Posts Tagged ‘eco-friendly’

Success Dressed in Green for Earth Day Celebration

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Recycling for Charities could not have asked for a better day to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. The sun was shining down on their eco-friendly Smart Car; the newest hits provided by 98.7 AMP Radio kept everything upbeat and the donations pouring in. The campus of Oakland University was glowing green thanks to students, staff and local community members.

Interested overseers hung out during set up and engaged in conversation about various green facts and how to help maintain our Earth with volunteers from Recycling for Charities (RFC), Sustaining Our Planet Earth (SOPE), Reverb and The Salvation Army. From 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. there were several tables stationed outside of the Oakland Center that provided food, key chains, pins, green facts, seeded pots,  and activities. Students, staff, and members of the community had the opportunity to donate their broken/old phones, iPods, cameras, electronics and clothing. All donors were entered in a drawing for eco-friendly prizes. Recycling for Charities raffled off a Kodak Digital Camera and a Digital Photo Frame. The winner of RFC’s raffle will be announced and contacted sometime next week.

The Earth Day Celebration helped RFC keep 50 tons of e-waste out of landfills. Also, the raised funds were donated to the Michigan Hospice. The Salvation Army walked away with bags upon bags that will help clothe our community and Reverb promoted their Campus Consciousness Tour encouraging students to actively go green. Green gardens will be growing this spring too as the biodegradable pots provided by Bethel Farms and planted with seeds from Siegers were a big hit! The teamwork from all organizations combined to create an exciting, fun and educational environment.

If you thought you missed out on the fun, think again! We will be in Downtown Royal Oak this Sunday, April 25, from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m. continuing the celebration of Earth Day with Recycle Royal Oak. Bring your e-waste!

You can also stay updated about our green initiatives and events by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

Gardening Goes Green with Biodegradable Pots

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

Trying to find a way to make your garden even greener this season? Then it is time to ditch those plastic planting pots that usually end up in landfills anyway and start thinking biodegradable!

No Glues. No Binders. Nothing Artificial. This is how DOT Pots™ describes its unique gardening products. For them, what the pots are made of is just as important as what they aren’t made of. The biodegradable pots are created solely from all natural wood fibers, 80% spruce fibers and 20% peat moss, which are harmless to the environment. The pots, available through Bethel Organics, are the first and only 100% organic, biodegradable plantable pots in the world!

We know biodegradable is a fancy word that is being thrown around a lot in the ‘green’ world today, but what does it actually mean for your garden? Before it has dissolved into the earth, the walls of the pot retain water so that less water is needed. The plant roots, which grow even stronger in the DOT Pots, then easily grow right through the bottom of the pot when they have developed enough. For those of us who have trouble with transplanting, these DOT Pots will be your saving grace. The entire pot is placed in the ground once the plant is ready to upgrade to a bigger amount of soil, so you won’t lose nearly as many plants to transplant shock.

The EPA has reported that only 3.9 percent of plastics are recycled each year, which means our landfills are being filled with tons of waste that could be avoided. And this waste is anything but good for our environment. Most plastics, especially those made many years ago, contain chemicals that are released when the plastic is put in a landfill or littered. These chemicals can eventually seep into groundwater and become a health risk to both wildlife and humans. Using biodegradable pots like the DOT Pots helps keep those pesky plastic flower containers from being made, and ultimately from being thrown in landfills.

Stronger plants, environmentally friendly, no clean up necessary, and no waste created. Why wouldn’t you choose DOT Pots for your next garden project? For more information on these pots and to find out where they are sold you can visit DOT Pots or Bethel Organics.

Looking for other ways to go ‘green’? Recycling for Charities keeps tons of e-waste out of landfills each year through recycling, and helps raise funds for non-profit organizations in the process. To learn more, visit our website or follow us here:

Recycling for Charities would like to thank Bethel Organics for their extremely generous donation. The donated DOT Pots will be used as eco-friendly giveaways at our upcoming Earth Day events where RFC hopes to educate the community about the importance of recycling e-waste.

