Tag Archive for recycle

Get Cash and Go Green This Halloween!

October 26, 2011 admin Featured, More Ways To Save, Recycling and eWaste

Save Money and Go Green This Halloween
Did you know you could make money this Halloween?  Check out these quick tips and ideas to have a frightfully thrifty and creative Halloween!

To brew up a fantastic Halloween, the recipe is simple:
Costumes – Reuse, re-purposed, or made from reused items
Food – Focus on healthier and organic treats                                                Decorations – Reusable or recyclable
Activities – Games, trick or treating with emphasis on the ‘treats’ & “tricks”

Costumes are where you can get creative!  Use your imagination and make costumes from what you already have, borrow from a friend, or go to a thrift store.  This time of year second hand stores have all their Halloween merchandise displayed and ready to be put to use.  TerraCycle  is sponsoring the Monster Mash Your Trash Costume Contest. Terra Cycle is encouraging us to learn in a hands-on way how every day waste materials can be reused into unique, innovative products.  Enter your upcycled costume by November 4th and you could be one of four contestants to win a gift card for cool TerraCycle upcycled products.

This year think outside the wrapper. Once you decide on your costume it is all about candy, candy, candy and more candy. Halloween is great time to introduce kids (and adults) to healthier and organic treats.  Some of my kid’s favorites are Florida’s Natural organic fruit snacks.  Honestly, they are like candy and it is a treat kids (and adults) will enjoy beyond Halloween.  Many health care providers, especially dentists, participate in the Halloween Candy Buy Back program.  Basically, healthcare providers will pay you cash for you candy or in exchange for your candy they will give you a free gift.  In turn, the candy is donated to charitable organizations such as Operation Gratitude. My dentist pays $1/per pound.  That is easily $5 to $10 for the family, plus the candy is distributed to a good cause.  We all win!

Halloween decorations set the mood for a spooky, fun or festive environment. Like costumes, use your imagination to create an original and sustainable atmosphere.  Reuse your decorations from last year, or re-purpose décor items to make original works of art. Halloween also ushers in the Fall and it is easy to decorate with “edible” decorations. The natural palate of autumn’s rich, warm colors of fruits, leaves and winter squashes make for interesting and fun crafts and décor.

Now it’s time to let the fun begin. Activities and games of trick or treating can be engaging and memorable.  This year, when you get the knock on the door, and hear the words “Trick or Treat!” think about doing a “trick”.  Now is the time to brush up on your magic tricks.  There are several simple and fun card or hat tricks that will give your visitors a unforgettable moment along with their treat.

Share your green and money saving tips to create a memorable 2011 Halloween!

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Yogis Make a Difference Recycling Yoga Mats

September 22, 2011 admin Featured, Recycling and eWaste

September is Yoga Month sponsored by www.YogaMonth.org.  Yoga Month is meant to bring awareness to yoga and to inspire a healthy lifestyle.

I have completely wrapped my arms around Yoga Month and given it a BIG HUG.  You see, I am a yoga teacher and forever a student of yoga. Yoga did inspire a healthier and happier life for me and, in turn, those I share my life with.

However, I was totally unaware that yoga mats are not recyclable and that very few yoga mats are made with recyclable materials.  As a social advocate, this fact did not fit well with my lifestyle.  That is, until I stumbled upon Stephanie Stano, Founder and Director of www.RecycleYourMat.com.

The mission of Recycle Your Mat is to solve environmental  challenges in a socially responsible manner. Since the inception of the business it has been centered around two main objectives – recycle and upcycle mats as new products and reuse mats through donation. These objectives are met through yoga mat collection at yoga studios, fitness centers and through individuals’ shipments of yoga mats.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Stephanie Stano, Founder and Director of Recycle Your Mat.

What made you decide to champion recycling yoga mats?

I received a mat as a gift, but already had a yoga mat I liked, so my used one went in the closet for a while. Shortly after receiving the yoga mat, I started noticing mats in my yoga class and adding things up in my head. If I took class 3 times a week and there was between 20-30 people in each class and only 8-10 were regulars and the rest I saw only 1 – 3 times, then where were all these new practitioners going, and what were they doing with their shiny new yoga mat they purchased?

Who is the biggest recycler of yoga mats? And what do they use the recycled material for?

I get this question a lot and it’s just not common enough yet in the manufacturing industry for people to give full disclosure of where they source their materials (i.e. you don’t see a bag that says nylon for webbing purchased from ABC company and cotton material for bag purchased from XYZ company). We are working on an exciting consumer product with a company that is forward thinking and are excited to announce our partnership with them in the coming months. It will be nice to be able to shout from the rooftops who we work with and are looking forward to promoting our work together!

Do you see a future where there is a cost-effective alternative to rubber mats?

This is a great question. I will say that most of the mats I receive are the low cost plastic mats. My hunch is that most people starting out their yoga practice buy the cheapest mat because they don’t know how long they will stick with yoga, but they want to give it a try. I do see a need for a low cost eco-friendly mat. Until then, I would like to see mats that can be recyclable using the recycling capabilities in place now. Currently mats cannot be remade into mats and they cannot be recycled in curbside plastic recycling programs. I hope someday all mats are recyclable using our current industrial recycling capabilities or biodegradable.

What is your biggest obstacle for “buy-in” into the recycling program?

Cost. Studios pay out of their own pockets to collect and send us used mats. Individuals also pay to send us their mats. For three years, I’ve been campaigning for the yoga industry to follow the electronics industry and other products and tack on a nominal recycling fee for the sale of each mat. Even a quarter fee a mat would help tremendously to expand our collection and open up more opportunities for upcycling. We’ve approached a number of yoga companies about this and it seems no one will be the first to budge, but I think once one yoga company commits, others will as well, if only to maintain their “green credibility”.

Thank you, Stephanie for taking the time to speak with me and for your dedication to making our world more sustainable “one mat at a time”.  Please keep us posted on your big announcement!

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Everybody Needs Extra Cash™ :: Buffalo Exchange

August 11, 2011 admin Cash Commerce, Featured, Recycling and eWaste

Recycling and cash go together like Bert and Ernie.

Everybody wears clothes, right?  So why not sell your clothes and make some money? That’s recycling!

Buffalo Exchange is a national pioneer in the recycling of fashionable clothes for cash. Buffalo Exchange buys clothes directly from you and offers either trade or cash.  Trade is in the form of a store credit and has a higher value than the cash option.  For instance, four shirts and two pairs of jeans will fetch you a $50 trade for in-store credit or $35 cash.  It’s your choice.  To round out the feel good experience, if you accept a token instead of a bag for purchases, Buffalo Exchange will donate five cents to a charity of your choice. If clothes are not accepted for trade or cash, Buffalo Exchange will donate your clothes for you.

If you don’t have a Buffalo Exchange in your area, there may be a locally owned consignment store offering similar services, so check your local listings.

If you don’t need the cash, or can’t be bothered with the hassle of taking your goods to the store, charitable donation is always a good option for your karma and the charitable organization. Many organizations even come to your house with free pick up.  Donation Town is a search engine with organizations in your area that offer free pick up of clothing and other household item donations, making it easy to find local charitable organizations and to schedule a pick up.

From water bottles to clothing, most products have an end-of-life cycle that extends past a land fill or beyond one owner. The Everybody Needs Extra Cash™ blog series will highlight the many ways to earn money with your goods once you’re done with them.

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