Green Eco Services

Solar Outdoor Cookers- Charged By The Sun

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Tulsi Hybrid Solar Cooking Oven

I know it’s late in the season- but better late than ever. If you are like me and wait till the ’season’ is over, you get better pricing with products on sale!  I love this solar outdoor oven- no more propane and charcoal (saving environment and money) because all you need is the sun! And it’s portable- great for ball games, picnics and camping.
Tulsi-Hybrid Solar Cooking Oven (on sale now for $235)

Eco Friendly Printer Uses Coffee Grounds as Ink

This is one Printer I will buy immediately! I print so rarely, but sometimes you gotta have a printer!

Green Printer of the Future

Featured in the Greener Gadget Design Competition, this new printer uses old coffee grinds to run! Insert a piece of paper, place your used coffee or tea grinds at the top, move the ink case left and right to print. It uses no electricity.

Draper Valley Farms-Sustainable and Organic Farming

Draper Valley Farms & PCC Natural Markets Draper Valley Farms, the Pacific North West’s leading sustainably farmed all-natural chicken company and PCC Natural Markets, the Seattle-based certified organic retailer, today eliminate the use of cardboard in shipping fresh poultry to PCC’s nine locations. Instead of using cardboard boxes which are discarded after each shipment, Draper Valley Farms now uses rigid plastic “nesters” – stackable trays that are not just recyclable, they are reused, eliminating the need for cardboard shipping materials entirely and removing the need for labor to break down boxes.

Draper Valley Farms is the first all-natural poultry company to adopt a no cardboard supply chain by using reusable shipping trays. PCC Natural Markets is the first retailer to work with Draper Valley Farms on this cardboard-free, environmentally-friendly shipping initiative, which is planned to roll out to additional customers going forward.

For more info, please visit www.drapervalleyfarms.com and www.pccnaturalmarkets.com.

Recycle- Make Money with Terracycle

Get Paid For Trash Announces Terracycle! Here we are in America, with staggering amounts of litter and trash, unemployment growing and Terracycle will pay you to pick up litter and earn money! What more could you ask for! Be green, get exercise (pick up trash) stop more stuff going into landfills, and help charities at the same time.

Here is what their website says:

TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials. With over 50 products available at major retailers like Walmart, Target, The Home Depot, OfficeMax, Petco and Whole Foods Market, TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world. Our hope is to eliminate the idea of waste by finding innovative, unique uses for materials others deem garbage.

Founded in 2001 by a 19 year old Princeton University freshman named Tom Szaky, TerraCycle started as an organic fertilizer company and has grown into a multi-category, eco-friendly powerhouse. Tom’s dream was to find way a new, more responsible way of doing doing business that would be good for the planet, good for people and good for the bottom line! TerraCycle has won many awards and accolades for its environmentally responsible business model from Inc. Magazine, Red Herring, The Home Depot, The Environmental Business Journal, The Social Venture Network, Zerofootprint and many other highly regarded organizations.

TerraCycle also runs free national collection programs that pay non-profits and schools TerraCycle has exclusive partnerships with major CPG companies such as Kraft Foods, Frito Lay (Pepsi), Stonyfield Farm, Mars Wrigley and many more. The partnerships create free collection programs that pay schools and non-profits nationwide to collect used packaging such as drink pouches, energy bar wrappers, yogurt cups, cookie wrappers, chip bags and more! The collected materials are upcycled into affordable, high quality products ranging from tote bags and purses to shower curtains and kites. In addition, TerraCycle works with these partners to find innovative uses for all of their waste streams and, by making products from these various waste streams, TerraCycle prevents 1000’s of tons of waste from going to landfills.

Optical WebBlog and Business

Sustainable Furnishings Council

Associated Press: Once a laggard in the green scene, the $8.3 billion furniture industry is catching up.

From individual furniture makers to national retailers, green furnishing options are popping up in many stores and price ranges to appeal to eco-friendly consumers and conform to stricter environmental laws.

The Sustainable Furnishings Council, a nonprofit that promotes green practices in the furniture industry, has grown to over 300 members since it was created three years ago. And green trends were highlighted at the two largest furniture shows in High Point, N.C., and Las Vegas this year.

There’s good reason: Half of U.S. consumers said they would pay 5 percent or more for green products, according to a recent survey from The Boston Consulting Group. And almost three-fourths of those surveyed said it’s important for companies to have good environmental track records. Read More…..

Recycling For Charities

There are many recycling organizations that donate to charities. The following charities allow you to donate to a charity of your choice.

