Carbon Footprint

James Kara Murat asked:




These days, given the tremendous amount of waste that is generated every single day, more and more emphasis is given towards recycling. Organizations and even governments all around the world are calling for the efficient implementation of recycling measures especially since research has shown that the earth’s natural resources are fast depleting because of the continuous presence of toxic and unreusable items. Some of these items include computers, batteries and cellular phones, which have become staples in almost every home and office. One can just imagine the millions of tons of waste should these pieces of equipment be allowed to rot. Minerals found on earth are unrenewable resources and should these be used up and depleted due to the presence of tiny yet deadly particles, all of us will suffer.

Hence, everyone is encouraged to learn the importance of recycling computers and batteries and cellular phones.

Computers, for one, have tiny, bioaccumulative compound particles that could pose harm not only to animals and to bodies of water, but to humans as well. Batteries, on the other hand, contain cadmium, lead and mercury. If batteries are carelessly thrown out, they can end up in incinerators and landfills. The earth’s surface may seep the toxic ingredients of batteries and this may lead to soil and water contamination.

Meanwhile, cellular phones have become indispensable gadgets. In fact, the number of cell phone subscribers is anticipated to grow by the billions every year. However, while some consumers store old phones and look for outlets where they can have cell phone recycled, many include these old ones in their household garbage, prompting highly poisonous elements such as mercury and lead found in each cell phone unit to be released. It is important to keep these elements away from landfills so as to maintain the health of the soil and of the animals that depend on the earth for food.

There are many resources available to help recycle computers, batteries and cell phones. For one, there are organizations that take in these old items via drop off centers or home pick-up scheme. These organizations either refurbish the items and donate them to financially hard up communities or forward them to a recycling facility for proper disposal.

You can also contact the manufacturers of these items and ask if they have a recycling program. Companies that have recycling programs even offer free pick up of your old computers, batteries and cell phones.

Gen Wright asked:


Recycling containers do more then just hold trash. They can organize recyclable waste in order to help the environment and gain cooperation from those who might not otherwise practice recycling. Implementing recycling procedures at work and at home by the use of clearly marked recycling containers helps demonstrate to everyone how easy it actually is to recycle.

At the office, desks should have a recycle container available for each worker along with a regular trashcan, or if the desk areas do not have enough space, a convenient, designated area nearby should be stocked with recycling containers. A list of items that can be recycled, including paper, plastic, glass, bottles, aluminum cans, computer paper, cardboard, and electronics, should be posted on the wall. In the workplace, the recycling containers are easily identified by their blue color and large recycle logo, and make helping the environment convenient and easy. .

To help with recycling at home, a small recycling center should be added in a back hall, laundry room, kitchen, basement, or garage. The center should have a recycling container for items such as paper, plastic, glass, bottles, aluminum cans, newspaper, and computer paper. With enough containers handy and marked for recycling, separating items is not an issue, and the recycling task can be done almost without thinking. So, helping the environment at home can be convenient and easy, too!

Schools, hotels, and hospitals should also have active recycling programs in every department. There are sturdy containers that are leak proof, covered containers, containers on wheels, and odor control products readily available from online cleaning and janitorial suppliers to assist the recycling efforts of these large organizations that produce lots of waste. Business such as these can have large recycling containers delivered right to their facility and have the most modern recycling equipment and stations available to make helping the environment easy for all of their employees and cleaning crews.

To make sure that recycling efforts are successful, enough recycling containers have to be ordered to accommodate the various types of recyclable materials that the facility or home will be collecting. Another item that helps ensure the success of recycling is a recycling labeling kit for marking each recycling container. This helps keeps the recyclable waste separated properly and avoids confusion about what goes where. Make labels large and clear and post instructions at the station. This assures that your materials will be properly collected, disposed of, and recycled when they are picked up.

To assist in recycling efforts, there are many different types of recycling containers available. They vary from recycling stations with mini bins to large trash dumpsters on wheels. Recycling containers are made by top manufacturers such as Rubbermaid, and they make specially-designed containers for every recycling purpose. Their blue color helps them stand out from other trash receptacles, and most display the recycling logo on the front. These recycling containers come in many shapes and sizes. There are regular office wastebasket sizes, tall thin containers for kitchens and cabinets, stackable bins, and larger, dumpster-sized containers. Most of the bins themselves are made from recycled materials, plastic, aluminum, or steel. Specially shaped covers and lids are available for cans, bottles, and paper products to ensure proper recycling, and liners can be used for easy disposal of container contents.

Recycling only takes a bit of pre-planning. With such pre-planning and the proper tools, others at the home or office will take the few extra seconds to think about which bin to toss their trash into and which to place their recyclables in. Through their use, recycling containers promote awareness of the importance of conserving our resources, cutting our waste, and being environmentally friendly. The use of recycling containers to wisely manage trash helps the earth and benefits us all.

Greg Anthony asked:




Recycling today has become a necessity rather than a fad that it once was. With dwindling resources and increasing costs for raw materials and landfill, recycling seems to be an easy way to take care and save money for our community.

