9 Things that you could recycle November 17, 2007

The useful sources from Co-op America to make our life easier in finding home for our unwanted objects. Hopefully, we all will do a little of our own effort to safe the earth and our own backyard before it turns into a landfill.

1. Cardboard boxes: Contact local nonprofits and women’s shelters to see if they can use them. Or, offer them up at your local Freecycle.org listsev or on Craigslist.org. If your workplace collects at least 100 boxes or more boxes each month.

2. CDs/DVDs/Game Disks: Send scratched music or computer CDs, DVDs, and PlayStation or Nintendo video game disks to Aural Tech for refinishing, and they’ll work like new: 888.454.3223, www.auraltech.com. (For recycling see “Technotrash”)

3. Computers and electronics: Find responsible recyclers, local and national, at www.ban.org/pledge/Locations.html

4. Exercise videos: Swap them with others at www.videofitness.com (See “Technotrash”)

5. Eyeglasses: your local Lion’s Club or eye care chain may collect these. Lenses are reground and given to people in need.

6. Foam packing peanuts: your local pack-and-ship store will likely accept these for reuse. Or, call the Plastic Loose Fill Producers Council to find a drop-off site: 800.828.2214. For places to drop off form blocks for recycling, contact the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recycles, 410.451.8340, www.epspackaging.org/info.html

7. Oil: Find Used Motor Oil Hotlines for each state: 202.682.800, www.recycleoil.org

8. Phones: Donate cell phones: Collective Good will refurbish your phone and sell it to people in developing countries: 770.856.9021, www.collectivegood.com. Call to protect reprograms cell phones to dial 911 and gives them to domestic violence victims: www.donateaphone.com. Recycle single-line phones: Reclamere, 814.386.2927, www.reclamere.com

9. Tennis Shoes: Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program turns old shoes into playground and athletic flooring: www.nikereuseashoe.com. One World Running will send still-wearable shoes to athletes in need in Africa, Latin, America, and Haiti: www.oneworldrunning.com

Technotrash program with GreenDisk is an easily program to recycle all of your CDs, jewelry cases, DVDs, audio and video tapes, cell phones, pagers, rechargeable and single-use batteries, PDAs, and ink/toner cartridges. For a small fee, GreenDisk will send you a cardboard box in which you can ship them up to70 pounds of any of the above. The fee covers the box as well as shipping and recycling fees. 800.305.GREENDISK, www.greendisk.com