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Archive for the 'Alt+Save the Earth' Tag

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Turn Nextel phones into prepaid phones or recycle for free

March 25th, 2009, 9:58 am by

Did you know it’s National Cleaning Week? I have no idea when this started (although I found one mention dating back to 2001) or who decides what events get to be “national.” It’s probably some marketing association.

That brings me to the marketing folks at Boost Mobile in Irvine. The mobile service company is taking advantage of the week by offering customers a way to reuse, recycle or share old Boost Mobile phones.

To reuse an old phone or give it away, Boost offers a starter kit for $19.99, which includes a SIM card and $10 credit. Insert the card into any old Boost or Nextel phone and the phone comes back to life. Users will have to pay for more minutes to continue using the phone.

While it’s not an excellent deal since Boost’s prepaid plans don’t have an activation fee anyway (shouldn’t Boost offer this for free during National Cleaning Week?), at least you won’t have to fork over money for a new phone.

But if you just want to ditch the phone, Boost will take it off your hands for free. Just go to this page and print out the postage-paid shipping label. Working phones will be reused by developing markets, while non-working phones will be stripped and parts recycled.

Better yet, this isn’t just for Boost customers but anyone needing to unload old phones.

But speaking of recycling phones, I’ve touched on this topic before. The updated excerpt from my earlier “Guide to recycling e-Waste:”

Cell phones: Send your phone to The Collective Good or you can drop off any brand of phone or accessory at your local AT&T store. More options on the EPA’s eCycling site.
Before you donate: Erase all your cell-phone info with free tools from ReCellular.

More on cell-phones: Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services. Latest mobile-news headlines:

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • | Comments Off

Recycle old electronics in Newport Beach on Saturday

February 28th, 2009, 9:49 am by

Alt+Save time, money & the earth with the GadgetressBring your poor VCRs, your tired analog TVs and your piles of electronic junk to Newport Beach today for a free recycling event.

Where: Mariners Elementary School, 2100 Mariners Drive in Newport Beach

When: Saturday, February 28 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Why: It’s against the law to toss old televisions, computers and more in the trash because they can leak toxic substances into our water supply. So let Newport Beach and Goodwill of Orange County handle the waste.

Accepted: working and non-working personal computers, laptops, cell phones, telephones, fax machines, computer peripherals (such as monitors, keyboards, mice, printers, scanners and cables), consumer electronics (including radios, tape players, VCRs, stereo equipment and PDAs), and televisions of any size.

More info: 949-644-3055

More on green technology:

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How green can Fuji’s EnvironMax batteries be?

January 7th, 2009, 6:00 am by

Reporting from CES 2009 in Las Vegas - Being/thinking/living green is so … 2008. But the trend lives on as consumers (hopefully) readjust their lives to be kinder to the earth. So, it’s no surprise that Green is a big theme with this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. The official Las Vegas event, which opens at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Thursday, even will have a “Sustainable Planet” exhibit area. 

Fuji and its new EnviroMax alkaline batteries was the first green product I spotted. But how green are they, I dared to ask.  Jerome Pruett, with Team Fuji, gave me the spiel. 

Green packaging? Check.

Green manufacturing? Of course — in the world’s only eco-friendly battery manufacturing plant in Indonesia (a factoid I have not verified myself). Approximately 92 percent of the materials used in building the plant were recycled and reused from elsewhere. Additionally, no ozone depleting compounds were used in manufacturing the batteries.

Green batteries?  The batteries are free of Cadmium, Mercury and PVC, which means you can toss them in the trash when you’re done, Pruett said. Really, I asked? I thought all batteries must be dumped at a hazardous waste center. Not these ones, he replied. “These are totally earth friendly.” On the packaging, it says EnviroMax are landfill safe. 

Now, I didn’t delve into the actual technology of what makes these batteries so special. But consumers may be interested to learn that Fuji says EnviroMax batteries last 13 percent longer than regular batteries and have seven times the shelf life.

I left with a free sample — a 4-pack of AA batteries. The ‘Best Before’ date says July 2015. The batteries should be available by Earth Day for the same price as normal batteries. But if you want my free sample, I’m giving them away. Just submit a comment on this post and on my return from CES, I’ll randomly pick a winner.

