Archive for July, 2009

New York City Pitches Door-to-Door E-waste Collection Law

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

On July 31, 2009, a new law will go into effect in New York City that will require manufacturers to provide free, door-to-door electronics collection to city residents.  It is New York City’s way of attempting to keep hazardous items, such as e-waste, out of landfills.

Yet, per usual, no law can ever be introduced without some backlash.  Two main critics include the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC); they have decided to sue to city.  They claim that this law will only put unnecessary trucks into neighborhoods, leading to pollution and congestion.

Other reasons behind their law suit are that NYC is asking manufacturers to pay for the pick-up and disposal of the items, even items they did not produce, and to do it free of charge to the consumer.  Furthermore, they must track and report all of their sales and recycling amounts.

Many people feel that this is just one extreme method to have manufacturers assume more responsibility for their products and that this is a poor way to do complete the task.  Others feel that this is a great interaction between the government, consumers, and manufacturers because the government is finally delivering justice to consumers by forcing manufacturers to be responsible for the products they produce.

What are your thoughts: do you think this is the most effective way to achieve the goal of encouraging e-waste recycling?

AT&T Launches Cell Phone Recycling Initiative

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

AT&T has begun to recycle cell phones in full force.  They have implemented recycling in their stores, online, and through their customer programs.  In order to ensure that the donation process is extremely easy for people, AT&T will have designated drop-off areas at each store location throughout the United States and will offer free prepaid shipping labels online.

AT&T has partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on this initiative.  Matt Hale, Director of the Office of Resource Conservation and recovery at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states, “We encourage wireless users to do what they can to reuse or recycle old cell phones because they’re made of valuable materials like precious metals, copper, and plastics – all of which require energy to extract and manufacture.”

AT&T encourages you to recycle all cell phones, no matter which wireless provider you have chosen.  They are committed to recycling every type of cell phone because it will have a positive impact on the environment.

Recycling for Charities offers this same type of service.  You can not only recycle your used cell phone but also your used digital camera, iPod, MP3 players, and PDAs.  Click here to donate and give the proceeds to a charity of your choice!!

Retailers Are Embracing Green Products and Practices

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

It is now becoming increasingly common for retailers to choose to sell green products and choose to carry out green practices.  The companies that are participating in this trend towards sustainability in all sectors are the ones that have shown better-than-average growth in annual sales.

A study was conducted by Retail Systems Research and they asked retailers to explain why they were using green practices and how they ere implementing their new green practices.  The study found that environmental consciousness is on the rise among retailers and that it is no longer being used on a strategic basis nor is it secluded to specific departments; more and more retailers see sustainable practices as worthwhile!

GreenBiz.com claims, “retailers that have begun adopting green practices are branching out further into business operations than in the previous survey: In addition to store energy efficiency projects, respondents noted increased focus on IT efficiency and optimizing their logistics, supply chains and packaging.”

Wal-Mart has been swept up into the trend with the steps they have taken to be a more sustainable store.  Make sure your business does not get left out of the trend!

EcoFinder App For iPhone Users Encourages Recycling Efforts

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

What did people do before there was an iPhone app for just about every aspect of life?  There are iPhone apps for virtual lighters and a “Hold On” app (an app that allows you to see how long you can keep your thumb on the Hold button without moving it).  All-in-all there is an app for just about everything you can think of!

Yet, aside from all of the iPhone apps that seem to have little or no relevance at all, one app that is potentially very useful and extremely relevant is called the EcoFinder application. The EcoFinder application allows residents of the San Francisco Bay Area to find recycling areas for items ranging from anti-freeze to mannequins.

This application is free and was released by the San Francisco Environment Department.  It allows users to search for the specific item they would like to recycle and then provides details regarding sites that accept this item and whether or not there is a cost associated with recycling that item.  Thus far, 2,900 people have signed up for the free resource and people in other cities are interested in duplicating this app.

Interested in downloading this app?  Click here. And if you find yourself desirous of recycling a cell phone, iPod, MP3 player, digital camera, or PDA, Recycling For Charities is the place to do that—donate now!

Wal-Mart Becomes Eco-Friendly

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Wal-Mart, one of the largest retailers in the world, announced via webcast and conference call with bloggers and journalists that they are going to begin their sustainability efforts.  Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke announced that Wal-Mart would take into consideration everything from recycling to packaging.

Duke also spoke of Wal-Mart’s Zero Waste Initiative in which each action throughout Wal-Mart’s supply chain system would be changed in an effort to promote efficiency and sustainability. Wal-Mart will create a Sustainability Index of which will outline the eco-friendly nature of their production and distribution processes. In order to gauge companies’ efforts towards emissions targets and other eco-friendly initiatives, Wal-Mart has released a questionnaire document.

It is monumental that a company of this size is undertaking an initiative of this caliber and they aren’t going to stop there. Wal-Mart also outlined a plan for their Sam’s Club stores. The Sam’s Club stores will receive a Home Efficiency Aisle that will provide items to consumers that are eco-friendly and packaged in sustainable packaging.

How do you feel about Wal-Mart’s latest initiative?  Do you think they will carry out their proposed actions or do you think they will fail?  Leave a comment below!

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