Pollution

Help the environment and Save the Planet by Recycling

Obviously the first priority is to start helping the environment where you live and encourage your friends, family and neighbors to join in to make a difference.

For information on what to do, try checking out your local library or town hall; they will generally be able to give you pamphlets and leaflets with all the relevant information you need.

There are so many small things you can do that will make a difference such as:

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• Turning off lights when you leave a room
• Lowering your heating by a degree or two
• Use friendlier modes of transport
• Buy locally grown produce
• Take showers instead of baths

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You will find a huge number of ways to improve your efforts of recycling, when you begin your drive to, green living; and start working on ideas to save the planet.

The United States of America, produces 390 billion pounds of garbage each and every year, and the job of finding places to dispose of it, is a serious environmental and economic challenge.

See the video below for an insight into the challenges involved
in our quest to save the planet.

To see the video in full screen, click on the arrrows in the bottom right corner.

Start your recycling efforts at home.

We can all play our part in the endeavors to save our planet for future generations.
However small the part you play in recycling, when combined with the efforts of everybody else playing their part: it makes a huge difference on a global scale.

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• A good place to begin, is to get the family actively involved
• Rewards for the younger ones maybe, to get things underway
• It’s about adopting good sound practices, until they become second nature

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Remember, good habits are the same as bad habits, they are something you did habitually until they became second nature, so start working on building up green habits.

I understand most schools these days have programs to teach the benefits of recycling so it would be a good idea to check on their advice.

Many people believe that it’s a hard undertaking to coordinate a recycling center at home; but with some creativity and planning it can be fairly easy to do.

Just think how much better you will feel about yourself, playing your part to take care of the environment and maybe helping to save the planet for the future generations still to come.

I hope you have found this article – Save the Planet – informative, and you will share your own experiences below in the comment box and please take the time to click on the share button, many thanks; see more articles on The Daily Green Post home page.

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It’s often said: ‘Some of the greatest ideas are the simplest’, and this one falls into that bracket, this must be the ultimate eco friendly lighting system ever conceived.

Make sure you click here to like > Daily Green Post on Facebook < to be updated every time we find new tips on helping the environment, plus exciting and innovative new ways to help you and your family.

Alfredo Moser: Bottle light inventor proud to be poor
By Gibby Zobel
BBC World Service, Uberaba, Brazil

Alfredo Moser’s invention is lighting up the world.

Ultimate eco friendly lighting system

In 2002, the Brazilian mechanic had a light-bulb moment and came up with a way of illuminating his house during the day without electricity – using nothing more than plastic bottles filled with water and a tiny bit of bleach.

In the last two years his innovation has spread throughout the world. It is expected to be in one million homes by early next year.

So how does it work? Simple refraction of sunlight, explains Moser, as he fills an empty two-liter plastic bottle.

“Add two cap-fuls of bleach to protect the water so it doesn’t turn green [with algae]. The cleaner the bottle, the better,” he adds.

Watch this video to see the ultimate eco friendly lighting system in action.

Wrapping his face in a cloth he makes a hole in a roof tile with a drill. Then, from the bottom upwards, he pushes the bottle into the newly-made hole.

“You fix the bottle in with polyester resin. Even when it rains, the roof never leaks – not one drop.”

The lamps work best with a black cap – a film case can also be used “An engineer came and measured the light,” he says. “It depends on how strong the sun is but it’s more or less 40 to 60 watts,” he says.

“It’s a divine light. God gave the sun to everyone, and light is for everyone. Whoever wants it saves money. You can’t get an electric shock from it, and it doesn’t cost a penny.”

Moser has installed the bottle lamps in neighbors’ houses and the local supermarket.

While he does earn a few dollars installing them, it’s obvious from his simple house and his 1974 car that his invention hasn’t made him wealthy. What it has given him is a great sense of pride.

How much energy do the lamps save?

The plastic bottles are up-cycled in the local community, so no energy is needed to gather, shred, manufacture and ship new bottles.
The carbon footprint of the manufacture of one incandescent bulb is 0.45kg CO2
A 50 Watt light bulb running for 14 hours a day for a year has a carbon footprint of nearly 200kg CO2
Moser lamps emit no CO2
Source: UN

If you agree that this is the ultimate eco friendly lighting system…? Then like us on >> Facebook << to spread the word.

The idea has also caught on in about 15 other countries, from India and Bangladesh, to Tanzania, Argentina and Fiji.

Did Moser himself imagine that his invention would have such an impact?

“I’d have never imagined it, No,” says Moser, shaking with emotion.

“It gives you goose-bumps to think about it.”

Full article at… BBC/news/magazine

Make sure you click here to like > Daily Green Post on Facebook < to be updated every time we find new tips on helping the environment, plus exciting and innovative new ways to help you and your family.

