Apple is said to be looking into an iPhone trade-in program on used devices in order to “add sales,” according to a tweet from Bloomberg today. Bloomberg says that this would be the “first time” Apple has attempted something like this on its homepage, but that’s not entirely true – the company started a program to accept iPhone trade-ins back in August of 2012, and would offer up to $345 in… → Read More
You know those mobile devices that everyone keeps raving about? Turns out it’s a huge business. Shocker, I know. Strategy Analytics recently estimated that about 1.6 billion mobile phones shipped in 2012. What’s more, according to Canalys’ report today, the tablet market grew by 75 percent in the fourth quarter to 46.2 million units, with total shipments hitting 114.6 million in 2012. → Read More
According to Strategy Analytics, about 1.6 billion mobile phones were shipped in 2012, with 700 million of those being smartphones. That doesn’t even take tablets into account. Compass Intelligence estimates that 18 million new tablets were sold during the fourth quarter of 2012. Naturally, as waves upon waves of new smartphones and tablets hit stores, people need a way of disposing of their old… → Read More
Apple is, as usual, remaining tight-lipped about whether it will be releasing any new devices this autumn — and even if there will be an event scheduled for September 12, as many have been reporting. Meanwhile, here is a sign that the company could be preparing for a new phone launch: Apple is offering users an option to recycle their iPhone 4S devices for up to $345 back in the form of an Apple… → Read More
Let’s be honest: Whether or not you’ve recently hugged a tree, buying branded tap water in a plastic bottle for $1.50+ a pop seems … well … completely #$%^&-ing ridiculous — unless of course your village has yet to secure a reliable source of potable water. In that case, we understand. But, with colleges (and apparently Concord, Massachusetts) moving to or actually banning bottled water… → Read More
Guerillapps, a social game maker, debuted a cool new Facebook game at Disrupt NYC that is adding a new spin to green games. What’s more, from what I can tell, Trash Tycoon is the first “upcycling” game to hit the Facebook platform. But what is this “upcycling”, you ask? Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials into new products of better quality and higher environmental value, so… → Read More
Today, RecycleMatch — a Houston-based startup that helps businesses sell or give away stuff to recyclers and manufacturers so that they don’t have to send it to a landfill — took its online marketplace out of beta, unveiling several new features and services.
If the site performs as hoped, RecycleMatch could become the Alibaba, eBay or Amazon of waste-management and manufacturing, while… → Read More
Automotive parts and batteries manufacturer, Johnson Controls Inc., broke ground on a new, battery recycling plant in Florence, South Carolina, today. Local and national environmental groups there reached consensus with the company on air emissions standards in August 2010, allowing the company to embark on its plans to build a $150 million facility, taking up about 36 acres of a 270-acre… → Read More
Waste Management and its subsidiary Greenopolis are diving into social gaming with a new Facebook app called Oceanopolis. The game will launch in beta, with a full rollout expected in the coming weeks.
In the game, players maintain their own island by recycling trash to build a sustainable community and interacting with friends. Points earned virtually turn into printable coupons that can be used… → Read More
Buying a flash unit can be expensive, but here’s a cheapskate alternative that will do the job, at least for a while. Plus, you’re recycling a disposable camera into something reusable, and saving all those bits from the landfill. Besides, once you use all of the flash out of one disposable camera, you can always build another one to replace it, and recycle the first one. → Read More
65,000 tons of mobile phone e-waste are generated every year. The bad news is, only 1% of consumers choose to recycle their headsets when they upgrade. eRecyclingCorps is working with carriers to integrate the recycling process into the POS sale system at the retail store. → Read More
If you live in Spain that is. University of Zaragoza researchers have been looking into using various forms of solid waste to generate electricity for the nation, up to as much as 7%. What is it lately with all this decaying matter being useful? → Read More
UN Under-Secretary-General Achim Steiner gave a talk at an environment protection conference in Bali describing a growing problem among developing nations: e-waste. While places like China and India already have their own problems with informal e-waste recycling, the UN expects to see the same intractable problems surface in Africa and Latin America while levels of trash will double or triple in… → Read More
What we have here is a machine that automatically turns office paper into toilet paper. It’s called White Goat (seriously) and is made by a Japanese company called Oriental [JP]. The way it works is simple: You just feed the machine with about 40 sheets of office (or whatever) paper, wait for 30 minutes and take out a perfectly made toilet paper roll.