Reuse Stores Rethink Use of Recycled Items

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Reuse stores are popping up everywhere throughout the country. These reuse stores take old items from empty yogurt cartons to old cabinets and allow consumers to come in and buy them at a much lower cost. The reuse centers are products of the ever growing environmental green movement and the economic crisis. It is common sense to be able to get something for free or at a much reduced cost. It is not only helps your budget being able to find certain items at such a low price but it is also just the right thing to do. Hundreds off these reuse centers have formed businesses that allow consumers to come in and go through what once was considered trash and shop through the odds and ends to buy items to be reused, which keeps them out of our landfills.

Some of these reuse centers operate as businesses to sell reused items for a few dollars to generate revenue but, most are non-profit organizations getting by with grants, government support or income off of sales. No matter the size or vehicle of revenue they are all based on the same idea that for almost every item there is someone that has a use for it.

Not only are they located across the nation but they also specialize in certain areas.  Reuse centers can come in all different sizes depending what exactly they aspire to accomplish inside their business. Large ones like the Loading Dock, Baltimore, Maryland specialize in building materials such as lumber, cabinets, windows, and almost anything else except broken appliances. Then there are the smaller ones like the Scrap Box, Ann Arbor, Michigan that specializes as an arts and crafts shop to reuse items towards creativity. They provide creativity/art classes for children and families and consider their shop as a way to creatively recycle.

Much like what Recycling for Charities, these reuse centers strive keep materials that still have value out of our landfills. When it comes to preventing useful materials from entering landfills both the reuse centers and Recycling for Charities have the right idea. Organizations like the Loading Dock, the Scrap Box, and Recycling for Charities continue promote an eco-friendly environment and the green movement in hope to make our planet a better place.

Now you can feel just a little bit better about going shopping…

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Today shoppers are starting to opt for the Green version of everything. It may be the trend, but it’s helping us all out nonetheless. Until now, it was a bit difficult to find exactly what you were looking for. Fortunately, it has become more common to find local stores that carry eco-friendly products and even easier to find great eco-stores online. What used to be frumpy and inconvenient has now become fashionable and simple to use. Some of the eco-stores carry a wide range of products that can help you to simplify your life. But be careful what you shop for, some stores might try to convince you that something is not damaging to the environment without really having any reason to say so. What does organic, all-natural, or eco-friendly mean? It means the products are less wasteful and less toxic than mainstream products.

From eco-friendly items such as make up and beauty products to large ticket items like water heaters, refrigerators and composters, we are able to compare prices, and potential environmental gains from the product’s use. For instance, when you use a Nature Mill composter it “recycles its weight in waste every 10 days, diverting over two tons of waste from landfills over its life. This reduces emissions of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas produced when organic matter decomposes in oxygen-starved landfills.” www.nautremill.com

Of course you can also find websites such as, greenhome.com, which will help you to completely overhaul your home from toilet paper to appliances. If you are looking for something more luxurious, check out Vivavi for some great pieces with intentional green design. Pristine planet offers links to a range of items from eco-friendly clothing to services for wedding and event planning. If you are looking for gift baskets, go ahead and check out Fresh Unlimited for organic fruit and gifts.

Whatever you may be looking for, somewhere out there has an eco-friendly way of doing it. It may take a few extra bucks or a few extra minutes, but it’s well worth it when it comes to saving the planet and being socially responsible.

Make the Switch to E-books Today

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Reading is one of my favorite hobbies and although I love relaxing with a paperback in hand, I recently realized that this is not the most eco-friendly option for books.  The issue with books made out of paper is that the paper necessary to construct them must come from trees and it takes about 24 trees to produce a ton of printing paper for books.  Those trees should be preserved for the eco-systems they support and the oxygen they produce.  Aside from the issue of paper, paper books need ink and fossil fuels for their production and delivery.

With all the huge environmental coats, Electronic books or E-books begin to look like a wonderful alternative.  E-books do not utilize paper, ink, or fossil fuels and they will never end up in a landfill.  Although they do utilize energy, it is necessary to realize that they use much less energy to create than other books do.  They also do not produce waste, harm eco-systems, or utilize fossil fuels.

Considering Americans buy more than 3 billion books a year, this seems like a great option for the eco-friendly minded.  E-books are space saving, easy to use, and waste-reducing!

Here at Recycling For Charities, we feel that an eco-friendly life is a life well lived.  Do not forget to support your charity and donate your used cell phones, iPods, MP3 players, digital cameras, and PDAs!

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