How to Make Recycling Fun

Posted by - 0 Comments

Fun Theory and Recycling

Recycling is important because it saves money, preserves landfill space, and supports a cleaner environment. It’s easy for most people to recognize that practicing reduce reuse recycle is win-win for everyone, but sometimes extra incentives provide encouragement for people to think about the waste they produce and to recycle more.

Taking a pledge, winning prizes, and silly mascots foster engagement and involvement with recycling, but what about other ways to simply have fun- does it really make a difference? That’s where the fun theory comes in.

Make Recycling Fun

The video below shows a little bit of fun added into sorting out glass bottles for recycling. Fifty times more people used the bottle arcade instead of a conventional bottle machine!

Read more on thefuntheory.com, an initiative of Volkswagen exploring the idea that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better. As they say on their site, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.

For Your Home, School, or Community

Leave it to technology to add another dimension to recycling bins. Check out these electronic devices named Trash Talkers. They look and function like ordinary containers, but they make a sound when someone inserts an item. The Probotics America Trash Talker is programmed to play 25 different comments, either at random intervals or when triggered when someone puts in an item for trash or recycling. Imagine if a recycling container commented, “Good job!” to you after you put in an aluminum can!

Other comments include “Burp!” and “Hey, is that recyclable – I really like recyclable stuff.” For an extra fee, customized comments are programmable. The possibilities with that feature are endless! If you already have containers, just a talking lid is available for purchase, or just rent a container from them. We suggest that you place bins strategically if you’re having a recycling scavenger hunt, but they’d also be great for schools. Pretty cool!

What do you do to make recycling fun? Leave a message in the comments section below.

Posted in: News and Culture, Tags: , ,
Posted May 18, 2012

Recycled Fences Make Good Neighbors

Posted by - 0 Comments

Recycled fencingFancy putting up or replacing a fence? You’ve got a lot of recycled options. First, see if any of your current fencing is able to be reused. Even if you don’t want to reuse your current fencing materials, try donating the fencing that’s in reusable condition to your local rebuilding supply center. You can also look there for a good deal on materials for your new fence that have been salvaged or donated from other projects.

Recycled Plastic Fencing

Before you head down the street to the big home improvement depot for new fencing, try looking in the fridge. Many items in there, such as milk jugs, can be recycled into plastic fencing. TerraCycle, a company we’ve mentioned before because of their widespread collection programs for hard to recycle items, makes plastic fencing out of recycled drink pouches. Recycled plastic fencing is also found online. Check out Bear Board’s recycled plastic lumber, which looks like wood and can be used for durable fencing or other home improvement projects. Bear Board will also take back their plastic lumber products for recycling.

Here’s an informative video showing how plastic milk jugs are recycled into fencing:

Of course, if you want to tap into your creative side, there are all kinds of interesting objects and materials you can recycle into a fence.

Old doors:

Recycled fence made from old doors

photo: periwinklekog

Road signs: This is the neighbor you want to ask for directions.

Driftwood:

Recycled fence made from driftwood
Bottles:

Recycled fence made from bottles

photo: gruenemann

Be sure to take a look at our post on bottle walls and buildings too!

Posted in: Project Ideas, Tags: , , , ,
Posted May 16, 2012

How to Recycle Headphones

Posted by - 0 Comments

Recycle Headphones Even if They’re Broken

recycle headphonesMost people use their headphones daily, whether on the way to work, at the gym, traveling- you name it. If you find your headphones break all the time, we’ve got a great solution for you to save them from going to the landfill (or the junk drawer) and save some money while you’re at it.

Most people head straight for the trash can with their broken headphones, as there aren’t takeback programs offered from most manufacturers. You can’t donate them, and only the most dedicated would turn them into trendy, tangled headphone art as seen on Portlandia. But fear not! Based out of New Hampshire, thinksound is a headphone company that offers a great rewards program for sending in your old headphones.

Get Rewarded for Recycling Headphones

thinksound offers 15% off your next purchase, and you get an additional 10% off as a loyalty bonus for recycling a pair of thinksound headphones. That’s right- send in and recycle as many headphones as you want, any brand.

Start here: Recycling headphones

I had a moment to speak with President and CEO Aaron Fournier, who explains, “We recycle for the obvious reasons. I started thinksound out of frustration of watching other companies’ manufacturing processes. I wanted to be able to create a great product with as many recycled and recyclable materials as possible.” Their headphones are made with with PVC-free cables and hand-crafted wooden housings that not only look attractive, but enhance sound performance.

For the rewards program, thinksound partnered with a company that separates and recycles individual components of the headphones. Fournier continues, “We create a great product while being as green as possible which is more than a lot of companies do out there.  I was in manufacturing in the past and many companies ignore being green. It’s really strange how many don’t even consider what they are making and what effect they have on the environment. I love audio and I personally wanted to have a way to have as little impact on the environment as possible.”