From around the web:

Green Batteries: Responsible, renewable energy

The Alkaline-Manganese Battery (The Florida State University, the University of Florida, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory)

Posted in: news • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

11 sites that pay for your old iPod, PC, other electronics

December 2nd, 2008, 5:56 am by

UPDATE: Make that 12 sites. (When I find more sites, I’ll add them.)

Beyond digging for deals and finding the lowest price, there is another way to fund your next electronic purchase without opening up that wallet.

Several companies will pay you money for your old computer, iPod or other gadget. Some pay cash, others gift cards. Another company lets you lock in how much money you can get for a gadget after six months to two years of use. 

As you may or may not know, such recycling efforts are part of the whole green tech trend. In California, it’s been illegal to dump a monitor or computer into the trash can for years. More recently, consumers here pay an ‘e-recycling’ fee when buying a new monitor, PC or other device with a screen.

While many computer sites now offer free recycling, I’ve honed in on the sites that give you a little something extra for your junk. Pretty much all offer free shipping — you just print out a label on your computer and ship the gadget.

Using my old 40 GB iPod Photo (in good condition, with minor scratches) as an example, here’s what I can get for it (from high to low): 

$60 = Toshiba America - Uses eztradein.com to run its program. Gives gift cards and cash for old electronics. Read my past story on the program, “Toshiba’s PC recycling program now accepts all e-junk.”

$60 = BestBuy.com uses the same service as Toshiba. But instead of cash, you’ll get a gift card to Best Buy.

$60 = PayPal.com uses the same service as Toshiba. Pays with PayPal credit.

$56.70 = Amazon.com uses several companies including Gazelle (mentioned below). All pay with Amazon gift cards. In this case, NextWorth accepts old iPods and iPhones. Using FlipSwap.com, my iPod got me $35.29 in Amazon gift cards.

$56 =  Costco.com uses GreenSight Technologies for its recycling program. Program pays in Costco gift cards.

$56 = SamsClub.com uses EcoNEWonline.com for its recycling program. Program pays in Sams Club gift cards.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: news • • • • • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

Newport Beach e-waste event on Saturday

November 20th, 2008, 6:20 pm by

Alt+Save time, money & the earth with the GadgetressIf you’ve been wanting to get rid of an old computer, TV or other electronic device, Newport Beach is hosting an e-waste event on Saturday.

The first 50 cars will receive a City of Newport Beach reusable bag “big enough to fit a turkey.” The event benefits Goodwill of Orange County.

Reminder, it’s illegal to toss an old monitor or computer into any trash can (but you knew that right?). All of this electronic waste must be discarded at a hazardous waste center or an e-waste event.

::details::  

When: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m Saturday, November 22, 2008.

Where: City Corporation Yard, 592 Superior Ave., Newport Beach

Items accepted: Comptuers and accessories, scanners and printers, fax machines, TVs, cell phones, telephones, cameras, PDAs, radios, VCRs, DVD players and microwaves. 

More details: (949) 644-3055, Mon.-Fri.

More green links:

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RadioShack offers gift cards for your old electronics

October 31st, 2008, 5:08 am by

If you’re about to dump your old iPod, cell phone or other electronic device anyway, you might as well get some money for it, right?

RadioShack now offers an electronics trade-in program, which swaps store gift cards for your old e-junk. A lot of this stuff we shouldn’t be dumping into the trash anyway because they are considered hazardous e-waste. 

I just ran a couple things through the site. My old photo iPod which is in good condition would get me a $35 gift card. My husband’s old 14-inch iBook would get me $144.08, although if it was “cosmetically excellent,” it’d get us a $192.10 gift card. Not bad! This could come in handy for holiday gift giving.

The program accepts GPS devices, MP3 Players, wireless phones, digital camcorders, car audio head units, digital cameras, notebook computers, game consoles and video games. Not on the list: desktop computers. For those, I suggest using Toshiba’s trade-in program where you get actual CASH (read “Toshiba’s PC recycling program now accepts all e-junk“).