Recycling involves the processing of used materials and resources into new products that can be reused. This leads to the reuse of scarce resources, prevention of wastage of useful material, and to reduce energy use and pollution. Recycling is the third component of the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ waste hierarchy.

Although almost all waste materials can be recycled, there are some which are either easier to recycle or need to be recycled as they are more of a threat to the environment. These materials and the methods used to recycle them are listed below.

Aggregates and concretes: These items are crushed along with brick, asphalt, dirt and rocks. This is then used as gravel for new projects. Batteries: Batteries have helped to make our life very easy, but their disposal remains a big problem. Most of them contain toxic heavy metals and thus making them tough to recycle and necessary to be recycled at the same time. Lead acid batteries are usually recycled successfully. Biodegradable waste: Composting is the way to go for biodegradable waste. Kitchen waste and garden waste should be placed in compost heaps to allow it to mature into a natural fertilizer. Glass: Glass is recycled quite easily. The used glass is crushed and added to the raw material mix in the melting furnace. This mixture is then blown or moulded to produce new glass products.

Most rubbish removal service providers also provide recycling services, using these services can contribute to the wellbeing of the community.

If you are based in Melbourne and are looking for a rubbish removal service, look no further; Rambo’s Rubbish Removal can solve all your problems. They provide a number of services including picking up and disposing of all domestic, commercial and industrial waste, they also offer clean up services for people who are moving. To find out more about the services offered please log on to their website at www.rambosrubbishremoval.com.au.

Cristian Stan asked:




With the world in its current economic crisis there are plenty of people that are looking to save money by recycling. This draws the attention to stores like grocery stores; they want to get new customers while keeping the ones they already have.

The outrageous costs of fuel have been in the news forever. However if you compare the damage that plastics have been causing, the damage is considerably worse. If you were to start recycling plastics you would be reducing the amount of harmful chemicals that are being created.

When it comes to grocery stores, many stores will offer shoppers a five cent per bag discount for those that bring in their own bags. You can accomplish this by bringing in your own cloth bags or by reusing plastic bags you where given during previous visits to the grocery store. There are many occasions where a grocery store will have cloth bags for sale right in the store.

Stores are able to cut costs on producing these bags by offering advertising on the bags. If your local grocery store does not offer cloth bags you should bring up the advertisement potential they could be taking advantage of by offering cloth bags for sale to their customers. The more the bags are used and carried around the more advertising that the store gets.

If you are not ready to make the change to plastic bags then you should reuse the old ones that you have already. Since plastic bags are not as durable as cloth bags so it would be a great idea to double bag plastic bags when they are used more then one time.

Cloth bags are a really great investment when you want to go green and save money at the grocery store. You will save little by little and your cloth bags will be paid off in no time at all. Soon you will be earning money while going green.

So the next time that you are at the grocery store do not discount the money and earth saving benefits of reusing grocery bags. No matter what you get at the grocery store you can always find things to buy in order to save the environment and save you money in the long run.

Christine Harrell asked:




Getting children to use recycling containers consistently can be a bit of a challenge at first - particularly in schools, youth centers, and other organizations where there is a large number of children. Bins for recycling are a great place to start when it comes to showing children the importance of helping the environment and incorporating eco-friendly practices into their daily life. Studies show that the younger the children are when they start, the more likely they are to stick with it.

Make A Fun Delivery

One of the greatest ways to incorporate recycling container into children’s lives is to have fun getting the materials into the bins. It also gives you a chance to add science into the equation. Get the kids together to design an ‘amazing machine’ with various materials such as Styrofoam cups, strings, marbles, and plastics. Paper, for example, can then be crumpled into a ball and sat in a ‘truck’. The truck can make falls and jumps, go through tunnels, and over obstacles on its way to the bins for recycling. This gives children an insight into basic physics, have fun putting it all together, and testing it.

Let Kids Help

Let children help when it comes to sorting and emptying bins for recycling. Each day, designate a few children as ‘earth officers’. They can make sure that all of the used materials go into the bin. At the end of the day, they can help you sort items from small bins into the larger ones for pick up and dump recycling containers that are already full. Each day they do their job successfully, they earn a sticker on a ‘green chart’ that can be used to earn privileges and prizes.

Games

Adding games into green activities are ideal for educating children and satisfying their curiosity for the world around them. In a classroom setting, for instance, let kids ball up the paper that would normally be tossed in bins for recycling. Line up the balls in a circle around the classroom so they can see how much they use in a day.

You can even make it into a contest to see how short they can make the line by reusing paper or using alternatives. This gives the kids an opportunity to come up with solutions (using chalk boards or miniature white boards) to cut down on the amount of waste they make each day.

Another twist on this idea is to let kids design their own recycling containers. They can use shoeboxes, cereal boxes, milk jugs, or other materials. See how creative they can be making their bins and how empty they can keep them.

Bins for recycling are a quick and easy way to instill green living in the lives of children. They will grow up respecting the environment and learn to make conscious decisions about their actions. Once recycling containers are in full use, incorporate these ideas into other eco-friendly activities and watch the kids flourish while they learn to save the earth.

