What can you do with your coffee grounds other than tossing them in the trash? Actually you can do many things with them and this article will give you some good ideas. 

1. Cleanse your face - Rub the grounds on your face to exfoliate and let sit for twenty minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
2. Clean your sink drains – Pour used coffee grounds into your sink drain, follow with very hot water to push the grounds through the drain. This will kill any smells and keep your drain fresh smelling.
3. Pest Repellant – Mix coffee grounds with orange peels and spread mixtures on your garden. This will deter pests from entering your garden as most pests do not like the smell of coffee and citrus.
4. Boost carrot and radish growth in your garden – Mix coffee grounds with your radish and carrot seeds and plant entire mixture. Coffee grounds will enhance the growth of these vegetables.
5. Use as a deodorizer – Spread coffee grounds on baking sheet and dry. Put grounds in old panty hose and tie off.  Put coffee grounds into container and poke holes in top and place in freezer or fridge. Putting these grounds into these areas and others that need deodorizing will allow the grounds to soak up any odors.
6. Use Coffee Grounds in your garden – for all of your vegetables whether they are in a pot or in the garden. Mix the grounds with your soil and spread throughout the potted container and/or garden.
7. Use Coffee Ground as a scrubber – Keep a small amount of grounds in a container by your sink and use them to scrub a stubborn stain on your pots and pans and/or your greasy hands.

Instead of throwing away your used coffee grounds reuse them. Above are ideas and there are tons more ideas. Every year millions of coffee grounds end up in our landfills. Use the above mentioned ways to recycle the grounds and save space in our landfills and save our earth with each ground you reuse!

Below are some of the manufacturers that offer electronic recycling programs. Please visit company’s website to learn more about recycling program for a specific manufacture.

Apple – Recycling for iPods, mobile phones, computers and displays.

AT&T - A Program for Recycling Wireless Phones, Smartphones, Batteries & Accessories.  In-store drop-off (AT&T-operated and participating authorized dealer stores only).

Best Buy – In-store recycling at Best Buy accepts televisions and monitors up to 32”, computer CPUs and notebooks, small electronics, VCR and DVD players, and phones, as well as accessories such as keyboards, mice, and remotes. A $10 recycling fee per unit will be charged for items with screens, such as televisions, laptop computers, and monitors. However, the consumer will instantly receive a $10 Best Buy gift card in exchange for the recycling fee.

Costco – Offers trade-in program for Laptops, Cell Phones, LCD Monitors, Digital Cameras, MP3 Players, Blu-Ray, Gaming Systems & More. Trade-in your electronics and receive Costco Cash Cards!

Dell – Offers free recycling option for unwanted Dell-branded Products. Offers free recycling option for other brand products if you buy a new Dell desktop or notebook.

Manufacturers Recycling Management (MRM) – Most MRM drop-off sites accept all types and brands of consumer electronics for recycling. All MRM sites accept Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Sharp, Toshiba and VIZIO brand TVs and consumer electronics such as VCRs and DVDs at no charge. There may be a charge for recycling other brands or products in certain states. To see the state wise listing of collection sites, visit the website.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) – Offer variety of options to recycle unwanted computer hardware and printing supplies responsibly.

Lexmark – Offers recycling options for used printers and inkjet and toner cartridges.

LG – The LG Electronics Recycling Program provides consumers with a free and convenient way of recycling their used, unwanted, obsolete or damaged LG consumer electronic products by dropping them off at a designated Waste Management eCycling Center.

Office Depot – Cell phones, PDAs, rechargeable batteries and ink and toner cartridges, monitors, fax machines, computers, printers/all-in-ones, scanners, telephones, digital cameras, DVD players, MP3 Players and more.

RadioShake – Offers Trade & Save program for Desktop Computers, Laptops, Mobile Phones, Digital Cameras, GPS, MP3 Players, Game Consoles, HDTVs, Car Audio, Monitors, Radar Detectors, and Amplifiers.

Samsung – Accepts Samsung brand Televisions, Digital Cameras, Camcorders, Home Theater, Blu-ray and DVD, printers, notebook PCs and more.

Sony – From cameras to televisions, the Sony Take-Back program gives Sony customers a free and convenient way to recycle up to five Sony products per day by dropping them off at designated Waste Management eCycling Drop-Off Centers throughout the United States.