The machine shreds the paper, which is then… → Read More
Ever tried to get rid of an old, sack o’ crap computer? It’s not as easy as it sounds. You can’t just throw it in the garbage (legally), charitable organizations have finally realized that it takes more time and effort than it’s worth to refurbish a 486 DX2/66 machine that nobody’s going to use anyway, and dumping the computer at your municipal recycling center often costs a pretty penny. → Read More
Love the Earth? Love plastic bags? Why not melt them together and add an old t-shirt for the lining in order to create a laptop case? Using an iron and a bunch of crinkly bags you can create sheets of plastic that you can then sew together to create a bag, jacket, or pants, thereby save the Earth and showing the world how much you like bags in one fell swoop. → Read More
The Mode All-In-One Premium Recycling Center is a recycling solution designed to help ease the burden of recycling. With 13 gallons of total capacity divided into a 5 gallon paper bin and an 8 gallon bin for glass, plastic, and metal, the RCC-1000 makes it easy to separate your recyclables. It also includes a unique compaction system, a nifty system to track how much you’ve recycled, and a… → Read More
It’s easy in these dark economic times to wallow in misery and wait for a handout from the federal government. Whatever happened to that “Can Do!” American spirit that put a man on the moon, and bacon in pre-wrapped packaging? Thankfully there are some keeping the flame of invention alive, and working to make an honest buck along the way. Witness Newsoap<, bringing you new soap in recycled… → Read More
Chances are you’ll be replacing some tried-and-true piece of personal electronics with a newer, faster, better model. Whether it’s replacing an MP3 player with a new one, or replacing an old computer or laptop, what do you do with the old stuff? Hopefully you don’t just throw it away, especially if it still works! → Read More
http://current.com/e/76355482/en_US Current has, in its Naked China series of videos, this interesting but scary breakdown of just what happens to all those old PCs, printers, and DVD players that are obsoleted every year and binned. In a place like China, where manual labor is their most abundant natural resource, it isn’t hard to turn a profit from tearing down imported e-waste and selling… → Read More
Most people aren’t going to go out of their way to recycle a TV or set of speakers. That’s why Sharp has helped set up a proper recycling program that will be up and running in several states by next month before spreading to all 50 of ‘em within the next three years. Even better is that, in addition to accepting Sharp products, the program will also accept stuff made by… → Read More
Look at this environmentally-advanced mama jama. It’s called the Aquaduct, and though many are referring to it as a bicycle, it’s got three wheels. That, my friends, is a tricycle. Forget semantics, though, because the Aquaduct not only gets your from Point A to Point B (and occasionally Point C), but it also filters cruddy crap-water into delicious drinkable water using an onboard… → Read More
Tokyo-based design company Mondo Design [JP] is approaching the concept of recycling from a fresh, new angle. They produce business bags and other items with a quite unique material: used tires. The products are marketed under a special brand Mondo Design named Seal [JP], which is aimed at male customers in their 30s. Some of the bags still have the brand names, serial numbers and other… → Read More
Mitsubishi Electric announced on Wednesday that they, as Japan’s first company, have developed a technology that makes it possible to automatically separate plastics from scrapped electronic devices [JP]. The company says that removing plastics from scrapped electronic devices is usually a complicated process due to resins getting mixed up in the shards. Using the Mitsubishi technology, it… → Read More
Panasonic’s “Eco Technology Center” sits in a little town outside of Osaka, Japan and is unique in that it’s one of the only recycling centers that has an on-site research and development lab and allows public tours. Check out the above video to see more. In Japan, the Home Appliance Recycling Law (HARL) was passed in 1998 and then fully enforced by 2001. The law calls for end-of-life home… → Read More
I doubt you guys have quite the amount of gadget clutter as those of use who accrue them for a living, but if you’ve even got half our volume of old cameras, phones, and devices in general laying around you may find Gazelle’s service helpful. Not everyone has a used computer recycler like RePC in the Northwest. And while GameStop might buy your DS and there’s always Craigslist… → Read More
I’d be willing to bet that there are very few people out there who don’t have an old Motorola StarTac in a kitchen drawer or a pale, yellowish 14-inch CRT monitor in the basement or a sticky, dusty keyboard under the bed. I’m just like you — probably worse. I have gadgets from the Reagan administration that are serving no good purpose other than to take up space in my… → Read More
It’s time to whip that old Nokia out of the closet and send it off to the recylcin’ barn because the EPA and some industry partners are ready to give you a little help. The EPA is working with AT&T, Best Buy, Dell, eBay’s Rethink initiative, HP, Intel, JVC, Lexmark, LG Electronics, Motorola, NEC Display, Nokia, Office Depot, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Sony… → Read More
If you’re thinking about upgrading your POS TV with a Sony Bravia and don’t feel like putting it on CL because you’ll probably end up trading it for a pack of gum then call 1-877-439-2795 to find the closest Waste Management eCycling center. Why? Well, Sony want’s to change their polluting ass image by recycling any TV you bring in and in turn will give you a $100 credit… → Read More
I’m a guy. I don’t like greeting cards. But if you have lady parts and/or you really like greeting cards, here’s a way to send someone a special message while helping the environment. ReProduct cards come with a 2-way envelope. You open the card, enjoy it, and then send it back to ReProduct. Then, and I quote, “Shaw Industries then uses 100% of the cards and envelopes to… → Read More
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