Too good not to share

I know, I know, I'm on hiatus. However, CostCo now has a recycling program that I had to share:

Costco’s Trade-In & Recycle Program now puts more money in your wallet. Responsibly trade-in electronic gadgets (such as laptops, cell phones, LCD monitors, digital cameras, MP3 players, gaming systems & more) for Costco Cash good for anything in Costco warehouses or at Costco.com.

1. Click here to visit the trade-in website.
2. Find the value of the items you would like to trade-in.
3. Ship the items to Gazelle for free.
4. Once your items are evaluated, receive a Costco Cash Card within 10 days.

Costco has teamed up with Gazelle, the industry leader in electronics trade-in, to offer this program. Gazelle will evaluate your items to confirm value and then safely and securely remove personal data prior to issuing the Costco Cash Card. Free shipping is offered on all transactions with a value of at least $1.

Costco’s Program currently enables you to both trade-in and recycle electronic gadgets in more than 15 categories, and we continue to add more each month. However, for items we do not yet accept (such as faxes, printers, and TVs), you can use the Recycler Network Directory to find a local recycler near your home. Contact information is provided for each recycler.

The Trade-In & Recycle Program is available to all Costco members.

Gazelle is the industry leader in electronics trade-in and is based in Boston, MA. Gazelle is committed to providing an easy, fast, and safe way for consumers to get rewarded for selling unwanted electronics or to recycle them responsibly. To date, thousands of consumers have used the service as a way to clean out closets, get cash and help out a good cause.

Gazelle believes that data privacy and security are extremely important. All items are wiped of personal data and reset to factory settings. For items with hard drives, Gazelle utilizes Department of Defense approved software and performs all tasks in a controlled, secure environment.

Preserve

How cool is this?

Preserve started the Gimme 5 program to help more people recycle their #5 plastic. Products packaged in #5 plastic are sold widely, but #5 is not recycled in most communities. By recycling your #5 plastic through the Gimme 5 program, you are saving plastic from being sent to landfills, keeping the plastic local by recycling it here in the USA, and you are helping to turn it into new Preserve products.
You have two ways to Gimme 5:

Send it to us (see below).
Drop your #5s at a Preserve Gimme 5 bin (available in select Whole Foods Market stores).
Click here for a list of locations.

•Mail or drop off any CLEAN plastic item with a #5 stamp on the bottom.
•Common #5s include yogurt cups, sour cream containers, hummus tubs, and medicine bottles.
•Through our partnership with Brita, we accept Brita filters for recycling. Click here to learn how to recycle your Brita filter.

To Gimme 5 by mail:
•To help make this program a win for the environment, it is important that you send your plastics back to us via ground shipping (as opposed to air). Reuse a box if you can!
• Make sure to include your return address on the box and add your name and email address inside the box so we can thank you for your good work.
• Unfortunately, we are unable to pay for you to mail your #5s to us. However, our retail-based Gimme 5 program (starting in January) will allow you to drop off your used #5s at no cost.

Send Gimme 5 shipments to:
Preserve Gimme 5
823 NYS Rte 13
Cortland, NY 13045

If you have any questions about the Gimme 5 program or need to get a shipment approved,
call us at 888-354-7296.

I blogged about their Brita filter program, but had no idea about all the other cool recycling stuff they do. Read on:

Recycline makes Preserve®– a line of stylish, high performance, eco-friendly products for your home. As a company, we strive to combine socially and environmentally responsible business practices with groundbreaking design to create products that people feel good about having in their homes. We believe that choosing eco-friendly products doesn’t mean having to sacrifice quality, price, or performance. We believe they should make you feel good.

When you are done using products you purchase from them,

Preserve toothbrushes, razor handles and tongue cleaners can have a second life as plastic lumber for park benches, decks and more! 

Very cool.

Do you Brita?

If you use the Brita water filter, a company called Preserve is now recyling for them. Their Take back the filter campaign launches soon so hold onto your used filters:

In a nutshell, beginning in January, folks will be able to drop off filters at Whole Foods Markets or mail them in. Preserve, a U.S. company manufacturing household products from recycled plastic, will recycle 100% of the plastic casing. And the filter material will be regenerated or converted to energy.

This accomplishment is the result of an on-line petition that put pressure on Clorox to recycle Brita filters. Amazing what a few seconds and a click of the mouse can do. Rock on all you lazy petition-signing liberals!

Recycling Tips

Here's a good article on stores that recycle your stuff: everything from batteries, shampoo bottles, CFLs, and cell phones to motor oil, packing peanuts and wine corks.

Here's an article on things that should not be recycled. Hint: pizza boxes, although cardboard, do not go in the recycle bin! The author also helps shed light on which plastics to recycle and where to put them.