Staples – Offers in-store recycling program for Monitors Fax Machines, Printers and All-in-One Machines, Notebook PC’s, Desktop PC’s and more. Also offers free in-store recycling of cell phones and small hand held electronics.

T-Mobile – Accepts all brands and models of wireless phones, batteries, PDAs, and accessories for recycling.

Source: flickr

Hi to everyone out there, who likes to recycle? I love to recycle and may take it to the extreme sometimes. On recycle day here in my Northern Durham, North Carolina neighborhood I see recycle bins half full and I wonder how this could be as there are so many things to recycle. On a bi-weekly basis my family has five to seven containers full of recyclable items and this is what I will focus on in this short article. Things can be recycled by putting items in our plastic bins for waste management for pick up and items can be recycled  by using them for another purpose.

The fun thing about recycling is that it can involve everyone in your house. You can make it a game for your children and young adults and these games can stimulate their minds and encourage their belief that we need to save our earth. For those adults out there that just do not have the time to recycle or think what does it matter if we just throw things in the trash you can make it a game with monetary value.

So let’s see what things can we recycle?

Soup cans, cat food cans, dog food cans, soda cans, plastic dish soap bottles, plastic laundry detergent bottles, plastic water containers, plastic drop-in baby formula containers, toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, cardboard inserts that come with clothes, the little plastic hooks that attach price tags to things and the pieces of cardboard that show the price of items, cardboard laundry detergent boxes, shampoo bottles, face wash bottles, the cardboard boxes your soap comes in, plastic razors, …….and the list can go on and on….

Of course the aforementioned items can go right into your recycle box however there are others ways to use them too. For instance, empty toilet tissue rolls can be put into your shoes to keep their form, plastic bottles can be filled up with water to water your plants, laundry detergent boxes can be filled with items like pens, crayons, documents, cards, and/or whatever you need to organize. I use my empty laundry detergent box to keep the lent that comes out of the dryer!

This is a short article written to remind everyone that it is so easy to recycle. Many of the things we use each and every day can be recycled. I listed only a few items however there are a ton more. Be creative, use your imagination and keep this world going round by recycling!!

Bass Outdoor Event

If you’ve ever attended an outdoor event or festival (and you’re reading this, now), then the sheer volume of environmental impact such occasions present may very well seem overwhelming (I know that it sometimes does, to me).  To put it plainly, the aftermath is tantamount to a war-zone!

If you’ve never enjoyed such a pleasure, then you might imagine what a single person may consume/discard, in anywhere from a couple hours to a few days. Multiply that by tens (or hundreds) of thousands. Take the resulting product to the exponent of “convenience,” and you might have a point of reference from which to begin.

Thankfully, an organization known as “Clean Vibes” exists.  Their mission, since 1997, has been to offer consultation on, as well as implementation of, waste management practices for the entertainment industry, outdoors.

A relatively small number of full-time managers and staffers oversee numerous volunteers who endeavor (and rather successfully, I should say) to collect, segregate and dispose of organic and inorganic residue; ideally leaving little trace of said event (especially once the local flora and fauna have recovered and returned to the status quo).  Education in myriad supporting concepts is a key component of their service, as well.

In 2009, at the Bonaroo Music and Arts Festival, in Manchester, Tennessee (June 11-14), over 130 tons of waste was recycled, by and large, thanks to Clean Vibes’ efforts.  Almost a quarter of that material was actually composted, onsite!  By weight, 33% of all waste was diverted from landfills (65% by volume!), according to their website.  Results vary by event but, generally, the reduction in impact is equally impressive.

For the volunteers, the rewards include, at a minimum, free admission to the event or festival (plus, circumstances warranting, preferred camping and/or a T-shirt) in exchange for their services in helping maintain and/or prepare the grounds before, during or after the concert(s); or possibly helping out at fixed reclamation centers.  Again, their services vary, as needed, by event.

So, as you enjoy the vibes at whatever large-scale festival you might find yourself in, you may think to notice those who keep them clean and, at the very least, offer thanks that you’re not responsible for the “dirty jobs!”
Peace!

What if you could find someone who was looking for exactly the same stuff that is hanging out in your basement?  Someone who was willing to come right to your home to pick it up?  You can!  Freecycle is a fast- growing grassroots movement that was created to keep useful items out of landfills, and it is just what the name implies – a way to recycle otherwise useful stuff that is no longer wanted or needed, and give it freely to someone who can give it a new life. 

