Recycling is Fun! I promise!

I will blog very soon about our short trip to Georgia this past weekend. It could pretty much be summed up in a few words: great weather, football game, soccer match, Chili's, hanging out, UFC, lots of videos, HUGE KNOCKOUT, drive home, lots of sleeping, still tired.

But I do have a few UFC pictures I'll put up later, even though you people don't care about it like I do.

So today, I want to talk to you about recycling. I know most of you know the "usual" recyclables - aluminum, glass, plastic. But what about things that you just don't know what to do with? Like batteries? Cell phones? Random odds and ends? Well, listen close, children.

Backpacks - Did you get your kid a new backpack this year - even though theirs is still in pretty great condition? Well, if you're thinking about Goodwilling or tossing that backpack, hold that thought!! You could donate it instead to the American Birding Association. That's right, you can equip a bird watcher for only the cost of postage (probably around $6). Interested? Go to American Birding and check them out. Send donations to the address on the website there.

Batteries - I know, it is so easy to toss old batteries into your trash can. But why not just run them by a local store and let them take care of them for you? RBRC will help you find a local place to recycle your old batteries. For example, I could take mine to Radioshack, AT&T, US Cellular, Best Buy, and actually several other places.

Car - How long has that car been sitting in your back yard? I know there's a point where you need to just let go of it. You don't have the money to rebuild it, and it's just rotting out there! Well now you have another option! Junk My Car is an organization where you go online, enter your vehicle description, set up a removal appointment, and they pick up your car for you. FOR FREE! Or call 1-877-586-5692. You don't need a title, and the car does not need to be driveable. If it is going to cost you anything for them to junk your car, they let you know before they come so you can cancel. This service also goes for motorcycles, RVs, trailers, etc.

Cell phones - give them to me. I will give them to Friend to Friend and they will recycle them by deleting your information and programming them for 911. The cell phones are then given to women who are in abusive situations.

Crayons - Yes, even your kids old crayons are recyclable!! As they state on their website, Crazy Crayons takes "old, rejected" crayons and turns them into "fresh, new" crayons! Leave the wrappers on those old broken crayons and mail them to:

CRAYON RECYCLING PROGRAM

LAF Lines, Ltd.,

721 Village Road

Pelican Lake, WI 54463

Crocs - Look, I get that these shoes are comfortable. But really, there will come a day when you're tired of them. And when that day comes, ship them back to the Croc manufacturer. Really! They will take them back and make your old, worn out Crocs into new Crocs that are shipped out around the world to people who need shoes. Come on, it's for a good cause! The next shipment of Crocs is going to Haiti!

Crocs Recycling - West

3375 Enterprise Ave

Bloomington CA 92316

or

Crocs Recycling - East

1500 Commodity Blvd

Lockbourne OH 43137

Check it out

CDs - If you're like me, you make tons of mix CDs. And then you listen to them 5 years later and the music is awful! There are many ways to recycle CDs, especially if they are scratched or even broken. Don't throw them away!!

CD Recycling For Free will take your CDs and recycle them for you. Did you know that it's estimated that AOL has distributed more than 2 billion CDs? That is the natural gas equivalent of heating 200,000 homes for one year.

CD Recycling Center is another place for you to ship CDs, but I've never used them, and I think you have to register. It's still worth a look.

Dress - Remember that hideous prom dress you loved? Or that cotillion dress that was purple with beads and fluffy sleeves? I know, I loved it too. But it's time to move on. Instead of donating that dress to Goodwill or Fifi's, why don't you make sure it goes to someone who could really use it?? Operation Fairy Dust is a program that takes old prom dresses and makes sure they go to girls who really can't afford their own dresses. The link there actually goes to their sister programs, which are all the same type of programs but some of them actually have all the donations they can handle right now. What a great opportunity!!

Glue - Have you ever wondered what happens to your Elmers Glue after the bottle is empty? No??? Well let me tell you what should happen. You should recycle it!!! Elmers Glue Crew is a recycling program for Elmers Glue bottles. You simply box them up and take them to your local Walmart. Easy as that!

Wire hangers - Give them to your local dry cleaner. They'll be grateful.

Used holiday cards - That's right - that ugly Pioneer Day card someone sent you last year doesn't need to be trashed! Ship it on over to St. Jude's recycle cards program where the kids at St. Jude's can make some money for themselves!

Recycle For Breast Cancer - This is a great program, because it's totally free for you to use. They send you prepaid shipping labels and everything. Stuff that is recycled is anything from cell phones to printer accessories to cameras to copper pipe - pretty much anything electronic.

Now there is no reason for all that junk to be cluttering up your house! Donate it! Recycle it! Give it to someone who needs it!!

/end soapbox