Thursday, March 11, 2010

Christmas LED lights still in progress

From Waste in Recycling:
The holiday-light recycling program offered by HolidayLEDs.com has been extended past its original Feb. 28 cut off date.

"We receive several e-mails each day from people interested in the program and inquiring whether it is too late to send us their lights," said Philip C. Curtis of HolidayLEDs.com. "As long as there is sufficient interest and demand for the program we will continue the operation," he said.

The Jackson, Mich., company has recycled more than 10,000 pounds of holiday light strings so far this year. People who send in their old strings of lights receive a coupon for discounts at HolidayLEDs.com.
Nice to see a Jackson-based company doing great things.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Surge in e-waste hitting developing countries

Sales of electronic products in countries like China and India and across continents such as Africa and Latin America are set to rise sharply in the next 10 years.

And, unless action is stepped up to properly collect and recycle materials, many developing countries face the spectre of hazardous e-waste mountains with serious consequences for the environment and public health, according to UN experts in a landmark report released today by UNEP.


From United Nations Environment Program.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Donate online with JustGive.org

Good news: you can now make tax-deductible contributions to Recycling Jackson online.

We've teamed up with JustGive.org, a fellow non-profit that does what PayPal does for eBay; namely, they let you make a donation online. They do all this for a paltry 3% of whatever you donate. So if you donate $10, JustGive.org keeps $0.30.

It's worth it, considering we had no infrastructure to accept donations.

Use the button below - and thanks for any donation you make.



Friday, December 4, 2009

Downtown Jackson recycling site moves to Goodwill

News from the Jackson Citizen Patriot:
The Community Recycling Center will reopen today at its new home at Goodwill Industries, 617 N. Mechanic St.

The center, which is operated by Northwest Refuse and Modern Waste Systems, has been in a parking lot at 209 W. Louis Glick Highway since it opened in 2005. It ceased operations there Monday.

Goodwill Operations Manager Matthew Brown said the store already recycles clothes and computers at its retail location, so the center is a natural extension.

"We're hoping it will boost our donations," Brown said.

The Louis Glick Highway location was chosen because it was convenient for residents on their way to and from downtown. Jackson City Councilman Andrew Frounfelker, whose ward is downtown, said some residents used the site to dump nonrecyclable items despite the presence of signs forbidding the act.

"Having Goodwill manage the city's recycling efforts will remove that expense for city taxpayers," Frounfelker wrote in an e-mail. "Overall the move to Goodwill, I believe, will be a positive endeavor for Goodwill, the city and, most important, the citizens of the community who participate in recycling."

The center will continue to accept common household recyclables. While it has been open 24 hours and unstaffed, it will henceforth be open and staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Goodwill will celebrate the move at noon Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, lunch, refreshments and tours of its facilities.

For more information about the center, call Brown at 787-0570, ext. 20.
Hopefully this will help clean up some of the problems the Louis Glick Hwy. drop-off site saw over its years of operation.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Winter news from Recycling Jackson

Two things we want to pass along.

One, On November 1, 2009, Recycling Jackson began collecting $1 per pound to offset our cost to recycle your alkaline batteries. One pound of batteries is approximately a quart bag full of batteries. To our knowledge, we are the only company in town that actually recycles the batteries. If you are going elsewhere please ask if they are actually recycling the alkaline batteries that you drop off.

For environmental and economic reasons we strongly encourage you to consider using rechargeable or lithium batteries as an alternative to the alkaline batteries that you use.

We continue to recycle rechargeable batteries (NiCd, NiMh) and Lithium batteries at no cost.

Second, Starting in January of 2010 we will only be open on the first Saturday of each month through June of 2010. This is not by choice but due to financial reasons.

About 18 months ago Recycling Jackson was told that we would no longer receive payment for the paper, plastic, glass, metal and cardboard that we collected at our Monroe St. drop-off site. With that decision, the primary source of income needed to run our recycling operation dried up. We had hoped that the funding would come back over time, but the economic situation in our state and community has made that scenario seem unlikely.

While Recycling Jackson will limit our drop-off site operations, we will be expanding our advocacy and education efforts in the community. Those efforts are grant- and local-donor-funded and they continue to receive strong support. Next year, our community education efforts will be a team effort through the Dahlem Conservancy. That partnership will help us expand our education efforts to include the Green Schools program.

