Organization for a Great Big GREEN World! Re-purpose your unwanted electronics and technology

Going green is not just the “politically correct” thing to do these days – it’s the planet-saving, RIGHT thing to do. And it’s no exception in our home-planning and organization. In fact, there are tons of ways to get green in your organizational plans!

In the first in a series of “green organizing” articles, we’ve got the goods on how you can bring some ecology-friendly organizing to your home in the area of electronics and technology.

Here are some scary statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency (see www.epa.gov):

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about 2.6 million tons of e-waste ended up in landfills in 2007 — while only 13.6% (408,000 tons) was recycled.

In 2007, Americans were holding 99 million TVs “in storage” — and had “discarded” nearly 27 million TVs; but only about 18 percent were recycled.

Between 2004 and 2007, the number of TVs that entered the waste stream increased by 14 percent.

With more than 100 million cell phones no longer in use in America, recycled the amount of energy saved would be enough to power approximately 24,000 U.S. households for one year.

On their website, the EPA share lots of handy information on the hows and whys of recycling and/or donating cell phones, computers, and TVs, including facts like:

Recycling helps the environment by saving energy and keeping usable materials out of landfills.

The precious metals, copper and plastics used in cell phones and PDAs require energy to mined, as does the manufacturing process. Recycling enables these materials to be turned into new products.

The re-use of computers contributes to communities by sharing valuable technology. Donating your old but still working computer to a school, charity, or non-profit is a good use of valuable materials – sharing the technology that is so necessary for education and communication.

Lead, copper, steel, and aluminum that can be recovered through recycling your old TV.

Recycling technology helps save and re-use natural resources and energy, and reduces the pollution that comes from mining and processing the resources that have to be taken out of the earth.

Enough said! Organizing is all about ridding yourself of unwanted or unusable items — but it’s also all of our responsibility to discover the best options for getting rid of things.

So here’s some tips to get you on road to “green organization”:

If you’re like most people, your last three computer screens are sitting in your garage. Not to mention the towers, the old toasters, out of date radios, and other unusableelectronic equipment. Or maybe you’ve just tossed it in the regular trash with hopes of not being found out (don’t feel bad, we’ve all been there). After all — you are a good green recycler of glass and plastic, right? (We’ll leave that there for now.)

In our wild and crazy e-world of e-phones, e-marketing, e-samples, e-games, e-computers, and e-everything, recycling takes a different form: it’s time to go eGREEN! And it’s not as hard as you might think. You’ll feel good about cleaning out those unused electronics in your home and garage — and “doing the right thing” …by giving a happy “push” to the BIG GREEN EARTH movement!

Check out the EPA’s site – the ultimate resource to check out when it comes to recycling those used, unwanted, or semi-or-completely-nonfunctioning electronics:

http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm#localThis excellent EPA site offers so many alternatives — including local, brand name, and online receivers of your unwanted electronic. And much of what you turn in gets recycled for some other use. Keep this site handy so when your next e-game bites the dust, you are ready to send it down the correct “green” brick road…

Just about everything you need to know is there, but just to make sure our GREEN gets GREENER, here are a few more sites you might find helpful.

http://www.simplesteps.org/home-garden/stuff/what-do-about-e-waste.

Learn more about where waste goes, the certifications to watch for, and thinking through what you do with your electronics.

http://www.recyclenow.com/how_is_it_recycled/index.html.
A great general site about recycling — great for teaching your children the basics!

Look for more info on our “big green earth” as we share the goods on kids toys and clothing, adult wear, home décor, party planning, holiday helpers, and so much more! Stay tuned in…and don’t forget to pass along our great information to your friends and families!

Paris Love is a Productivity and Organizational Consultant serving overextended professionals in rejuvenating their quality of life. Paris has written articles for NAPO News, Star Lee Magazine, Baldwin Parent, San Diego NAPO News, Organizing A to Z, BrownSKin Magazine, Online Organizing and Home Base Quarterly. Her most recent book, Fifty Tips to Get You Organized in Ten Minutes or Less, along with more information on her life’s work and business can be found at www.organizewithlove.com or by calling 770-722-2748.

source : http://hopeforwomenmag.com/uncategorized/organization-for-a-great-big-green-world-re-purpose-your-unwanted-electronics-and-technology