TangibleGreen Blog

TangibleGreen Tip - Cash for E-Trash

11/28/2018

Landfilled Cellphones

E-waste is a term describing electronics at the end of their useful life. Electronics encompass anything from cameras to clocks, cell phones to laptops. E-waste is a major concern for multiple reasons, one of the most important being that it’s a relatively new waste stream and has grown in volume exponentially in a very short period of time. Consider this: 15 years ago cellular phones were just becoming mainstream, still in the mass marketing development stage, today about 50 million cell phones are replaced worldwide each month, and only 10% are recycled world-wide.

Computer e-waste

E-waste disposal practices overseas can be unhealthy to both humans and the environment

It is estimated that the US now dumps between 300 million and 400 million electronic items per year, and less than 20% of that e-waste is recycled. Even more concerning is that E-waste represents 2% of America's trash in landfills, but it equals 70% of overall toxic waste. The extreme amount of lead in electronics if allowed to degrade into the ground or leach into groundwater can cause damage in humans to the central and peripheral nervous systems, the blood and the kidneys. But lead can also be extracted from a device and reused. Other commodities that can be extracted from electronic equipment and reused as valuable raw material in the manufacture of new products are steel, aluminum, gold, silver, titanium, copper, nickel, plastic, and glass. It only makes sense to recycle electronics: extract all reusable materials saving money, and making certain that toxins are being properly handled and reused or disposed, saving our planet.

Electronics recyclers provide comprehensive recycling operations. Businesses usually have large amounts of e-waste that may require secure data destruction. There are both for-profit organizations who may pay for them, and non-profits such as ARC Broward, that will provide you with secure hard-drive and data destruction as well as a receipt for a tax deduction.

Individuals can get paid to recycle electronics and keep them out of landfills too. Instead of tossing your gadgets in a landfill when you’re finished with them, get paid to recycle them by using services like getpaid2recycle.com, buymytronics.com, and gazelle.com. E-recyclers will recycle or refurbish your electronics, keeping them out of landfills and paying you cash. Different recyclers take different types of products, so make certain you do your research on-line to see which recycler is willing to give you the best price. And please, whatever you do, make certain your recycling company of choice is certified by R-2, ISO, or another reputable third party verifier, insuring the organization is truly disposing of your e-waste properly.

And there you have it: one simple way you can reduce your clutter and make a few bucks on in the process, almost hassle free!

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TangibleGreen Tip - Plastic, Disposable DOES NOT MEAN Degradable

5/7/2018

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According to the Natural Environment website, 60 to 100 million barrels of oil are required to manufacture a year's worth of plastic bags worldwide, and it takes approximately 400 years at least for a bag to biodegrade. Unfortunately, plastic is the most a common material choice for packaging and carrying in the current disposable society in which we live. Here's the problem, if it takes over 400 years to biodegrade, technically, it's not disposable at all. In reality, we are NEVER getting rid of it, we're just moving it from point A to point B for it to remain at point B FOREVER, or at least 400 years.The impact of plastic bags on our environment is enormous. . Approximately 100,000 sea turtles and other marine animals die every year because they either mistake the bags for food or get strangled in them, says Natural Environment. The "plastic soup" patch floating in the Pacific Ocean is twice the size of the continental United States and is roughly 80 percent plastic, according to The Independent, a British newspaper.

According to the website Earth 911, reusing or recycling one ton of plastic means the equivalent of 11 barrels of oil are saved, but really does that matter when you consider once the bags exist, they are here to stay? Here are some disturbing facts and figures about plastic bags:

Plastic bag facts (From Envirosax.com)

Approx. 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year. That’s more than 1,200 bags per US resident, per year.
Approx. 100 billion of the 380 billion are plastic shopping bags.
An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags.
Only 1 to 2% of plastic bags in the USA end up getting recycled.
Thousands of marine animals and more than 1 million birds die each year as a result of plastic pollution.
The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean.
Plastic bags are often mistakenly ingested by animals, clogging their intestines which results in death by starvation. Other animals or birds become entangled in plastic bags and drown or can’t fly as a result.
Even when they photo-degrade in landfill, the plastic from single-use bags never goes away, and toxic particles can enter the food chain when they are ingested by unsuspecting animals.
Greenpeace says that at least 267 marine species are known to have suffered from getting entangled in or ingesting marine debris. Nearly 90% of that debris is plastic.

In 2008, China started to ban stores from offering free plastic bags; previously, China had been using 3 billion plastic bags a day, according to Treehugger. One of the most substantial efforts has taken place in Ireland, where a tax has been issued on each plastic bag. Paying the equivalent of 20 cents tax per plastic bag used in a store has led to a 95 percent decrease in usage. Maybe we could cut our national deficit with a plastic bag tax, and reduce usage in the US by 95% as well! And whenever possible, ditch the plastic and choose products with as little packaging as possible!

