Need an extra incentive to reuse or recycle your old cell phone or iPod? This is the best one we can find. You can trade in your old cell phone or Apple iPod for an Amazon.com gift certificate with the Flipswap Trade-Ins program. This program will first try to reuse the phone or its parts, and it if is not at all functional, they will recycle the product and plant a tree for every phone recycled. Amazon.com and Flipswap Trade-Ins meet ISO 9001 and 14001 certified recycle standards, and will therefore make this trade-in as green as possible.

All you need to do is value your device  (our LG Dare phone is currently valued as a $97 Amazon.com gift certificate), send your device and confirmation (shipping is free to you, paid by Amazon.com) and in about three weeks you will receive your Amazon.com gift card via e-mail (saves on paper)! If your phone or iPod is so damaged that it retains no value, you are still being green by recycling your cell phone or iPod.

Tips:

• When sending your device, make sure you do not waste too much paper on packaging. Try using recycled products!
• Be honest when filling out the valuation form. The valuation form is only an estimate. You will receive a gift certificate based on their review of your device.
• Send multiple devices at once. You can even include accessories. This will require less shipping over time.

For other ways to recycle your cell phones and iPods check out these articles: How to Recycle Your Old Apple Products and How to Recycle Your Old Cell Phones. To learn how to package your cell phone correctly check out this article: Green Your Packaging.

We all know that we should recycle our glass containers since glass is one of the best and easiest materials to recycle. However, what about reusing the glass containers instead of wasting more energy to just recycle the glass?

We recently went to a coffee shop that served drinks in reused glass jars. At first it seemed a little odd, but when you think about it, why not? A glass, or a cup, is nothing more than a container. Why bother buying glasses when you can get them for free?

The only drawback with this method is that your glasses won’t always match and your guests might think you are a little cheap. This brings you up to the second step: letting them know why you decided to use old jars as glasses. They’ll understand and might apply the same method at their homes when they realize how green it is. Maybe you could even start a new trend with this unconventional style.

Give your home a unique touch! Let’s make this the next fashion statement!

Reduce, reuse, recycle is probably the most well known “green” phrase in the world. You can reuse products in many ways, but there is only one way to reuse products and help others at the same time, by allowing your products to be reused by a well deserving charity.

There are thousands of charities in the world that deserve your donations. Since we can’t list them all location by location, we would  like to bring your attention to some nationally known organizations.

For All of Your Goods:

The Salvation Army works to rebuild lives, support the community, and provide comfort to those who need it. They will accept anything from clothing, furniture and household products, to airline miles and car donations. The website has a guide to help you evaluate the monetary value of your  donations for tax deductions, and has locations around the country.

Goodwill is another great organization that will take donations for clothing, furniture and household products. The goal of Goodwill is to use the money from selling donated products to help give those who need it the opportunity and support to improve their lives and get the training they need for a good sustainable job. Goodwill has donation locations across North America and helps with tax deduction forms as well.

Special Clothing Donations

Dress For Success (DFS) is a great organization that accepts donations of women’s professional clothing to help underpriveleged women have the opportunity to succeed in the work force. With the donations by people like you, and the training and support they give these women, they are given many new opportunities to succeed. Check out their locations page for DFS locations around the world. Contact your local DFS for information about tax deductions and donations.

Prom Gown Programs are all over the world. You can donate a used prom gown to one of these programs so that girls at every high school will  be able to attend their own proms without a worry in the world! Most programs are fully tax deductible. Check out the link to find a Prom Gown Program in your area!

Glasses and Sunglasses

Lenscrafters and Sunglass Hut sponsor a great program called One Sight at all of their store locations. They believe that seeing is a fundamental right, and not a luxury. Donate your used perscription or non-prescription glasses and sunglasses at your local Lenscrafters or local Sunglass Hut.

As you can see, there are numerous ways to improve the lives of others by letting them reuse your products! For other local charities in your area, you can go to NetworkForGood.org and search for even more options today!

Be green just by donating. You’ll feel great in so many ways.

Target.com now has an eco-friendly shopping page! As Target partners with Together.com, they provide easy ways for their customers to save money, energy, and the climate. At Target, you can choose from numerous affordable eco-friendly products such as reusable bags, recycled material dining and home decor, bamboo furniture, kitchen and bath products, and natural beauty products for the whole family.

Target stores also have a recyling initiative. You can recycle old batteries and cell phones at the guest services counter at any target store. The proceeds will go to Boys and Girls Clubs of America!

Making eco-friendly shopping easier with one eco-friendly store at a time…Shop Green!

If you work in an office, or run your own business, I am sure you see how much paper is ordered and thrown away daily! Three things need to happen here: we need to use less paper, we need to use recycled paper, and we need to recycle used paper. Let’s see how to transform your office into an eco-friendly office just by changing the way you use paper.

