Recycling

How Green Will the London Olympics Be?

The 2012 Olympic games in London will be one of the greenest Olympics yet. Organizers say sustainability is at the core of the games – everything from the venues to the food provided for the world’s most elite athletes.

Starting with the venues, many places where the athletes will compete were already in place such as the Wimbledon courts. Public transportation has been significantly beefed up for athletes and travelers. And, new bike and walking routes and paths have been added across London. Olympic organizers have also been hard at work to make sure much of the food is sustainably sourced and minimum packaging is used.

Organizers have also created what they call a revolutionary new system to deal with the waste left behind from all the incoming people – pledging to keep it all from the landfills during the games.

To see more about the eco-friendly efforts surrounding the 2012 games, check out this video.

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What's the Best Time to Sell Your iPad2?

Are you thinking of trading in your iPad2 for the next iPad that’s expected to be released in the coming months? NextWorth.com, an electronic trade-in site, predicts there will be a steep decline (20-25 percent) in the value of the iPad2 in couple of weeks before the iPad3 is unveiled which is expected to happen in early March. They’ve looked at similar trends with the first iPad and the iPhones. NextWorth takes unwanted electronics to recycle and says they will guarantee and lock in their prices for 21 days. Visit NextWorth.com for more information on selling back your device for top dollar.

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Team USA's Uniforms Made From Plastic Bottles

Team USA will be showing off more than their skills during the Olympics in London this summer. These basketball greats will also be showing off their green fashion sense  as they sport eco-friendly uniforms. Nike is behind this eco-friendly look. The company says the jerseys are made from 22 recycled plastic bottles and the shorts are made from recycled polyester. The uniforms weigh less than traditional ones and designed to keep athletes cooler.

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Ordering Gifts Online? Go Frustration-Free

If you’re ordering online, consider doing something new. Amazon has a new feature that we’re sure many shoppers will love. It’s called ‘Frustration-Free Packaging.’ This option is available on more than 70,000 products and it means those items will come without hard plastic clamshell casing, plastic bindings, and wire ties. Sometimes the item is even shipped in its original box rather than being packaged in another. Here’s the best part. These ‘Frustration-Free Packaging’ items were never over packaged. Instead, Amazon works directly with manufacturers to get them off the assembly line and to you or your loved one with the least amount of waste.

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Got Old iPods? Make More Money

If you’re looking to Do Your Part with old electronics before the holidays hit, you can easily bring in some extra spending money! Online electronics recycler, NextWorth is now offering a 10% bonus if you send in your unused iPod between now and December 31st. The average value for iPod Nano is $24, for iPod Classic it’s $32, and the average worth of an iPod Touch is $66. Click here for more information on the holiday incentives. Remember, the last thing you want to do is throw out electronics that contain valuable materials that can be recycled and used again. It’s one way to give back to the planet during this season of giving.

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Green Your Holiday Gift List With Gadget Guide

If your holiday gift list includes electronics this year a new guide will help you make eco-friendly choices. Greenpeace just released its annual Guide to Greener Electronics. The guide ranks 15 electronics companies on energy, greener products and sustainable operations. This year Hewlett Packard tops the list followed by Dell, Nokia and Apple.

The annual guide by Greenpeace has prompted changes in the electronics industry including the phasing out of hazardous chemicals like flame retardants and PVC. The group also helps persuade companies to green the life cycle of their products by increasing energy efficiency, using renewable energy, increasing the re-usability of the gadgets they make and providing free take-back programs for used electronics.

Hewlett Packard took the top position this year for reducing carbon emissions from its supply chain, reducing its own emissions and advocating for strong climate legislation. The company also has a policy that excludes paper from companies linked with illegal logging and deforestation.

Computer maker Dell moved up from 10th position to second this year with a plan to reduce its carbon emissions 40 percent by 2020. The company also committed to remove PVC vinyl plastics and flame retardants from computing products by the end of this year. Apple came in fourth largely due to big strides on e-waste management as the company exceeded its global recycling goal by 70 percent last year.

