DC Recycler: Another Great Blog.....

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Another Great Blog.....

My Plastic-Free Life

There are a lot of folks out there promoting eco-living. A friend pointed me to one that has a lot of great information - My Plastic-Free Life. There are all sorts of reasons to not use plastic _ plastic can impact our own health, and it doesn't breakdown easily contributing to trash on land and in the ocean. That said, if you've ever tried to minimize the amount of plastic you consume, you'll find it's very challenging. This blog gives some practical solutions...and gives road test reports on plastic-free products!

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Where Can I Recycle........

Almost anything: FreeCycleDC; Craigslist DC there's a "free" section under "Items for Sale"; Junk in the Trunk will haul away your goods and recycle what they can; post on your community list serv.

Autos/Cars/Boats and Motorcycles: your best bet may be to donate them to your favorite charity for a tax deduction. Donation Line provides a list of qualifying and participating local charities. Wheels for Wishes tows away and recycles or auctions off old vehicles for charity at no cost to you!

Batteries: spent rechargeable from power tools, laptops, cell phones, appliances):Call2Recycle;spent regular: DC E-Recycling, in the food room in the basement of the Library of Congress Jefferson Building; and any Mom’s Organic Market location.

Bicycles, reusable tubes, tires, and tools: City Bikes, BikeRack (1412 Q St. NW) and Bicycle Space (459 I St. NW) all accept used bikes, tools reusable tubes and tires for Bikes for the World.

Blankets and sheets: Humane Rescue Alliance 71 Oglethorpe St. NW and 1201 New York Ave, NE).

Books: most every library (anywhere) has a "friends of "group that organize regular sales of used books, DVDs, CDs, etc to raise money for the library. The SE Library by Eastern Market metro has a book donation drop off on the D St SE side. Books are sold with proceeds going to the library. Or, donate to a Little Free Library in your neighborhood.

Brita water filters: Whole Foods (1440 P St NW) but call first! Any Mom’s Organic Market location. I also hear that these can be left in your refrigerator to absorb odors….and make a cheap bottle of gin taste like the good stuff!

Building materials: Community Forklift (they take/sell vintage hardwood flooring, doors; sinks, cabinets; lighting, sinks, etc, just 5 minutes from DC in Prince George's Co.), Habitat Restores(newer goods that you'd find in a home improvement store, locations in Montgomery Co. and Alexandria).

Cell phones: Hope Phones, DC E-Recycling, any Best Buy, and any Mom’s Organic Market location.

Clothes: Organize a clothes swap with your friends or at work. Naylor Road Shelter (2601 Naylor Road SE; blankets, dishes, towels, other household items),Community for Creative Non Violence (CCNV, 425 2nd St NW; clothes and jackets), EFFORTS(1416 N Capitol NW), Hannah House (612 M St NW); STRIVE DC (715 I St NE; business attire); Suited for Change(McPherson Sq; business attire). DC’s own Texiles will pick up at your home..Or.. drop of used clothes of any brand and in any condition to any H&M location.

Compact fluorescent bulbs: Berkshire Hathaway Home Services PenFed Realty; 216 7th St SE.

Composting: bioplastics(corn utensils and cups, etc.): EnviRelation; foodscraps: Common Good City Farm, Compost Cab; EnviRelation, Fat Worm Compost. Free compost is also available to DC residents at the Fort Totten transfer station every Saturday (except holidays).

Computers and related hardware: Best Buy, First Time Computers(3101 12th Street NE). (see equipment they will/won't accept here).

Concrete recycling, sand, gravel, topsoil and landscaping supplies: DC Materials (they accept donations and sell recycled (left over) goods).

Corks (real ones, no plastic): Cork and Fork (1522 14th Street NW; MD, VA); Firefly (1310 New Hampshire Ave, NW - drop off just inside restaurant, don't be shy!!); Hayden's Liquor Store (700 N Carolina Ave SE);ReCork; Schneider's of Capitol Hill (300 Massachusetts Ave NE); Cork ReHarvest; call first but possibly Whole Foods(1440 P St NW and 2201 Eye St NW – a la Foggy Bottom metro);Yemm and Hart. Any Mom’s Organic Market location.

Cosmetic containers: L’Occitane in Georgetown.

Crayons: Send used crayons to Crazy Crayons’National Crayon Recycling Program.

DenimBlue Jeans: Send them off to be turned into insulation! Check out bluejeansgogreen.org Mom’s Organic Market will also take it during seasonal drives!

Drink pouches, energy bar and candy wrappers...and more! Terracycle Brigades (a great way for groups to raise money and recycle!). You can also drop them off at any Mom’s Organic Market location!

Electronics (computers, TVs, CDs/DVDs, batteries, etc.):DC E-Recycling, Gazelle, BuyMyTronics and Nextworth(for cash) Apple (postage paid), Dell, Freecycle, Project Reboot.

Eyeglasses (prescription or non-prescription): any LensCrafters (Farragut West), Pearle Vision (Falls Church), Sears Optical (Landover), or Target Optical (Greenbelt). Any Mom’s Organic Market location.

Flags: American Flag Disposal

Food Waste: DC now has food waste drop offs in each Ward on Saturdays. Some of these drop offs may be seasonal, so do check out the link above for updates.

Hair: long natural, gray, and dyed hair can all go to Locks for Love. It’s a great cause!

Keys: See KeyforHope with proceeds going towards feeding homeless.

Magazines: Drop them off at your dentist/doctor's office, next to the coffee machine at work, at the barbershop/hair salon. Pass 'em on!

Oils (for Fuel): GoodGrease provides a waste oil marketplace, wvo (waste vegetable oil) how-tos, wvo help forums, diesel and wvo deals, and new advances in the world of grease power.

Packing Peanuts: UPS stores, Mailboxes Etc or try Freecycling!.

Paint: Several hardware stores around town are now participating in PaintCare. Check out the details!

Plastic nursery/garden pots: Cultivate the City will take pots in good condition at their Jenks&Son Hardware location.

Plastic bags: Plastic bags are no longer accepted in DC recycling. Pass yours along to neighbors w/ dogs or drop off at your supermarket. Use this handy link!

Printer cartridges: Castle Ink.

Running shoes: The Nike Store, 3040 M. St NW (they have a recycling box). Nike Grind grinds up your old running shoes and makes them into gym floors, playground, and running tracks. There’s a list of drop off locations or you can mail them in to Nike Grind Processing; 3552 Avenue of Commerce; Memphis, TN 38125. Download a Mailing Label. Any Mom’s Organic Market location.

Shoes: Any Mom’s Organic Market location.

Sodastream Carbonators (for soda water):Hill's Kitchen(Eastern Market),Bed, Bath and Beyond, Sodastream.

Thermostats: Frager's, TRC.

Trophies, plaques, sculptures, and medals: mail them to Lamb Awards and Engraving or AwardsMall.com.

Video Games: BuyMyTronics.

Wedding Dresses: check out the suggested links in this article.

Wind/Solar options for your home: Clean Currents; SolarDC listserv; Solar Solution

Yoga Mats: Humane Rescue Alliance, Yoga District(a couple of locations around town) also accepts used yoga mats for use in Yoga Activist outreach classes.

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Thursday, August 4, 2011

Another Great Blog.....

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