Again, I do apologize to our many loyal members for having to make these changes, but Recycling Jackson cannot operate without income. Please watch for more information on an adopt-a-recycling site program that we hope to start in 2010. That program is aimed at keeping the recycling drop-off sites around town clean, and to provide assistance to those that need it for unloading materials.

Watch here, or our web site for details.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

How your materials are recycled



Cool look at a paper baler in California, courtesy of Trash Trip's YouTube channel.

Karen Hawes, the self-described "Queen of Trash," runs the Trash Trip blog. There, Hawes chronicles the travels of trash all across the North and South American continents.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Green your feet

Tread softly by recycling the old and stepping into a new pair of eco-friendly shoes.

When it’s time for a new pair of shoes, breathe new life into your footwear selection with a pair of first-rate ecologically-conscious “green” shoes made using second-time-around recycled materials and natural materials of all kinds, in many different styles and sizes.

When you find a suitable way to reuse or recycle your old pair and find a charming new pair of eco-friendly kickers, you reduce new landfill deposits and help reduce the size of the “carbon footprint” you leave. These are just a few small steps you can take to make a positive impact on the planet.

With an array of brands and choices, the selection of “green” footwear has grown by leaps and bounds. You’ll take the switch to green in a confident stride with a variety of shoes that will complement any style. Whether you’re looking for some all-weather rugged hiking boots for hitting the trail, some sandals for those beach days or even more formal styles like a pair of men’s dress shoes or perhaps a pair of ladies’ stylish pumps, there’s a “green” shoe to fit you!

Shoes are often produced using “first materials,” which puts a drain on resources. From factory production to transportation, they leave a big “carbon footprint” trail behind them on their way to your feet. Certain types of shoes that are made from a variety of materials can be difficult to recycle, resulting in them landing in the garbage bin, further increasing their burden on the environment. Eco-conscious shoes fit the “green” bill because they are composed of recycled materials like recycled rubber and fabrics or other natural materials that need less intense processing and are therefore more earth-friendly.

Once you decide your old comfy worn-out sneakers are ready to be retired, think green by locating a running shoe recycling program in your area. Many areas have shoe-recycling drop-off centers while the “reuse-a-shoe” program offers a mail-in option, as well as information about organizing and starting up a shoe-recycling program in your community if you don’t already have one. Some programs turn running shoes into their favorite counterpart – an athletic-grade surface! Other programs reuse the shoes through charity organizations worldwide. Two good places to begin looking are Recycled Runners and National Recycling Coalition's Rescue-a-Shoe.

After you’ve found an eco-friendly way to dismiss your old shoes from service, the fun begins.

Recycled shoes often take other difficult-to-dispose-of items and turn them into useful ingredients to make a long-lasting, earth-friendly, foot-hugging shoe. For example, old automobile tires enjoy a comeback as part of the latest from Flat Tire Footwear. These green shoes will put the bounce in your step with their unique “crumb rubber” soles made from recycled tires. They’re cushy and comfortable and offer plenty of traction. The line includes men’s and women’s shoes in several styles including sandals, clogs and casual shoes. Many feature suede-leather uppers.

If you need durable, earth-friendly shoes for enjoying nature, the Patagonia Company offers a large variety of hiking shoes and boots for men and women that feature a significant percentage of recycled plastics and cork. They also offer trainers, flip-flops and two-in-one slip-ons, all of which come in very stylish earth tone colors.

If you like tennis shoes or bicycle shoes, Worn Again is an environmentally conscious British company that creates spiffy shoes with great attention to detail. Worn Again boasts products that are made from inner tubes, airline seats and other surprising materials.

If you need some suave dress shoes, Ecolution has designed some great “green” ones for men including hemp oxfords. They are naturally organic and come in black, brown and light tan.

If you feel like splurging, treat your feet to a pair of Beyond Skin pumps or heels. They are available in a wide variety of ultra stylish designs and are all made from earth- and animal-friendly materials.

The Zoe & Zac line by Payless Shoe Source features a naturally different assortment of women and girls’ summer shoes produced by using organic materials and recycled rubber.

The next time you shoe shop, go green with your footwear. The ground you walk on and future generations will thank you.