Wear sustainable shoes with Eco Sneaks

Looking to make a difference with your feet?

A company called Simple Shoes has developed the Eco Sneak, a sustainable pair of sneakers that "uses materials like recycled car tires, certified organic cotton, PET (think recycled plastic bottles), recycled bike tires, and hemp."

Simple Shoes uses the shoe box to make a statement, as well:

The box is made from 100% post consumer recycled paper and printed with soy-based inks. The shoes have foot forms made from 100% post consumer paper pulp inside them when they arrive in the box. This is the only other packaging that comes with the shoes. No plastic, no excess paper stuffed inside the shoes, nothing.

A new pair of Eco Sneaks will set you back $55-70.

Hope for e-waste in Nigeria

That's the great thing about recycling electronics: what most Americans consider obsolete is pretty advanced for developing nations.

Time-lapsed e-waste collection

Here's how they do it in Vermont.

Small Dog Electronics, an Apple reseller and electronics store, hosted a five-hour e-waste event where they collected 150 tons of electronic waste (e-waste).

This video was made using time-lapsed images over an hour. Look at all those recyclers!

Recycling Jackson at Earth Day 2009

Recycling Jackson participated in the Jackson Outdoor Coalition's third Earth Day activities at Cascades this past weekend.

Despite the rain, we answered many questions and passed out lots of coloring books and bags for the kids.

Don't forget to plant the saplings we handed out - today's Earth Day!

Bad news: only pastics #1-2 accepted

Recycling Jackson received unfortunate news from Northwest Refuse: they're no longer accepting colored glass or plastics numbered #3-7.

"Due to circumstances beyond our control we are unable to locate a market and are therefore no longer able to accept the above items as recyclable materials," Northwest told us in a letter.

Now they're only accepting clear glass and plastics #1 and #2.

The recycled material market hasn't been kind to recyclers lately.

Northwest tells us that they're working on updating the drop-off site signage to reflect the changes. It was nice when we could say any type of plastic is acceptable for recycling; let's hope we get back to that soon.

Wired: 'Where Gadgets Go To Die'

Wired.com has a great photo essay about an electronics recycler in California - including piles of material (above) that gets reused.

The staggering thing is seeing those piles of electronics and realizing it's only the tip of the iceberg.

Wired also posted a manufacturer-specific "how to recycle e-waste" article on their How-To Wiki.

Join us at American 1's Project: Zero Waste

Recycling Jackson is participating in American 1 Federal Credit Union's new Project: Zero Waste day.

Project Zero Waste is a chance for Jackson County residents drop off materials like metal, plastic, paper, Styrofoam, tires, and e-waste to be disposed of in an environmentally-responsible manner. The day will take place Saturday, April 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Jackson County Fairgrounds.

Residents will have to pre-register to participate in the event. Most items will be taken free of charge, but some – like TVs, tires, and LP tanks – will carry a minimal charge. Recycling Jackson will take e-waste items. The good news is that we'll take the first TV or monitor you bring for free, and only ask for a donation after the first one. Recycling Jackson is also accepting the usual computers, laptops, batteries, printers, and anything else with a circuit board - except that we're accepting most of it for free.

We're joining Goodwill, Sam’s Club, Northwest Refuse, Emmons Services, OmniSource, Rapid Refill Ink, Dart Container, Pak Mail, and HUCO Kurpinski Recycling – along with the City of Jackson, the Jackson County Fairgrounds, and American 1 – to put this day on.

Plus, Project: Zero Waste kicks off a weekend of events in Jackson that will celebrate Earth Day and environmental stewardship. There’s also a big event at Cascades park on Sunday, April 19 sponsored by the Jackson Outdoor Coalition.

County residents who want to participate can download a registration form online at projectzerowaste.com, or pick one up at any American 1 branch. Registration forms are now due by April 10 (American 1 just extended the deadline). We're asking that people get registered just because of the traffic and timing issues.

A full list of accepted materials is also available at projectzerowaste.com.