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TangibleGreen Tip - It All Comes Out in the Wash

1/5/2018

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For stain removal, before washing, try soaking the stain with water mixed with Borax, lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar. To whiten whites, instead of bleach add a half cup of lemon juice to the rinse cycle

To refresh your fabrics in between washes, freshen your clothing with a spray and spritz of vodka diluted with water

Adding just a capful of vinegar in with your detergent can act as a color brightener and keep your brights from getting dull and helps prevent static cling

A front-loading model uses a third less water, heat energy and detergent than standard top-loading designs

Did you know that according to the most recent Environmental Protection Agency data the average American family washes about 300 loads of laundry each year? Reducing laundry costs can help families cut their related energy and water costs as well as detergent and laundry product costs.

If you are in the market for a new washing machine, make sure you get a front-loading model, which uses a third less water, heat energy and detergent than standard top-loading designs. Front loaders are more effective and efficient designs, think about it... they have been working hard at laundromats across the world for decades. These days, major brands (such as the Frigidaire Bosch, LG, GE, KitchenAid and Kenmore) are all making models for the home and not just industrial size front-loaders. Make sure your new machine is certified by the EPA's Energy Star program, which signifies high energy efficiency. According to GE, the average family will save enough on energy bills with the company's Energy Star washer and dryer to pay for the appliances in their entirety in 12 years.

Other ways to reduce energy and water use while doing your laundry: use only cold water to wash, only wash full loads at a time, and line dry instead of using the dryer whenever possible.

Some other great opportunities to save money include using homemade laundry products, rather than buying less eco-friendly choices off the shelves. Front-loading clothes washers are designed to use High Efficiency detergent, which means you can use a lot less per load. (Regular detergent will create too much suds, and prevent proper rinsing.) But beyond detergent, you don't need many of the ancillary products sold for laundry. Here are some low-cost natural alternatives to try:

For stain removal, before washing, try soaking the stain with water mixed with Borax, lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar. To whiten whites, instead of bleach add a half cup of lemon juice to the rinse cycle of a medium load of whites or try a half cup of Borax, while adding just a capful of vinegar in with your detergent can act as a color brightener and keep your brights from getting dull and helps prevent static cling.

Instead of over the counter fabric softeners which can cause allergic reactions in those with sensitive skin, add a quarter cup of baking soda to the wash cycle, And for an easy, fun way to refresh your fabrics in between washes, freshen your clothing with a spray and spritz of vodka diluted with water.

It's not just what you do, but how you do it when it comes to saving money on your laundry. Energy Star Appliances and natural products to remove stains, whiten whites, and freshen up your laundry are simple ways to save you money and time!

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Corporate Green Responsibility (CGR) from InsiderGreen.com

11/8/2011

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Gone are the days when Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives began and ended with the aim of giving back to the community. CSR programs of large companies have now grown to include environmental concerns, largely as a result of growing consumer awareness and to some extent, governmental regulation. Of course, the fact that green CSR initiatives usually save the company a lot of money, while generating immense public goodwill is not overlooked by companies. Consequently, more and more industries are making environmental activism a part of their CSR programs.

Most companies, large or small, choose to focus green initiatives in CSR on four major areas – reviewing environmental impact, reduction of environmental impact, promote energy efficiency and conservation of water. The process invariably starts with an assessment of the environmental impact of the company’s overall operations including raw material sourcing, manufacturing, distribution and administration. Once the impact has been assessed either in terms of carbon footprint or greenhouse gas emissions, the next step is to formulate methods to reduce this by a measurable quantity within a certain period. Promoting energy efficiency has the two-fold advantage of conserving non-renewable sources of energy and cutting operating costs. Many companies undertake retrofitting efforts or installing sources of renewable energy as a part of this conservation effort. Water conservation by promoting efficient use of water and recycling waste in an effort to prevent contamination of groundwater is another major component of green CSR initiatives.

In addition to this, companies may also go in for implementing new environmentally friendly policies on a company-wide basis and this may include all the major factors mentioned in addition to ethical labor policies and environmental disclosure. Companies have embraced green CSR by promoting green restaurants (McDonald’s), hiring executives to formulate green CSR policies (Microsoft) and integration of green CSR into business strategy (IBM). Many businesses now recognize that it is important to get into green CSR at an early stage because in addition to stabilizing the environment, it makes sound business sense. Boeing, for example, was one of the first companies to invest in fuel efficient jet engines at times when oil was cheap, and is now poised to supply fuel-efficient engines to the aeronautical industry.

Insider Green Nov. 2009 (www.insidergreen.com)

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TangibleGreen Tip - Cash for E-Trash

TangibleGreen Tip - Plastic, Disposable DOES NOT MEAN Degradable

TangibleGreen Tip - It All Comes Out in the Wash

Corporate Green Responsibility (CGR) from InsiderGreen.com

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