Patagonia's Common Thread Garment Recycling

Did you know that you can recycling some types of performance clothing? Through it's Common Thread Recycling Program, Patagonia recycles certain types of clothing into new clothing using a "fiber-to-fiber" process. They accept Patagonia® fleece, Polartec® fleece clothing (from any maker), Patagonia cotton T-shirts, and some additional polyester and nylon 6 products. Clothing can be mailed in or dropped off at any Patagonia Store.

The only Patagonia retail store in Minnesota is located at 1648 Grand Ave in St Paul.

Click here to see how it works, or here for more information on the Common Threads program.

Tues, Jan 20, 6:30 pm - mtg on Household Hazardous Waste

Reminder - EcoParents is meeting on Tuesday, Jan 20 at 6:30-8:30 pm at Linden Hills Park. Our topic will be "Household Hazardous Waste - What it is, How to reduce it, and How to properly dispose of it." Our guest speaker will be Sandra Nussbaum from Hennepin County.

We will also be making our own non-toxic household cleaners at the meeting, so we don't have to purchase commercial (and often chemical-laden) cleaners! All supplies will be provided, as well as 'recipes' for making additional cleaning products from non-toxic (or less toxic) ingredients.

Linden Hills Natural Home has donated an assortment of non-toxic cleaners, which we will give away at the meeting to participants. So, come for a chance to win! And thanks to Natural Home!

It might not sound exciting or sexy, but it is one of the most important topics we'll cover this year. Increasing our understanding about household hazardous waste has the greatest potential for reducing negative environmental impacts and well as reducing our families' exposure to toxic materials.

See you Tuesday!

Get green ($$) for your old electronic gadgets!

Do you have unused electronics? We have a whole box of old cell phones, PDAs, even camcorders and I think a laptop! (My husband's nickname is "Gadget Man" and he is what's known as an "early adopter" when it comes to all things techy. So we have a lot of outdated electronics.) I always knew I shouldn't throw it away...but wasn't sure the best (or easiest) way to get rid of it. And I think everything works, just outdated.

So I was so excited to find Gazelle. Bottom line: they will give you cash for your old electronics! It's super simple. Just visit their website, tell them what you want to get rid of, and they'll tell you how much they'll pay you for it! If you agree to their price, they'll send you a postage-paid box for you to ship your item(s) to them. Once they receive and inspect it, they'll send you a check. You can also designate a charity of your choice to receive the money, if you prefer!

If the item still has market value, they remove all personal info (although I'd do it before I sent it) and resell it through their channels. If there is no market value, they recycle it.

They call it "ReCommerce" and state that users earn and average of $115!

How easy is that? Gazelle accepts cell phones, PDAs, camcorders, camera, computers, external devices, MP3 players, gaming consoles, movies, video games, GPS devices, and satellite radios.

We could even organize a neighborhood electronics drive as a fundraiser for EcoParents (or the neighborhood organization as a whole)! Now that's a win-win!

Let's discuss at our EcoParents meeting on Tuesday, Jan 20, 6:30-8:30 at Linden Hills Park. It's a perfect fit for our topic - Household Hazardous Waste!

Preserve Toothbrushes - made from recycled yogurt containers!

I took the kids to the dentist last week (fun fun) and they, of course, got a free toothbrush. As I tossed their old toothbrushes in the trash, it occurred to me that there may be a better option. It seems like we go through toothbrushes quickly, since at their tender ages of 2 & 4, they tend to bite on their toothbrush a lot thereby rendering it pretty useless within a few weeks! So, I googled "recycled toothbrushes" and found Preserve Jr toothbrushes.

The company Recycline makes Preserve, a whole line of household items made from 100% recycled materials. Their toothbrushes are made from recycled #5 plastic - which is yogurt containers and other so-called tub plastics! In fact, they have a cool partnership with Stonyfield Farms.

It gets even better! Not only are they made from recycled plastic, the toothbrushes are also RECYCLABLE, along with their razors and tongue cleaners! You can mail them back to Recycline, Inc with free postage-paid label that you can print directly from their website and they will be recycled into plastic lumber! (They suggest that you mail back as many as possible in one envelope to save money and resources associated with ground mail).

And it gets EVEN better! Preserve recently started its "Gimme 5" program that accepts #5 plastics - which is 'tub' plastics like yogurt containers! Yes, the ONE thing that is not currently collected by the fabulous Minneapolis Recycling program can be mailed directly to Preserve and they will recycle that plastic into many of their products! They also have drop-off locations at Whole Foods Markets in the Northeast and California. They website doesn't list any MN drop-off locations, but I heard that they indeed will have drop-off locations at the Lake Calhoun Whole Foods shortly! The Gimme 5 program also accepts Brita filters.

If folks are interested, EcoParents could start collecting these items and mail them in for recycling to Preserve or organize a drop-off at Lake Calhoun Whole Foods. Make a comment if you're interested, and we can talk about it at the meeting on Tuesday, Jan 20! Let's help make the Gimme 5 program a success!

In researching for this post, I found that they were featured on the local Everything Green radio program just this past Saturday! You can listen to the podcast here.

Their toothbrushes cost $2.79 online, but are also available at Twin Cities Green, Lunds, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Crate & Barrel.

Preserve got their start with toothbrushes, but now offer a range of personal care items, tablewear, and kitchen items - all made from recycled materials and BPA free.

So cool!

