Recycling a printer uses valuable resources to take it apart and melt all of the plastic down so that it can be used as something else. Sending a printer to a recycling facility is a much better choice than tossing it in the landfill, but it’s not the best choice. Also, most computer recyclers will usually take whatever parts out of it that are still working and resell them.

Who should you give your old printer to? I recommend starting close to you. Start with family, like your grandma, little sister, or cousins. If there isn’t anyone there who can take it, check with neighbors and coworkers. You may have to put a new ink cartridge in it and do the installation, but helping out someone close to you is extremely rewarding.

Other places to donate your old printer to are schools, local non profit organizations, retirement centers, and libraries. These places are usually set up to take donations, so they can also give you a receipt that will allow you to make a tax deduction from your charitable contribution.

Printers are nasty little devices that make some serious pollution when tossed into the landfill. Taking them to be recycled is great, but it’s so much better when you can help out someone close to you or in your community instead. Printer recycling is a very rewarding task, and allows you to make a difference in someone else’s life without doing much work at all!

A fluorescent light bulb recycling program may be something as simple as taking the used bulbs from home or work to an authorized disposal center near you. While this is one way to help, the repeat trips to the center can become a hassle. For many, this could cause what may have started out as a noble act with the best intentions, to fall by the wayside.

The other, more viable option is to purchase a fluorescent light bulb recycling kit online. These kits are available for 4’, 8’ and compact fluorescent bulbs. The kits differ in price depending on the supplier but most start around $50.00. The kits includes disposal bags for each bulb, a shipping box to send them to the recycler and pre-paid shipping labels that take all of the effort out of recycling.

The kits are quite simple to use and are accompanied by a complete set of instructions. To use the majority of the kits, you simply bag each bulb individually, place them in the shipping carton, seal and send. The labels that are included are pre-paid and included in the initial cost of the kit.

Many office buildings and places of employment already have a program in place for the recycling of bulbs and other hazardous materials. For a smaller business, this particular avenue is the easiest way to comply with state laws on the disposal of lamps. By conforming to the rules set by the E.P.A. and many state and local authorities, a recycle program when properly used helps everyone.

Recycle Technologies, Inc. is a leader in Minnesota spent lamp recycling and more.

An average CFL lamp contains between 3.5 and 15 milliliters of mercury. Granted, this amount alone is not enough to pose a serious health risk (although spills must always be properly cleaned). Still, due to the sheer volume of light bulbs used worldwide, improper light bulb disposal could have catastrophic environmental effects, which is why diligent fluorescent light bulb recycling is so important.

One of the biggest concerns with mercury pollution is water pollution. Even a small amount of mercury can contaminate a fairly large area of water. Of course, the biggest threat in terms of mercury water pollution is fish contamination.

When mercury gets in the water system, it gets into eco-system and eventually into the food chain. This is particularly bad for humans that eat fish because pescatarians are very much a part of this mercury laced food chain. Larger fish generally contain the most mercury because larger fish prey on smaller fish that have also been exposed to mercury. Shark and swordfish often contain the highest mercury contamination amongst edible seafood, however, tuna poses the greatest threat because it is the most commonly consumed large fish.

Proper fluorescent light bulb recycling is just one of many steps that need to be taken to reduce mercury levels in our nations’ rivers, lakes, and seas. Industrial sites and coal power plants are probably the largest mercury pollution offenders. Still, recycling fluorescent bulbs is one part of mercury reduction where the individual can most certainly make a difference.

Recycle Technologies, Inc. is a specialist in Minnesota lamp recycling.

The concept of zero waste could change this. Seventh Generation’s Non-Toxic Times Newsletter describes zero waste as

a system in which we never throw anything away. In a zero waste world, whenever any product is used or consumed, whatever is left over afterwards becomes the raw material for something new. Zero waste is a regenerative system, one that mimics the closed-loop systems used by nature in which all waste becomes food for other things.

Zero waste would mean the manufacturer would have to take back anything that the consumer could not recycle on their own at the end of the product’s life. Companies like Nike, Unilever and Stonyfield Farms are already giving their product waste a new life as running tracks, toothbrushes and park benches.

For this system to work, we all need to make it a point to buy products made from recycled material. “Close the recycling loop” is one of the many great tips you can read in the Non-Toxic Times to help you in your transition to zero waste.

Go Zero Plant-a-Tree Charitable Contribution & Certificate  

The answer to the “paper or plastic?” dilemma is: Neither. They’re roughly equal in pros and cons. While convenient addictions, they both gobble up natural resources and cause significant pollution

The statistics are endless…

• Americans use over 14 billion plastic bags every year, the equivalent to 12 million barrels of oil.
• Plastic bags take up to 1,000 years to degrade.
• Even paper bags do not completely degrade in landfills because of the lack of water, light and air circulation.
• Paper bags generate 70% more air pollution and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.
• Hundreds of thousands of marine mammals die each year because they mistake littered plastic bags for food.

What can you do to reduce the waste?

• Just say ‘no’ to the bag. Do you really need a bag to carry 2 or 3 items? Put them in your purse or backpack.
• Bring your own bag. Keep it in the car for last minute purchases on your way home from work. If you don’t already own a canvas tote or other reusable bag, invest in some today.
• Suggest to the manager of your favorite store to offer a rebate when you bring your own bag.
• Pick up litter. When you see a littered bag, pick it up and recycle it appropriately.

Old habits are hard to break. Take it one day at a time, one bag at a time.

Buy a Reuseable Shopping Bag.

Plastics labeled #1 are PET (Polyethylene terephthalate). This includes narrow neck plastic bottles like soda bottles. This type of plastic is likely to be recycled only once to make carpet, fiberfill or shopping bags. There is only a small chance that your soda bottle will ever be soda bottle again.

#2 is HDPE (high density polyethylene). This includes milk jugs, laundry detergent and shampoo bottles. Clear HDPE can be made into new bottles. Colored HDPE is recycled into plastic lumber materials.

Plastic shopping bags are made from LDPE (low density polyethylene) and are labeled #4. They are not picked up with your curbside recycling, but I have found that my local grocery store and some department stores accept them and send them to be recycled. They can be made into new bags or plastic lumber.

If you want to know more about the other types of plastic that we should all be avoiding, valcorerecycling.org has great information.

If you have a favorite product that is packaged in a type of plastic that is not recyclable, contact the manufacturer to voice your concerns. You may want to threaten to take your business elsewhere until they become more environmentally friendly.