This guide, entitled “Living the Green Life” is meant for real people (with kids, budgets and mortgages) who want to do better by the environment. For the most part, it focuses on lifestyle changes—minor adjustments in daily behavior that may seem inconsequential when one ponders the big picture of global warming. But taken in aggregate, as a nation (when all of us do even one thing), these little lifestyle changes have a huge impact.
Photovoltaics on the roof. Geothermal heating under-ground. Spiffy dual-flush toilets all about. This Green guide won’t make any mention of such things!
This compilation consists of 50 of the best ideas for reducing household waste ever printed: tips from engineers, chemists, environmentalists, recycling experts, government agencies, medical professionals, appliance-makers, and gardeners. Everything from cleaning and pet products to microwave tips can be found here.
50 Simple Tips for a Greener Life, 1-25 (Part 1)
26. Printer Cartridges: Recycle. Office Depot, OfficeMax, and Staples take back ink and toner cartridges—and hand you a $3 store coupon for your effort.
27. Printer cartridges: Refill. Walgreens and OfficeMax offer in-store refilling stations in some of their stores. Bring in your empty printer cartridge and a store clerk will refill it on the spot (or in a matter of 10 minutes or so) and at a price that beats buying a new one. Walgreens charges $10 for black cartridge refills, $15 for color. Check the Web site (walgreens.com) for the list of refillable cartridges and for the list of participating stores. OfficeMax charges $12.49 to $26.99; call stores to inquire about participation; visit officemax.com for store locations or call 800-283-7674.
28. Batteries: Recylce. Walgreens stores in Chicago take back household batteries for recycling. So does any Chicago Public Library. All Office Depot stores take back cell phone and household batteries. All Staples and OfficeMax stores in the Chicago area take back rechargeable household batteries. Or visit earth911.org for a battery recycling site near you.
29. Discrete Recycle Stations. Don’t be quick to say, “I don’t have room to recycle all that.” Or: “I hate the look of recycling bins in my kitchen.” Try scattering (pretty) wicker or rattan baskets in bare corners of your apartment or condo or in any home where space is at a premium. They will add warmth to your place and be your catchall for recyclables such as batteries, printer cartridges, magazines you plan to pass along to friends and family.
30. E-Waste: E-liminate it. Recycle your electronic waste—computer monitors, desktops, laptops, fax machines, printers, scanners, peripherals, keyboards, telephones, digital cameras, VCR players, DVD players, televisions, etc., which could be chock full of lead, mercury, plastics, etc.
- Visit Illnois Recycles and click on “E-cycling” for a list of collection sites (some take items without charge; others charge a small fee). Visit Earth911 for more of the same
- Office Depot offers a Tech Recycling program. The store will recycle as much e-waste as shoppers can fit into one of Office Depot’s small ($5), medium ($10) or large ($15) Tech Recycling boxes. The only charge is for the box. Visit officedepot.com/techrecycling for the list of acceptable items.
- Staples stores in Chicagoland also invite consumers to bring in a wide variety of e-waste (but not TVs) for recycling. There is a $10 fee per piece of large equipment; no charge for small computer peripherals such as mice and keyboards. Some of the items will be refurbished by Staples’ partner, Collective Good, and sold with a portion of the proceeds going to charity. For more information, visit Staples.
- And finally, OfficeMax has extended its pilot program for electronics recycling. Through February, customers can bring obsolete computer equipment to any Chicagoland OfficeMax store (downtown Express stores excluded). Cost to recycle: $5 to $20 a piece. For their effort, customers get an in-store coupon ($5 to $30) to use on selected items.