I hope you have found this article – Ultimate Eco friendly Lighting System – informative, and you will share your own experiences below in the comment box and please take the time to click on the share button, many thanks; see more articles on The Daily Green Post home page.

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Recycling, downcycling and upcycling! What do they all mean?

No, it’s nothing to do with bikes (not quite true, bikes can be recycled too); they are all words used in recycling your waste products. – I think there is a pun in there somewhere, unintended.

Read this report for the full picture, it’s quite fascinating, really!

Recycling

Recycling Tips of the Month

Recycling is Great But Upcycling is Even Better

You know what recycling is, but have you ever heard of downcycling?

No? Don’t worry, that’s a trick question.

Downcycling is just another name for recycling, taking used materials and products out of the waste stream and converting them into new materials. The “down-” prefix is used sometimes just to make the point that many recycled products are of lesser quality than the original.

A Better Way – recycling tips
This brings us to upcycling, which is exactly the opposite.
Upcycling is the process of converting waste into new materials or products of better quality.

As most of us work hard to reduce the amount of waste we create, it should be no surprise that upcycling has shown significant growth across the United States.

Recycling truck, China.

By Paul Louis (Own work) CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Upcycling is all around us.
One way to see the numbers is to take a look at www.Etsy.com, the site where artists and artisans can sell their handmade goods.

Etsy offers a mind-boggling variety of imaginative, beautiful and sometimes downright weird items.

Major Retailers Are on Board
Many outdoor companies, including REI, The North Face, Marmot and Patagonia, work hard to reduce their environmental impact.

Many of them sell fleece products made from recycled plastic bottles. (Why not? Fleece is made from polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, which is the same plastic from which the bottles are commonly made.)

A completely different kind of retailer, the French luxury-goods firm Hermès, also upcycles.

They use leftover material and damaged goods for a new line of specialty items.

For example, drawers are upholstered with damaged scarves, a defective handbag is turned into a clock and a flawed glass vase is cut in half to become a set of bookends.

The “Amazing” Possibilities of Upcycling
The biggest upcycler in the world is TerraCycle, (www.terracycle.com) which creates national recycling systems for previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste.

They convert the collected waste into a wide variety of products and materials. For example, they are devising ways to make textiles and plastic lumber from Capri Sun drink pouches, jackets from Doritos bags and luggage from energy bar wrappers.

When it comes to collecting recyclable and upcyclable materials, the business opportunities are “amazing,” said Gal Raz, associate professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

More at… The Examiner

Recycling tips and sustainability, what are your thoughts on the subject, do you have some amazing recycling tips you would like to share with our readers, if so please leave them in the comment section below and remember to click the share button, many thanks.

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A look at the green side of the London 2012 Olympic Park.

CNN’s Erin McLaughlin reports.

CNN

Have you ever wondered while waching and enjoying everything the 2012 Olympic Games has shown us so far: what the original vision of the organizing committee was, and how it convinced the powers that be to award the Olympic Games to Great Britain?

Here is a brief  look at the arguments that won the votes.

Sustainability London 2012 Olympics

When we bid to host the 2012 Games, we made a radical proposal to the International Organising Committee.
We weren’t only going to put on the biggest sporting event in the world; we were going to hold the world’s first truly sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games, leaving a legacy far beyond the departure of the Olympic Flame.

Pushing the boundaries of what’s possible

Working in partnership with BioRegional and WWF, we developed Towards a One Planet 2012  – a sustainable Games guided by the principle that the world should live within its means.

We recognise that with over four billion people watching and over 200 countries involved, the Games are an unrivalled catalyst for sustainable change.

Planning and delivering is a complex process and we have continued to learn and improve as we go.

Together we have strived to prove that there is a different way of hosting the Games, a way that provides the best experience for athletes and spectators alongside the best outcome for the community and the environment.

Venues

All our venues are designed to ensure that all the athletes perform to the best of their ability whilst pushing the boundaries of sustainability knowledge and design.

Travel

With millions of people on the move at the same time and extra people travelling each day in and around London alone, it is imperative to get everyone to their venues on time. We have been working with Transport for London and many other partners to ensure that London’s public transport is ready.

We have also used this opportunity to remind everyone that London is a great city for walking and cycling.

Food
We have worked with the food industry to bring you fantastic food that is ethically and sustainably sourced.

Waste

With so many people descending on London and the UK at the same time, we have thought long and hard about managing all that extra waste.  We’re excited about the revolutionary new system we have created for the Games, which will make it easier for us to ensure that no waste is sent to landfill during Games-time.

Full article at … London2012

I am hugely impressed with everything I have seen so far at the – sustainability London 2012 Olympics Games – the organisers appear to be delivering on their promises, we will find out for sure in the aftermath of the games.

If you would like to comment on this article ‘sustainability London 2012 Olympics Games’ – please do so below, many thanks for taking the time to visit our site.

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