Big sound. Small footprint.

Other great thinksound reduce, reuse, recycle practices include:

  • Wood and cotton carrying pouch are from renewable sources
  • Packaging is made from recycled materials
  • Smaller packaging size = less materials used
  • Elimination of plastic bubble insert

Many people participate in their headphone recycling program each month, and Fournier says their program is getting more and more popular as time goes on. So what are you waiting for? Recycle your headphones! See their website for more details, and see your nearest thinksound dealer online.

Posted in: Electronics, How to Recycle, National Recycling Programs, Tags: ,
Posted May 14, 2012

5 Uses for Dryer Lint

Posted by - 0 Comments

Go Beyond the Bin to Recycle Dryer Lint

Uses for dryer lint

Creative Commons License photo credit: FelineNoir.com

Dryer lint is that grey, fluffy soft stuff you’re reminded to clear off the lint screen of your dryer before drying your clothes, and it’s got more uses than you think! After wet clothes or fabric have been tumbled around the dryer, dryer lint forms from loose fibers and debris that accumulated in the dryer filter and stuck together.

If you’re like most people, you probably scrape off dryer lint straight into a trash can, but if you’re so inclined and love to recycle, here are some clever uses for dryer lint.

Add Water and Stir

The following uses for dryer lint lead to entertaining recycling projects!

  • To make modeling clay, mix 3 cups dryer lint, 2 cups water, 1 cup of flour, and 1/8 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a large saucepan and stir over medium heat until smooth. Make sure it has cooled before using, and allow it to air dry several days before painting or decorating.
  • If you don’t feel like taking the effort to make fire starters, dryer lint makes great kindling. Just add it as-is along with your kindling and newspaper when starting a fire in your woodstove or while camping.
  • Some people use dryer lint as mulch around plants, but gardeners cite that it is
    not very resilient.

Helpful Laundry Tips

Uses for dryer lintSave energy by using cold water to rinse clothes, as warm or hot rinses don’t make clothes cleaner, and line-dry clothes whenever you can.

Dryer balls could reduce your tumble drying costs by 25%. Nellie’s dryer balls are reusable, completely recyclable, PVC-free, and give you static-free clothes without chemical softeners.

Check out the little known soap nut to clean your clothes, where just a A 32-ounce bag yields 300 or more loads of laundry and saves you serious money.

For recycling dryer sheets, check out the way the crafty blogger at BoBunny made flower blooms by cutting out different sized circles.

Posted in: How to Recycle, Reuse, Tags: , , ,
Posted May 11, 2012

Outdoor Fun: Go on a Recycling Geocache

Posted by - 0 Comments

The Hunt for Reused Items

Reuse and recycle when geocaching

Creative Commons License photo credit: vastateparksstaff

Geocaching is an outdoor activity often described as a “high-tech hide and seek.” Geocachers around the world use a Global Positioning System (GPS) to stash and discover containers, referred to as “geocaches” or “caches.” The hunt for geocaches leads to some great reuse and recycling, and gives even more meaning to the popular phrase trash to treasure.

A typical cache is a small waterproof container in which a logbook is rolled up. When found, the geocacher enters the date they found it and signs it with their code name. Containers usually contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value. Small toys, pins, and coins are popular items. Geocaching is a great way to reuse and recycle film canisters.

Depending on the item used in the cache, reuse items such as:

Keep Reading!

Posted in: How to Recycle, Reuse, Tags: ,
Posted May 9, 2012

Recycled Reefs Made From Trash

Posted by - 0 Comments

Recycling Under the Sea Helps Marine Life

Recycled reefs

Creative Commons License photo credit:NOAA Photo Library

When reef structures are made from discarded items and trash, it adds a whole new dimension to the idea of reuse. Recycled reefs are artificial structures added into the ocean with an aim to foster habitat for sea life.

Marine life such as corals, mussels, oysters, and other creatures that need to attach to things usually fare well in this arrangement. Usually, an artificial reef will form around a sunken ship, as it immediately becomes shelter for marine organisms.

Reef Fail

The Osborne Reef in the coastal waters of Florida was not successful as an artificial reef, and ultimately did more harm than good. Made up of concrete and old and discarded tires, the project was disastrous since materials holding the tires together were corrosive. Tires making up the reef subsequently loosened and hurricanes later deposited thousands more tires on nearby beaches. Lesson learned: Tires aren’t the way to go, and reef building by tossing old refrigerators or other appliances has also not been successful.

In order to be a helpful conservation measure, items used for reefs should be as free of toxic substances as possible. Utilized properly, trash reefs are visited by many divers and attract a variety of marine life.

