Posts Tagged recycling

Event: Gadgets & Gizmos Get You Drinks, Wednesday February 29, 2012 at Brother Jimmy's in Union Square, NYC

Gadgets & Gizmos Get You Drinks

E-Cycling Happy Hour at Brother Jimmy’s

What: Don’t throwaway your throwback electronics! New York based electronics recycling program, Guzu, is encouraging you to go green with your gadgets by giving you an opportunity to let your old Blackberry, T-9 calculator or laptop buy you a drink! Bring in any old working or non-working electronic to recycle as your ticket in for an exclusive happy hour at Brother Jimmy’s in Union Square on Wednesday, February 29th. Dig through your old junk drawer and join us as we toast to the old junk in your trunk and properly recycle abandoned electronics.

The guest who recycles the oldest, throwback electronic (i.e. Zack Morris cell phone, or beeper) will be awarded Brother Jimmy’s signature fishbowl, Swamp Water. Happy hour specials include:

  • $3.00: PBR, Bud/Bud Light Drafts, Nattys, Well Drinks, Frozen Margaritas
  • $5.00: Heinekens, Frickles appetizer

Who: Guzu, launched by three New York eco-preneurs, pays consumers cash for their old electronics and then recycles them to the highest extent possible; helping to keep electronics out of landfills. On top of putting green in consumers’ wallets, Guzu also plants a tree for every transaction completed through their partner American Forests, a nonprofit organization that seeks to protect the natural capital of trees and forests.

Why Guzu: Often times retired or broken electronics are tossed into landfills as they are not disposed of or recycled properly, adding to the millions of tons of “e-waste” produced every year. There are presently over 3 billion consumer electronics in homes all across America and over 500 million consumer electronics sold annually. Currently, only 25% of e-waste is properly recycled, with the vast majority ending up in landfills or consumers’ “junk drawers.”

When: Wednesday February 29, 2012; 5:00pm – 8:00pm

Where: Brother Jimmy’s; Union Square; 116 East 16th Street (between Park Ave South & Irving Place) New York, NY 10003; www.brotherjimmys.com; (212) 673-6465; Closets subways top to location is Union Sq (N,Q,R,L,4,5,6)

Tickets: Bring any old working or non-working gadget (cell phone, calculator, gaming unit, etc) and drop it into the Guzu e-cycling bin in exchange for your happy hour ticket.

About Guzu, Inc. At Guzu, “eco-friendly” comes in many shades of green – green for your wallet, green for industry, and green for the environment. Our unique value proposition allows consumers to sell their used electronics for cash, while supplying the Consumer Electronics Industry with recycled parts, which help to sustain the secondary market.  Through our partnership with American Forests, we also reduce the industry’s carbon footprint by planting one tree for every order completed.  For complete instructions on how to recycle, please visit www.guzu.com

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ChicoBag takes on Big Plastic

“For six years, Andy Keller has waged war against the plastic shopping bag.

Now the bag is fighting back.

Keller is the founder and president of ChicoBag, a small firm in Chico making reusable shopping bags that compress into fist-sized pouches when not in use. He founded the business to give people an alternative to the ubiquitous disposable bags that often litter sidewalks, line streambeds, snag in trees and wash into the sea.

Makers of the plastic bags have taken notice.

Three of those companies have sued ChicoBag in South Carolina, accusing Keller’s business of causing them “irreparable injury.” The suit argues that ChicoBag’s website and marketing material contain false or misleading information in a deliberate attempt to “misappropriate … customers and potential customers.”‘

ChicoBag takes on Big Plastic via David R. Baker – San Francisco Chronicle

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Green Festival 2011-An Eco-Extravaganza

“It was great to see Chicago go green post St. Patrick’s Day, with the annual Green Festival.