 

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Bridges Made From Recycled Plastic

Image Credit: Vertech Composites

Commuters in North Carolina and Wales are the first to drive over two eco-friendly and innovative bridges. The bridges are made from recycled plastic waste made strong enough to support heavy traffic. The world’s first recycled plastic bridge opened in Fort Bragg, North Carolina a few months ago. 94 percent of the material used to make the bridge is recycled, including glass and about 85,000 pounds of high-density polyethylene plastic. That’s the same as half-a-million one gallon plastic milk jugs. The U.S. Army Environmental Command says the bridge not only diverts waste from the landfill, it also resists rot and damaging insects without chemical treatments.

In Europe, engineers have just completed a similar bridge made from recycled water bottles and sandwich containers. The bridge crossing the river Tweed in Wales was installed in just four days after being constructed off-site. The bridge in Wales was designed by U.K. based company Vertech Composites. Because it is made from plastic the company says the recycled bridge will never rust or require regular maintenance or painting. Vertech says the bridge is expected to last 50 years which would result in a savings of $300 dollars per square foot compared with bridges made with traditional materials.

Vertech hopes to make its recycled thermoplastic products more widely available as a replacement for timber, laminated products and other virgin materials. CEO of Vertech, William Mainwaring, says “With this unique technology we can now recycle it ourselves to produce increasingly sought after high quality and sustainable construction materials for the European market.”

 

 

 

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Big Brands Test New Recycling Labels

Image Credit: GreenBlue

Five major companies are taking part in a national pilot of new, voluntary recycling labels. The goal of the new labeling system is to reduce confusion and provide consumers with clear instructions on how to recycle product packaging. Developers of the new labels say they will create a harmonized system that will help consumers and companies recycle more.

The Package Recovery Label System is being launched by the sustainability non-profit GreenBlue. The new labels include symbols for widely recycled, not yet recycled and limited recycling with instructions on how to get local information on recycling. A new website www.how2recycle.info has information on how to find local recycling information along with information for local governments and companies interested in getting involved.

Costco, Microsoft, ConAgra Foods, REI and Seventh Generation will be the first companies to test the new labels beginning in January 2012. The labeling program is modeled after a similar initiative used by more than 100 companies and 90 percent of products sold in the United Kingdom. The labels adhere to the Federal Trade Commission “Green Guides” and use nationally accurate recycling data.

GreenBlue also released its new Labeling For Package Recovery report. The report details the challenges of inconsistent and misleading labels on packaging. The report recommends labels drive positive action by consumers, be enforced nationwide and be easily recognized.

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Huge Energy Potential In Landfill Plastic

 

There is real value in some of the garbage that ends up in landfills. A new study says if all of the plastic sent to the dump was instead turned into energy, it could power more than 5 million homes every year. The Columbia University study found that while plastics recycling is on the rise, 85 percent of plastic waste ends up in landfills. The study also found if petroleum-based plastics were sent to a plant that converts plastics into fuel oil, enough fuel would be produced to power six million cars for a year.

Authors of the study say capturing energy from plastics and other waste makes sense because it provides a good domestic source of energy with minimal impact on the environment. In the U.S., plastics are primarily made from natural gas but the study says new technologies in other countries are turning non-recycled plastics into crude oil, electricity and other fuels.

The study also broke down how much plastic is being recycled and how much is being sent to the landfill in each state. Connecticut has the best record with a recovery rate of 65 percent that includes both recycling and waste-to-energy conversion. Columbia researchers say as the U.S. looks for alternative fuel sources, research like this is crucial to helping identify alternative energy for policy makers.

 

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'Know Where To Throw Program' Promotes Reuse and Recycling

October 13, 2011

A new waste diversion program in Arizona is designed to save space at the landfill and help those in need. The ‘Know Where To Throw‘ program educates residents about the potential to reuse or recycle many of the things they normally throw away. It’s estimated about 35 percent of household waste goes into city recycling containers that are collected. The goal of the new program is to get residents to recycle or donate items that often end up in the garbage because they can’t be collected in curbside recycling programs.

To kick off the program, the city of Tucson is holding a drive to collect things that may normally get overlooked. The city will collect crayons for educational programs, eyeglasses for the Lions club to deliver worldwide to those in need and athletic shoes which will be shipped to Nike where they are broken down and shredded for use in new shoes and athletic surfaces.

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