Kevin Thomas asked:




Our top tips on packaging series continues with helpful hints on reusing your tissue and paper packaging.

3 reasons to reuse your tissue paper and paper packaging

1)   As pressure on the environment and the need for the nation to economise grows, it’s now critical to conserve and reuse packaging.

2)   Reusing packaging is the best form of recycling, because it doesn’t require further use of energy, either in converting or transporting the packaging prior to use. It simply extends the life of your paper packaging.

3)   Thinking ahead to how your customer receives their parcel or gift, reducing unnecessary packaging and making it easy for the customer to reuse their tissue paper, or other paper packaging, could have a positive impact on your environmental credentials

“As a specialist packaging supplies company we believe we have a duty to encourage Customers to give greater thought to the packaging they buy and make better use of the packaging materials they retain.”

How to reuse your tissue and other paper gift packaging

Initially, avoid contact with self adhesive tape where possible, as this will tear the tissue paper Ideally wrap or fold tissue paper around the item and place within a cardboard box without sticking the tissue paper together. Elastic bands, string or ribbon can be used instead of adhesive packaging tape to encourage reuse of paper packaging When unpacking items wrapped in tissue paper, try to avoid ripping the paper and flatten sheets where possible Like wrapping paper and other forms of gift packaging, tissue paper can be reused if it is in good condition If the tissue paper has become creased or ripped, you could scrunch it up loosely to fill voids and provide cushioning protection within boxes Alternatively, tissue paper and other gift wrap can be shredded to make attractive gift packaging and paper loose fill

Once your tissue paper or other paper gift packaging is no longer usable, it can be recycled along with other waste paper.

Alternatively, you may wish to pass on used, clean paper packaging to schools for art projects. Many schools and nurseries might buy cheap tissue paper online or direct from UK packaging suppliers, and if you can pass your packaging on it might save your local school money and also help to conserve energy and natural resources.

For more information about buying tissue paper, gift wrap and other paper packaging, why not visit the Davpack online packaging superstore, or call 01332 821 200 and speak to one of our packaging experts…….we can even give you tips on reusing or saving on packaging materials.

Ben Nystrom asked:




As more people become aware of the need to conserve natural resources and keep our environment clean, recycling old computers has become incredibly popular. But what is computer recycling, exactly? Why is it so important? And can one take a computer to be recycled?

What is Computer Recycling?

Computer recycling is the process of extracting valuable secondary raw materials from obsolete computers. The EPA estimates that 30 to 40 million personal computers are ready for recycling each year. But because of the source material used to make them, simply throwing away your old computer can be dangerous and harmful to the environment. Depending on their age, computers can contain such toxic materials as lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and radioactive isotopes. They also contain valuable materials worth recovering, such as gold, tin, aluminum, iron, silicon, copper, and an array of different plastics.

Why Recycle Computers?

It is estimated that an average computer monitor may hold more than 6% lead by weight. When you discard a computer monitor or circuit board, most of that lead leeches into groundwater, or pollutes surrounding air if the monitor is incinerated. Some companies ship their outdated computer monitors and circuit boards to developing nations that have weak environmental protection regulations.

This only moves the problem. It doesn’t fix it.

Computer recycling and repair companies are the only sure way to know that your old monitor or circuit board will be properly taken care of.

Where do I Recycle Computers?

Consumer recycling is a popular option for recycling computers. Consumer recycling involves returns machines to their manufacturers, donates them to charitable organizations, or sends the separated components to environmentally responsible recyclers. There are a number of national and local organizations that help with consumer recycling. The Computer TakeBack Campaign and the Electronic TakeBack Coalition are both decentralized coalitions of organizations dedicated to minimizing so-called “e-waste” by helping people properly dispose of their old computers.

Many organizations also help connect computer donations with charitable organizations that may use them. The Donate Hardware list on the TechSoup website is a great resource for finding nonprofit and school-based recyclers in your area. They also list commercial recyclers, which are better suited for broken computers or models over five years old.

Of course, some computer companies offer take-back programs. These programs allow you to send your outdated computer back to the manufacturer where it will be repaired, refurbished, or properly disposed of. Hewlett-Packard is one company that offers such a service. To enhance their take-back program, HP also often offers a coupon good towards the purchase of a new computer or computer components. Many companies offer such benefits as a way to encourage computer recycling instead of dumping.

The best way to be sure if a nonprofit or commercial recycling organization is properly disposing of e-waste is to make sure they have signed the Basel Action Network (BAN) pledge. Among other things, the BAN pledge states that companies or charitable organizations will not allow hazardous waste to be sent to landfills, incinerators, prisons, or developing countries. These companies and organizations also pledge to support forward-thinking toxic-use reduction programs and legislation.

Luckily, getting rid of that older model doesn’t mean you have to negatively impact the environment. Look for the computer recycling program nearest you and feel good knowing you did your part to help eliminate e-waste.

~Ben Nystrom, 2009

joel asked:




Benefits of Recycling

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