By Zem Joaquin, ecofabulous.com
When you have table scraps, you compost. When you have cardboard or newspaper, you repulp and reuse. Many plastics can be melted down and remolded... but what the heck do you do when it's time to dispatch your old, dead cell phone, laptop or iPod, with all those niggly little parts, to technological heaven? Considering the amount of nastiness built in, including heavy metals like lead, mercury and cadmium, it is imperative that they don't just go out with the garbage. As a matter of fact, in California - it's the law. The good news: companies like Green Citizen have arisen to ensure that your old Nokia or Dell moves on to a proper resting place (where it won't contaminate anyone's groundwater). Green Citizen operates out of the Bay Area, where (for a modest fee) it will even do pickups. Their website is a storehouse of info, as well as providing community-building tools and discussions.
Not in the Bay Area? If you're in California, the state has a county-by-county guide; in the Northeast, NLR provides a similar service, as well as focusing on keeping mercury-laden fluorescents out of landfills (NLR takes waste from all over the country). And Staples has just announced that they're taking in e-waste, too - for a fee, they'll even do data transfer to your new computer for you! And now there is now a resource so that next time you replace your laptop or printer you can purchase more eco-friendly electronics in the first place; check out Greenpeace's handy guide.
Zem Joaquin
ecofabulous.com
The towns of Warren and Stark in southern Herkimer County, N.Y. attempted to construct 68 windmills on several farms with the blessing of the landowners. This was thwarted by sreidents of Cooperstown and Otsego stating that they were unsightly and detracted from swimmers in Glimmerglas State Park. Our State Sen. Seward has supported the moneyed interests as has the Holy Trinity Monatery. They are thinking of their own personal gain and not considering the gain our world would have by using these for power instead of the polluting power plants
TEMECULA RECYCLING IS HOLDING A RECYCLING EARTH DAY EVENT ON APRIL 22, 2008. WE WILL BE GIVING AWAY FREE GIFTS LIKE XBOX 360 SYSTEMS, PSP, AND FREE FOOD.
TEMECULA RECYCLING ENCOURAGES EVERYBODY TO DO THEIR PART IN SAVING OUR WORLD. WHEN ATTENDING THE EVENT TRY TO BRING IN ATLEAST 10LBS OF ANY RECYCABLE GOOD. PLEASE SAVE THE EARTH!!