Du-Jay again enjoyed people power bike ride with Working Bikes. It’s fun to see the pedaling create enough energy to make a little bike go around the world, spout water from a mermaid rain barrel or play a record!   We also saw our old favorites, Coco Loco, who will also be at Summer Camp Music Festival again.   I wear 2 pairs of their earrings pretty much 24/7 and Sagezilla also has a spiral pair she often wears when not actively doing gymnastics.    We also saw the booth that makes old banners into super cool wallets and bags, like my favorite one that resembles the Chicago flag….and a certain blog header.”

Green Festival 2011-An Eco-Extravaganza via ChIL Mama

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Seattle Green Festival Recap

Green Festival 2011 via Tasha Kaye – The Clean Eating Mama

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King County offers everyday ‘green’ tips at annual Green Festival, May 21-22, in Seattle

“From helping people make affordable and resource-saving home improvements, to offering planet-saving consumer advice, King County government is recognized nationally as a leader of sustainability and “green” living.

Come see some of the County’s top sustainability and green experts at the annual Green Festival, at Qwest Field on Saturday, May 21 from 10 a.m.–7 p.m. and on Sunday, May 22 from 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

This is a great opportunity to hear from more than 125 experts on sustainability and interconnectivity within the green movement; visit with dozens of exhibitors from across the region promoting the benefits of fair trade; and get samples of products from around the globe.

Two of King County’s own environmental experts will also be participating in presentations at the show:”

King County offers everyday ‘green’ tips at annual Green Festival, May 21-22, in Seattle via King County Natural Resources and Parks

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Earth Day in San Francisco Events and Activities in San Francisco for Earth Day 2011

“Although San Francisco is green on a daily basis–we have the highest recycling and composting rate of U.S. cities–Earth Day is still a special occasion for us to celebrate nature and the environment. The annual, internationally recognized Earth Day is April 22, but the weekends before and after in San Francisco are busy with Earth-Day-inspired festivities as well. In this guide, find Earth Day activities in San Francisco and the Bay Area, listed in chronological order.”

Earth Day in San Francisco – Events and Activities in San Francisco for Earth Day 2011 via Barbara Koh – About.com

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EARTH DAY SF: CO-CREATING SOLUTIONS NOW

Celebrate Earth Day at the Civic Center Plaza, Downtown San Francisco  •  April 23, 2011  •  10 am to 6 pm

SAN FRANCISCO Celebrate Earth Day in San Francisco this year at the Civic Center Plaza, April 23rd from 10am-6pm. This diverse and enriching event is designed to bring together leading members of the green business and sustainability activist movement with the public to co-create a vision of how communities address a current multitude of environmental issues. This robust new educational, multi-cultural, entertaining and family-focused event targets pressing environmental issues while promoting and offering solution oriented community action.
Keynotes include Chaske Spencer [star of the hit movie “Twilight;” Founder of Be the Shift campaign and United Global Shift organization], Kevin Danaher [Green Festivals and Global Exchange], Cecil Williams, Starhawk, Ocean Robbins, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Stacy Malkan, Vinit Allen, Dolores Huerta, Richard Heinberg and more will guide, inspire and enlighten.

Enjoy live music by Sila Afro-Funk, Sun Ra, Barry “The Fish” Melton, Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers with members of ALO & The Mother Hips, Ashel Eldridge, Scott Huckabay, Afrolicious, Joanne Rand, Alex Arndt, DJ Jimmy Love and more.

Participants will enjoy a wide variety of musicians, performers, expert speakers & activists on three stages and in the speaker’s tent.  Visit exhibits, explore hands-on activities, workshops and solution-based talks in the Permaculture Zone, Alternative Energy Zone and Holistic Wellness Zone.  Kids’ activities include a playground on-site, face painting, educational games and art from the Sustainable Living Roadshow featured in the Youth and Kids Zone.

Raw Bay Area and Best of Raw present a full-day Sustainable Feast Raw Gourmet Food Prep Demo Series in the Holistic Wellness Zone.  Massage therapists, Green Film, organic beer and wine tasting, cutting edge eco fashion shows, alternative vehicle showcase and many more highlights complete this diverse cultural extravaganza.