Lake Harriet Winter Kite Fest - Sat, Jan 10!

Just a reminder that tomorrow, Sat, Jan 10, is the Lake Harriet Winter Kite Festival from noon-4pm at Lake Harriet by the bandshell.

The family-friendly event features ice fishing, horse-carriage rides, a scavenger hunt, a bonfire and of course- kites! The event is sponsored by several organizations including Linden Hills Neighborhood Council (LHiNC), Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) and the East Harriet Farmstead Neighborhood Association (EHFNA). View the Kite Festival flyer here.

50 Easy Ways to Eat Green - from Bon Appetit!

So I was reading my Bon Appetit magazine last night, dreaming of the time when I can REALLY cook again (rather than just make dinner) and came across an article entitled "50 Easy Ways to Eat Green." Some of these I already do (e.g., join a CSA, cook more often, be your own barista), but many of these were new ideas (e.g., Text Fishphone, Make Your Own Cereal)

I especially liked learning about Fishphone...You can use your mobile phone to send a text to Blue Ocean Institute's FishPhone service. Text 30644 and enter FISH, followed by the name of the fish you want to buy. You'll receive a text telling you if the variety is good for you and the world! Pretty cool... More on fish buying later.

Check out the entire article here.

MEETING DATE CHANGED TO JAN 20

Due the lack of available meeting space on the originally scheduled date, the next EcoParents meeting has been moved to TUESDAY, JANUARY 20 instead of Wed, Jan 21. We will meet at the Linden Hills Park Building (43rd & Xerxes Ave S) in the multi-purpose room from 6:30-8:30 pm. Our topic and speaker remain the same as originally planned. Click here for original post (or scroll down).

Thanks to our guest speaker, Sandra Nussbaum from Hennepin County, for her gracious flexibility!

Hope to see you on Jan 20 to learn about Household Hazardous Waste!

EcoParents Meeting (now Jan 20) on Household Hazardous Waste

Update (1/7/09): The January Ecoparents meeting is now scheduled for TUESDAY, JANUARY 20 instead of Wed, Jan 21 as originally planned. We will meet at the Linden Hills Park Building, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please update your calendar.

Ever wonder what you're supposed to do with leftover paint or all those other things you just know aren't supposed to go in the trash? Concerned about those ingredients you can't pronounce on your cleaning products? Still looking for Mr. Yuk stickers to label bottles filled with nasty stuff?? Then the next EcoParents meeting is for you!

The next meeting of Linden Hills EcoParents is scheduled for Wednesday, January 21, 6:30-8:30 pm. (UPDATE: The meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday, Jan 20 instead of Jan 21!! ) Our topic will be "Household Hazardous Waste - What it is, How to reduce it, and How to properly dispose of it." Our guest speaker will be Sandra Nussbaum from Hennepin County.

We will also be making our own non-toxic household cleaners at the meeting, so we don't have to purchase commercial (and often chemical-laden) cleaners! All supplies will be provided, as well as 'recipies' for making additional cleaning products from non-toxic (or less toxic) ingredients.

It might not sound exciting or sexy, but it is one of the most important topics we'll cover this year. Increasing our understanding about household hazardous waste has the greatest potential for reducing negative environmental impacts and well as reducing our families' exposure to toxic materials. I hope to see you there...

What do I do with batteries??

At a party last night, a friend asked me what to do about batteries. As with most things in life, the answer is "it depends." But, it got me researching a bit...and here's what I found!

In Minneapolis, household batteries are accepted as part of the curbside recycling program. They recommend that you tape the ends of lithium batteries to prevent fires (yikes!) and place them in a plastic bag on top of your recycling bin. This includes both rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries.

For the rest of Hennepin County, all types of household batteries may be dropped off at battery collection sites. For a list of battery collection locations in Hennepin County, click here. They may also be dropped off free of charge at Bloomington or Brooklyn Park drop off facility.

I was very very surprised to learn that alkaline batteries and carbon zinc batteries purchased after 1993 are ok to throw in the garbage, according to both the Hennepin County and RethinkRecycling.com! (Although, the city of Minneapolis says "Do NOT put any batteries in your garbage cart"...perhaps b/c they go to the incinerator?) Personally, I'll choose to keep my batteries out of the waste stream, especially since it's so easy to do!

Another option to reduce waste is to switch to rechargeable batteries. Did you know that 2 AA Ni-Cad rechargeable batteries can replace 600 single use batteries?!? Although, it is essential to make sure that rechargeables are disposed of properly (e.g., separate for curbside collection, drop at battery collection site, at a county drop-off facility, or at a participating retailer) since the rechargeables have dangerous chemicals in them. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation has a great website that can help you locate nearby retailers that accept rechargeable batteries free of charge as well. Some of the participating retailers include Best Buy, Batteries Plus, Circuit City, Home Depot, Office Depot, Radio Shack, Sears, Staples, Target, and Wal-Mart.

Hennepin County has a nice chart to help guide you in proper disposal of all types of batteries. And remember, in Minneapolis, all household batteries can be set out with your regular recycling, just place in a separate sealed plastic bag.

Wet-cell batteries such as car batteries are not accepted curbside or at the batteries collection locations, but are accepted free of charge at county drop sites and at most stores that sell auto batteries. (By law, they are required to accepted up to 5 auto batteries for no charge and no purchase required.)

Whew...hope that clears things up a bit!