Just plug in your details at RadioShack’s site: RadioShack.com/tradein. If you accept the price, you print out the pre-paid shipping label, package up the gadget and send it in. The gift card is mailed to you. RadioShack says it issues the gift card 10 to 14 days after the product is received.

Related:

Posted in: news • • • • • • • • • | 9 Comments »

Free Best Buy gift cards at O.C. e-waste events

October 7th, 2008, 7:15 am by

Alt+Save time, money & the earth with the GadgetressAnother chance to score some free stuff while disposing of your old computers and other e-junk starts Friday. The “Pull the Plug on e-Waste” event will take place at three Best Buy stores in Orange County on Friday and Saturday.

The first 100 cars each day will get a $5 Best Buy gift card. Everyone will also be entered into a contest to win a Toshiba Portégé R500, the laptop that has received one of the highest green ranking from the Green Electronics Council. Plus Jeff Levy, host of radio show “Jeff Levy on Computers” on KRLA, will be at the east Orange Best Buy on Friday to answer questions about computers.

The event is sponsored by Toshiba’s Digital Products Division, which is based in Irvine.

**UPDATE 9:36 a.m. ** Based on the first comment below, I should remind readers that it’s against the law in California to toss an old PC, monitor or other electronic with a screen into the trash. That’s why there’s a $6 to $10 fee tacked on to any electronics purchase that contain displays. Since these are considered hazardous waste, you’ll need to take it to a hazardous waste center. In Orange County, there are 4 such facilities. More details at oclandfills.com or check out my Guide to recycling e-Waste. 

::details::

What? Pull the Plug on e-Waste, sponsored by Toshiba and Best Buy

Where?
East Orange Best Buy, 2375 N Tustin St, Orange
Fullerton Best Buy, 120 E Imperial Hwy, Fullerton
Mission Viejo Best Buy, 25422 El Paseo, Mission Viejo

When? 10 a.m. to 4 p.m on both Friday and Saturday, Oct. 10 and 11.

Items accepted: computers, computer monitors, printers, camcorders, fax machines, cell phones, TVs, VCRs, DVD players and audio equipment.

Related green-tech posts:

Posted in: Uncategorized • • • • • • • • | 8 Comments »

O.C.’s green award winner turns sewer water into drinking water

October 3rd, 2008, 11:55 am by

Toshiba Green Innovation Award, which is sponsored by Orange County Innovation and, obviously, Toshiba America , based in IrvineThe winner of Toshiba’s Green Innovation Award goes to two county agencies that turn sewer water into drinking water. And yes, it’s coming out of the faucets for some Orange County residents.

But don’t be alarmed! The Orange County Water District and the Orange County Sanitation District’s three-step Groundwater Replenishment System process turns the waste into water that is more regulated than the bottled-water industry, said Gina DePinto, the spokeswoman for the Water District.

The system, which went online in January, uses a process of microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light “to purify highly-treated sewer water to state and federal drinking water standards,” she said.  

We’ve written about this before. OC Register green living reporter Pat Brennan wrote about the system at “Soon on tap: purified sewer water” and then when it went live at “Sewer-water system begins filling aquifer.”

Essentially, the process produces 70 millions of water a day, or enough for 500,000 people per year. Besides the 3-step process, half of the water is put into a recharge basin in Anaheim where it takes six months to filter through the water supply before heading to homes in the Anaheim and Fullerton area. The other half is sent to the seawater intrusion barriers, which prevents salt water from getting into the aquifer. Read more at the Groundwater Replenishment System website.

Again, the end result is pure water. The additional six-month cleansing process was required by regulators for public perception, Pinto added.   

“I’m not going to say it’s better or worse (than bottled water), but we do know that the bottled-water companies don’t have to meet as stringent regualtions as we do,” Pinto said. 

The Toshiba award gets the agency $5,000 and a Toshiba laptop. But that’s nothing compared to past awards. In June, the agency received the $150,000 Stockholm International Water Institute Award, which some consider as the Nobel Prize of environmental science.

See my previous write-up of the finalists at “Toshiba names finalists for O.C. green innovation award.”

Related:

More on green tech:

Posted in: Uncategorized • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

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