Join leading members of the business and indigenous communities, artists and artisans, civic community leaders, local “eco-green” politicians, traditional ceremony keepers, workshop leaders, eco-green & youth activists and environmental & social justice organizations in a holiday to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s natural environment. The event will be opened and closed with traditional ceremony to honor all life and planet we all share.

The founders of Earth Day SF are Green Zone Productions , One World-One Voice and Empowerment Works, the Presenting Sponsor is Santa Cruz Organic and the event is produced in cooperation with the National Organization for Women, Living Mandala, Solar Living Institute, Raw Bay Area, Visionary Culture, Sustainable Living Roadshow, and with the support of Harmony Festival, Global Exchange, Green Festivals, Earth Island Institute, 350.org, Green Kids, Teens Turning Green, Grind for the Green / Green For All, Hope and Beyond and more.

This Earth Day is occurring on the heels of some major climate events, toxic threats, species extinctions and  just a few days after the one year mark of the BP oil spill. Much progress has been made and much more remains to be done. Together, we can and must co-create solutions to these issues as stewards of our planet.


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80’S TV HERO MACGYVER INSPIRES KIDS IN SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOLS

Join Matthew Jervis of MacGyver Class! and build with recycled materials in the Green Kids' Zone at San Francisco Green Festival Sat & Sun April 9-10 at 12:30 pm

New arts-based after-school program speaks directly to President Obama’s educational goals around building 21st-century skills

San Francisco, California­––Mission Graduates is pleased to announce a collaboration with Matt Jervis, creator of the innovative new educational program MacGyverClass. Designed to help kids lead, build confidence and exercise 21st century problem-solving skills,MacGyverClass is a creative curriculum that responds to multiple learning styles and encourages joyful learning through dynamic after-school sessions. MacGyverClass pushed children to devise creative solutions to whimsical challenges using recycled and other “cast-off” materials. Challenged, for example, to build “sneakers that you can use for time travel” using egg cartons, duct tape, bottle caps and VHS tape, students respond with finished products that are often beautiful sculptural pieces.

Jeff Feinman, Executive Director of Mission Graduates, observed Matt’s MacGyverClass in its infancy at various Berkeley schools and sought to integrate the project with his own after-school service menu.  Says Feinman, “I was looking to inspire a deep love of learning and to create opportunities for kids to flex problem-solving “muscles” that aren’t always nurtured in traditional, one-size-fits-all school-day classrooms.” One hundred students have registered for MacGyverClass over the past four years and Feinman sees significant growth on the horizon. Because the program aligns strongly with the SFUSD’s new strategic plan, which puts a heavy emphasis on “21st century skills” and “joyful learning,” MacGyverClass was a natural fit for his organization.

Mission Graduates is a nonprofit organization that increases the number of K-12 students in San Francisco’s Mission District who are prepared for and complete a college education.  Through a wide range of in-school and after-school programs, Mission Graduates seeks to transform the culture of the community to one in which college is an everyday expectation. In addition to adding MacGyverClass to their program menu, Mission Graduates is committed to identifying other distribution channels for MacGyverClass, replicating the project using a “train the trainer” model at multiple after-school sites throughout San Francisco.

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Chicago Drops $2.5M on Trash Compactors

“Garbage collection in the Loop will soon change thanks to a new purchase.

The city bought about 400 solar-powered trash compactors for streets in downtown Chicago, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Each unit compacts the trash using solar power, and it holds about five times the garbage of a normal trash can.

The compactor also contains a built-in sensor to alert when it’s full.”

Chicago Drops $2.5M on Trash Compactors via Sandra Torres – NBC Chicago

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Growing food and recycling trash into garden tools

“More people are interested in growing their own food, said Yvonne Savio, manager of the University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program.

“There is so much more interest in gardening now because of the economy and issues with obesity and diabetes,” she said.

But gardening, Savio noted, is also about being creative and imaginative in reusing what you have. So on Sunday, Savio will discuss how throwaway items can be reused as tools in the garden.”

Growing food and recycling trash into garden tools via LA Times Home

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