Keep Reading!

Posted in: News and Culture, Reuse,
Posted May 7, 2012

Raise Your E-waste Recycling Awareness

Posted by - 0 Comments

E-waste recycling

Via: Funding Factory

Posted in: News and Culture, Tags: , , ,
Posted May 4, 2012

Support a Culture of Recycling

Posted by - 0 Comments

100% Recycled Paper at Paper Culture

Every now and again, a company will practice the mantra reduce, reuse and recycle and it will make us stop and really listen. At Paper Culture, there are personalized stationery products for all types of life events and holidays. What sets them apart is that unlike some companies, their entire catalog is eco-friendly, instead of just one line of products. Even their packaging is recycled!

Remember that recycling one ton of paper saves enough energy to power the average American home for six months and saves 7,000 gallons of water. Use the paper calculator to find out how big an impact buying recycled paper makes.

All of the products at Paper Culture are printed on 100% postconsumer recycled paper. As you may remember from our RecycLingo page, postconsumer means materials that have served their intended use as consumer items have been recovered or diverted from the waste stream for recycling. Examples of postconsumer recovered materials can be anything from used beverage containers to wine corks. In this case, using postconsumer paper helps reduce waste, and that’s no small feat.

In addition, as part of their 1,000,000 tree pledge, they plant a tree in honor of your purchase of every order. They also feature FREE services like the Mail & Message, where they stamp, address and mail cards for you.

Other Impressive Business Practices

We approve of these other environmental practices, making a purchase of one of the products at Paper Culture is a step towards buying smart and ethically:

  • Paper produced using wind power.
  • Made in the USA- They are based in California, and production is done exclusively in the United States.
  • Cards to Trees program – Their pledge means they plant a tree with every order placed in an effort to promote reforestation. Since this past Earth Day, they’ve planted over 200,000 trees.
  • If you are not happy with your order, they provide a 100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee, and will refund your money.

Coupon Code Online Savings

We are a proud affiliate of Paper Culture, and your purchase also supports our work. They also happen to be having a sale on bamboo wall art, where you save 20% off all Bamboo Wall Art. Create your own design and upload any photo you’d like or you can use one of their designs. Just enter code: BAMBOO on the Review Order page. You’re welcome!

Posted in: Cool Recycled Gifts, How to Recycle, Tags: ,
Posted May 2, 2012

The Sweet Sounds of Recycled Musical Instruments

Posted by - 0 Comments

Reduce Reuse Rhythm: Instruments Made from Trash

Recycled musical intruments

Creative Commons License photo credit: joncallas

Get ready to make some music! You’ve likely heard the sound of a repurposed washboard or buckets used as drums, but there are other exciting ways to make recycled musical instruments. Imagine strumming a tune from a guitar with a cookie tin for a body. Learn to keep the beat and be inspired by great ideas from bands and artists around the country.

No matter what genre of music you enjoy, recycled musical instruments have something in store for you. Make a melody from stuff lying around your house, or from materials costing only pennies or less at garage sales or eBay. Kids also love to make their own homemade instruments, like “singing straws” and kazoos, out of recyclable materials. The type of trash you choose and the sound it will make guides every project. Examples include a gas-can guitar, a milk-urn bass, trash cans, empty water jugs, barrels, brooms; all of which are saved from landfills.

Keep Reading!

Posted in: News and Culture, Tags: ,
Posted April 30, 2012

Recycled Sculptures We Love

Posted by - 0 Comments

Recycling and reusing materials in artistic ways never ceases to amuse or amaze. We’ve covered some recycled sculptures in the past, like the Silicon Valley egg made from computer parts, a life-size whale sculpture made from sandals, and this public art piece entitled Plastic Bag Monster. Take a look at some other great creative recycling endeavors below. Perhaps next time you take a walk in a park, you’ll find some interesting recycled sculptures too.

Recycled rubber tire sculpture

Creative Commons License photo credit: Jim Linwood

Created for the Love London Green Festival’s Recycled Sculpture Show 2009, artists Katcha Bilek & Franck Lamour created this crocodile from discarded tires and inner tubes.

Recycled metal skull sculpture

Creative Commons License photo credit: dichohecho

Created by artist Subodh Gupta, this skullpture was crafted from steel cans, pans and kitchen utensils.

Recycled dragon sculpture

Creative Commons license photo credit: austinevan

This dragon is made of aluminum cans and plastic bags and was spotted in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, France.

Recycled bottle sculptures

Creative Commons License photo credit: spakattacks

These sculptures are a good reminder not to leave your bottles lying around in the park.

 

Posted in: News and Culture, Tags:
Posted April 27, 2012
« Older Posts