The Freecycle motto is “Changing the World One Gift at a Time”, and the basic premise is that if you have an usable item that you no longer want or need, there is someone out there who can use it.  The first Freecycle group was founded seven years ago in Tucson, AZ, by Deron Beal.  Since 2003 the movement has spread like wildfire: Folks from all economic, social and ethnic backgrounds have joined the cause and now there are almost 5000 groups in existence, in over 50 countries, with nearly 7 million (yes, you read that right!) members worldwide.  

It’s easy to join and participate – just hop onto the Freecycle website (www.freecycle.org) to find the group (or groups) nearest you.  Membership is free!  Local networks operate via Yahoo Groups or a similar service, and members post offered items to the board. A moderator reviews all posts and then emails members to let them know something new is available.  Interested parties respond directly to the owner, who chooses a recipient and arranges for transfer of the item.  Transfer of the gift is usually pretty easy – most people leave things on their porch or near the front door, and the recipient picks it up at their convenience. 

Household items, toys, clothing and furniture are commonly offered, but I have seen computers, snow blowers and landscaping materials offered through my local chapter.  The possibilities are endless – for example, I keep all my magazines instead of putting them in the recycling bin, then once I have a sizeable pile I post them to the board.   Coupons are also popular offerings.

Members are even allowed to make requests for things they need, as long as it isn’t excessive or unrealistic (i.e., requests for video game systems or designer purses are frowned upon).  Freecycle is a great way to fill an odd or very specific need – for example, I’ve seen wanted posts for things like used umbrellas (for a local high school production of Singing in the Rain) and empty paper towel rolls (for a kindergarten craft project).  You can even request items to borrow, if you just need them for a day or so.

Freecycle can help out with fundraising too.  Last year, I hosted a charity yard sale supporting breast cancer research, with a goal of raising $1000.  After searching my own home and asking family and friends for donations, there still wasn’t too much to sell.  So I put out a call for help to my online neighbors: two local Freecycle networks.  I got a great response, and ended up with some amazing items – including an antique dresser, a 50s-era Sears telescope and a working dryer!  And when I realized I didn’t have enough tables to display all the goodies, a fellow Freecycler came through by lending me a couple of hers.  The yard sale raised over $1000 and helped clean out a lot of basements.  What a great way to connect with neighbors, give back to the community, and just feel good that your unwanted items are moving on to a new life.

So what are you waiting for?   What’s in your closet?

I know that issues exist because of too many recyclables getting thrown out with the trash, yet food is a recyclable item, is it not? Everything that is taken from this earth is taken for good, and just like the laws of physics and chemistry, what goes in must come out, or in the case of food, what comes out must go back in. However, food cannot go back in if it sits in a landfill, or gets incinerated.

Food simply can be composted. Simply. Put back in the earth for other plants to take back out. Simply.

But regulations concerning cost of using a separate means of disposal, time, health regulations concerning proximity of a compost pile to University Grounds, these all get in the way of a simple fact. A simple fact that in plain English means: there is no resources (or in other words, not enough caring to put aside or raise the resources), to resolve this little issue.

Yet, there are other possibilities that suggest even food that gets thrown out is taken care of naturally. We can assume that animals eat it out of dumps, or it gets carried by the natural cycle of nature back into nature. But this can only go so far as theory.

The comfort needs to exist. The comfort of knowing, for certain, that the food wasted is disposed of properly. Even if it is not directly taken by animals etc from a dump site, if it is recycled back into the earth, somehow, in some form, it will get back to every creature that needs it.

As I write this article, I have realized myself that I have not done enough on my part in order to solve this problem. However, in writing this, I have realized that I have raised awareness, not only to those who read this, but to myself. I also hope that those who read this, and are affected by a similar problem, are inspired to take a small step towards correcting a large problem.

Even if food does somewhat find its way back into nature from landfills, the principle of the matter is even more important. The resources and time are not given enough attention to solve a problem that has a simple solution.

I will tell you all who read this that I will start right away the quest to resolve this problem, as I have procrastinated in not going beyond asking questions such as “why?” Why is food thrown out?

I encourage all to read this as a personal statement from my own experiences, and to take action with similar problems. Thank you.