1. Use less paper. If you need to print, print double-sided, and only print as many copies as you really need. Try to send your documents as PDFs via e-mail. PDF programs these days, such as Adobe Acrobat and Nuance PDF Converter, have many editing tools so you don’t need to print and mark up your documents. Simply use the mark up tools on the PDF reader/converter and send away!
2. Buy recycled paper for the documents you do need to print. For brochures, business cards, and other items you have printed, try using an on-line company called Printing For Less where you can have your marketing products printed with soy ink on recycled paper. This company has great service and professional marketing tools. For your day to day printing and paper use in the office, shop for green products at Staples , Office Depot, and Amazon.com for recycled paper and binders. If your customers see that you are a green company, you may score some points there! Think outside the box. Wherelse is paper used? Try recycled toilet paper or recycled paper towels too. Fore more information on eco-friendly toilet paper read our post!
3. Reuse, Reduce, & Recycle. If you have printed copies out that are to be thrown away, use the backsides for scrap paper to take notes and messages. If you no longer can use the paper product, recycle it. Go to Earth911.org to find out how to recycle in your area. Place bins around the office so that employees will remember to recycle. Have a contest to see which department is most efficient with paper use or recycles the most!

There are many ways to green an office, but I believe that handling paper in an eco-friendly way is the first big step every office should take. Present this to your manager, or start your own recycling plan with the paperwork at your desk. Every step counts!

We currently wrote a post on how to recycle your used cell phones in How To Recycle Used Cell Phones and Other Devices. Now we are going to take a look at how to recycle your Apple Products: from iPods and iPhones to your Apple computer and monitor.

iPods and iPhones are constantly being replaced with the newest, greatest version on the market, whether the older version is fully functional or not. There are several ways to recycle these products. First, try seeing if any of your friends who have not bought into the craze would like your iPod or iPhone. If it still works, it might as well be used. If this is not the situation, you can go to this Apple link, enter your information, print a delivery label (paid by Apple), and drop your iPod or iPhone off at your local USPS store.  Please make sure your product is packaged safely, but try to use recycled materials to do so. This process is free, and new purchases are not neccessary.

As for your other Apple products, when you purchase a new computer or monitor, you have the option to enroll in Apple’s Recycling program. If you choose to do so, Apple will send you an e-mail with information on how to recycle your used product. Follow the guidelines in the e-mail, use the pre-paid delivery label (paid by Apple), package your product safely with  recycled material (if you can), and bring your package to your local FedEx store.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a PC or Mac user, everbody can recycle.

Believe it or not, there are tons of organizations that will help you recycle your used cell phones, computers, and rechargable batteries.  Your used devices can be reused by various charities, or recycled to make new parts. Since we cannot list every single one, we have compiled a list of convenient ways to recycle.
more…

Making the switch from plastic bags to reuseable bags leaves us with one problem. What do we do with the numerous plastic bags that we have built up over the year? Hopefully, you do not just throw them away! We have found a website that, with the entry of your zip code, will locate the various retail stores and recycling centers in your area that accept plastic bags. Check out PlasticBagRecycling.org for locations and learn what products will be made out of your recycled bags.

Finally get rid of those plastic bags! What are you holding on to them for? Break the habit, recycle, and make the change to reuseable. Check out our post How To Be Greener Today for info on reuseable bags.

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Ever think you could be green by recycling your worn out gym clothes?

Patagonia and Nike will help! Patagonia will turn your old gym clothes into new gym clothes, and Nike will turn your old gym shoes into basketball courts, playgrounds, and new Nike products. Check out their websites to find the closest place to mail or drop off your gym gear.

Believe it or not, somebody wants your dirty sweats. Make sure you wash any clothes before you send them.

Whether you own a printer that uses ink or toner, cartridges have to be replaced accordingly to usage. The most common way to get rid of the cartridge is to toss it out and buy a new one. However, that cartridge could be reused if it’s properly filled. Some third-party companies offer do-it-yourself kits, but dealing with ink could be very messy. There are many companies that offer this service, such as Cartridge World USA, for a fraction of a full cartridge. A nice way to save money while saving the environment. Depending on the manufacturer, a cartridge can be refilled up to six times in which the cartridge should be disposed properly according to the manufacturer. Some places, Empties4Cash, will even buy used cartridges from you for up to $4.00. Check out if the manufacturer of the cartridge, such as Hewlett-Packard, provides a “return used cartridge” label and container. This way, the cartridge at least gets recycled properly and the manufacturer will pay for shipping.  Also, stores such as Staples, Inc. offer incentive programs for recycling empty cartridges at their stores.

The question remains: What will you now do with your empty cartridges?