Recycle Used Inkjet Cartridges

If you’ve been chucking your inkjet and toner cartridges in the garbage, you’re not alone. More than 13 cartridges are discarded in the U.S. every second. Learn how to recycle electronics.

It’s easy to reuse or recycle your inkjet cartridges, so get started today.

If you’ve been chucking your inkjet and toner cartridges in the garbage up to this point, you’re not alone. Over 13 cartridges are discarded in the U.S. every second, according to CartridgeFundraising.com.

That’s hundreds of millions of cartridges that end up in landfills every year, made with plastics that can take at least 1,000 years to decompose. Not a good thing.

It’s actually easy to cut down on this waste. First off, some inkjet cartridges can be used more than once by buying a refill kit. If this seems too messy, take your empties (think copiers and faxes, too) to the nearest drop off center to be reused or recycled by others. (Plug your zip code into Earth911.org for nearby collection places.)

Many companies, such as Hewlett-Packard, take them back for free. They provide mailers or labels for you to ship them back to be recycled or refurbished.

It takes about 80% less energy to remanufacture plastic than to produce it new. And remanufactured laser cartridges use about half the amount of oil (a nonrenewable fossil fuel) needed to make brand new ones. So buy recycled cartridges to begin with. You’ll save them from entering the waste stream.

Also see why printer cartridges may be designed to fail prematurely.

Save Some Change Every Morning

Plus, cut down on waste.

Reduce waste, as well as toxic chemicals in the environment, by using a reusable mug at home, in the office and on the go, instead of opting for single-use containers for coffee, tea and other beverages.

If you buy your daily cup of coffee in a disposable container, you are generating about 22.75 pounds of waste per year. Across the country, 25 billion polystyrene (commonly known as Styrofoam) cups are thrown away every year, according to the EPA. That’s troubling, because polystyrene takes hundreds of years to break down, and is made of nonrenewable petroleum. Scientists have also discovered carcinogenic compounds leaching out of polystyrene, possibly even into your hot drink!

Cups made of paper products are easier on the environment, but they are made of trees and can result in destructive deforestation. Even recycled paper cups require considerable energy to produce and distribute.

It’s wise to use ceramic or glass containers for your hot beverages, because plastics can leach out small amounts of potentially toxic chemicals over time, particularly pthalates and bisphenol A. If the risk of breakage is high, and for on-the-go uses, consider stainless steel.

As an added incentive, remember that many coffee shops and university food services offer discounts for those who bring in their own reusable containers. Starbucks, for example, offers a 10-cent discount to those with their own mugs, and this encouraged 13.5 million customers to help keep 586,800 pounds of paper from landfills in 2003.

18 dresses made from newspapers, laundry bags, old trench coats and more.  See the styles designer Gary Harvey showcased at the GreenShows during New York Fashion Week

Do One Thing, Slash Energy Bills 20%

If you can measure it, you can manage it.

Save money on rising energy bills, while slashing your carbon footprint at the same time, with an energy monitoring device. A good example is The Energy Detective (TED), which starts at $139.

The Energy Detective is a small display that indicates household electrical usage in real time and projects your monthly bill — all without using batteries. Research has found that real-time energy feedback leads consumers to reduce their electricity consumption. According to the company you’ll save 15-20% on each bill, which would amount to hundreds of dollars a year.

It’s really quite simple: If you can measure it, you can manage it. You can make small adjustments through the day and see how the savings add up. For example, you may decide you don’t really need to run that space heater, or be reminded to turn off lights and appliances. You can even interface the TED with your computer, so you can do advanced logging and analysis of your home’s energy data.

Head Off Annoying Paper Waste

To save paper and ink, preview your documents before you print, make sure you have the correct number of copies and destination, and use such handy functions as print selection and print manager. It only takes a second or two more, but will reduce the “d’ohs” at the printer tray and save a lot of waste.

Paper accounts for more than half of all trash. Do your part to reduce that by sending only exactly what you want to the printer. Most programs make it easy by allowing you to highlight what you need, then tick a box called “print selection.” You can also specify a page number or range. Microsoft Word allows you to easily output two (or more) reduced-size pages on a single sheet.

Printing only the key information will also help you simplify clutter, and avoid the hassle of hunting through reams of repeated email signatures and other useless text. When printing off the Web, there are few things more maddening than ending up with copies of ads, footers and everything else but what you wanted.

Click here to download the ecofont!  You’ll use 25% less ink when you print!

Save Energy with This Old-Fashioned Device

Save some money in the kitchen, and take advantage of new ergonomic models.

Green your cosmetics!

Chemical-free solutions for your everyday beauty needs: skin care, makeup and more

Want a beauty routine as fresh and natural as the look you’re going for? Whether you’re interested in mixing your own scrubs and lotions at home or simply want to know which cosmetics don’t include all the crazy chemicals, here’s everything you need to truly clean out your beauty cabinet.

Replace your toxic shower curtain

Choose a natural fabric, such as cotton (organic if you can find it) or bamboo, for your next shower curtain and liner.

Know that familiar smell when you open the package and unfold a new vinyl shower curtain? That’s the off-gassing of chemicals from polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC). One of the chemical additives, DEHP, a phthalate, is a suspected carcinogen and has been linked to hormonal disruption in humans. An EPA study found that vinyl shower curtains can elevate air toxins in your home for more than a month.

The environment doesn’t need more plastics and neither do you. In fact, these days more folks are asking is their shower curtain toxic?

7 Home Improvements to Do in 2010

You can get $1,500 or more in tax credits for these home fixes — if you do the work in 2010. So make these your new year’s resolutions

This is the year. If you’ve been sitting on home fixes, waiting for the right time, it’s 2010. Lucrative federal tax incentives are set to expire at the end of 2010, meaning these projects will never be more affordable. The government will cover 30% of the costs, in most cases, and investments in energy efficiency generally pay for themselves over time, since you’ll be paying for less wasted energy year after year. (Except where noted, taxpayers can qualify for no more than $1,500, regardless of the total cost of multiple qualifying projects were performed in 2009 and 2010.)

Spend Less on Printing Photos

A simple step can reduce toxic waste and clutter.

Cut down on waste, as well as use of toxic chemicals, by saying no to doubles at the photo shop, unless you really plan to use them.

Although more and more of us are going digital, we still order mountains of high-color glossies, both due to traditional film cameras and services that work with electronic photos. Many photo processors offer free or greatly discounted doubles to customers, but huge numbers of those prints end up languishing in drawers for years, and are eventually tossed out. Not only is that a waste of space and resources, but their production requires heavy amounts of chemicals.

Processing is the most expensive part of photography, which suggests that considerable labor and materials are required. The waste generated by processors contains silver compounds, some of which are toxic. Borates are also common, which can harm plant and aquatic life. Various non-biodegradable chemicals are also used as surfactants, washing aids and bleaching agents. Some can release toxic cyanide, benzene or carcinogenic hexavalent chromium in the environment.

Instead of doubles, save negatives that come with your prints, or archive your photos digitally. That way, you can make reproductions later for images you really want.