• Recycling For Charities is a Non-Profit Organization which gives individuals an opportunity to recycle cellular phones, PDA’s, Palm Pilots, digital cameras, and iPods for value that is then donated to the charity of their choice.  Not only is RFC acting as a medium to raise funds for charities, but the organization helps individuals protect the environment as well.
• Excess Access- Excess Access is a system that matches business and household item donations with the wish lists of nonprofits that can provide pick-ups or will accept drop offs. They serve throughout US, Canada and beyond.
• Recycle Free Recycle Free recycles Inkjet cartridges, Laser cartridges and Mobile Phones throughout the continental United States. Our company is impacting the environment and rewarding corporate, government, fundraising and individual recyclers.(Fundraising opportunity
• National Cristina Foundation The Cristina Foundation is a nonprofit organization that matches donated computer equipment with needy schools and nonprofit organizations around the world.
• Cell Phones For Soldiers-
• Lacerta Group- Recording Media, Data Storage Recycling – MA

Earth 911 Cheat Sheet on BioFuels

I have to admit, that the discussion of biofuels, while interesting, I just can’t seem to get into writing about them! Fortunately Earth 911 one of my favorite blogs just wrote an incredible easy to read update about biofuels.

Biofuels are a growing topic of debate, especially in the past five years as national sentiments supporting energy independence and alternative fuels have gained momentum.

As the U.S. continues legislating, developing and promoting alternative fuels to supplement, and possibly replace, fossil fuels such as coal and oil (e.g. some of the provisions in the House-approved Clean Energy and Security Act), a refresher, and possibly an introduction, to biofuels might be helpful in sorting through this important issue.
What’s in a Name

To start, there are various types of biofuels. For example, it’s important to note the distinction between biodiesel, which only works with diesel engines (such as those found in semi-trucks) and ethanol, which is blended with gasoline and can be used to power a variety of vehicles.
Photo: Amanda Wills, Earth911.com

In the beginning, scientists tested corn ethanol, however several problems made working with the vegetable harder than researchers initially thought. Photo: Amanda Wills, Earth911.com

All biofuels can provide an alternative combustion fuel source to gasoline and diesel. The main types of biofuels include: Read more..…

Hemp Walls-Eco Friendly and Non-Smokable

One of my favorite site is Inhabitat- It is one of the top sites for green building and design. Here is one of their posts on Hemp Walls:

Buildings account for thirty-eight percent of the CO2 emissions in the U.S., according to the U.S. Green Building Council, and demand for carbon neutral and/or zero footprint buildings is at an all-time high. Now there is a new building material that is not just carbon neutral, but is actually carbon negative. Developed by U.K.-based Lhoist Group, Tradical® Hemcrete® is a bio-composite, thermal walling material made from hemp, lime and water. What makes it carbon negative? There is more CO2 locked-up in the process of growing and harvesting of the hemp than is released in the production of the lime binder. Of course the equation is more complicated than that, but Hemcrete® is still an amazing new technology that could change the building industry. Read the full articles here…

Cash For Appliance Clunkers

Photo:funatiq.com

…But old energy-hogging refrigerators and freezers qualify for recycling and cash from more than 60 utilities across the nation. And the federal government is making money available to states so consumers could get rebates of $50 to $200 for new, more energy-efficient appliances later this year in a so-called “cash for appliances” program.

Combined, the appliance initiatives have a goal similar to the cash-for-clunker program for autos: They get less-efficient appliances off the nation’s energy grid in favor of newer efficient ones.

The government’s rebate program, in which the Department of Energy is providing states with $300 million approved earlier this year as part of President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan, serves another goal similar to the cash-for-clunker program: It’s designed to boost the economy.

“These rebates will help families make the transition to more efficient appliances, making purchases that will directly stimulate the economy and create jobs,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in announcing the rebate program earlier this summer. Read the full Story from USA Today

Eco Friendly-Recycled Cardboard Furniture by Krooom

If you have been reading this blog, I am almost fanatic about the many uses of cardboard! Krooom, has designed a new eco friendly furniture made from recycled cardboard. Krooom cardboard furniture is definitely a DYI, but as you can see by the below video, it looks very easy to put together. They make furniture for the home, office and kids. I like it.

Green Factor:

• Cardboard furniture is packed flat- no need for styrene peanuts, less energy expended.
• Cardboard is easily recycled, it one decides they don’t like it anymore.
• Cardboard furniture is made from recycled cardboard, or magazines- conserving energy and natural resources.