recycling

Green Earth Technologies claims that it's come up with a motor oil that is friendlier toward the environment.

G-oil is a more sustainable option than regular motor oil brands because it's made in part from beef slaughter byproducts, namely animal fat, according to the Stamford, Conn.-based company.

Green Earth Technologies also claims that its G-Oil exceeds the "Ultimate Biodegradability" standard (60 percent biodegraded within 28 days) of the international standards organization ASTM.

The company says more than 90 percent of used G-Oil will biodegrade in just nine days. That's a considerable claim. Used motor … Read more

That hat you see to the right is smokin'. No, it literally is. Chilean fashion designer Alexandra Guerrero made it from recycled cigarette butts.

Through her new company, Mantis, Guerrero combines purified smokes with natural wool to form a raw, textured material that can be woven into garments with a surprisingly appealing modern macrame flair.

Of course, as cute as the finished products may be, it's hard to imagine nonsmokers wearing Guerrero's creations without experiencing a significant ick factor. Still, you have to applaud the designer's creative contribution to the everyday-objects-from-recycled goods oeuvre.

"This project began … Read more

Hewlett-Packard has decided to offer people in the United States money in exchange for their old tech equipment, the company announced Tuesday.

The PC maker has had a recycling program for years that lets consumers determine the value of their old tech equipment, then receive a credit for that value toward a new HP or Compaq brand product.

This new recycling program does not require people to buy anything to realize a monetary gain from giving HP their old tech equipment, though they are responsible for postage when mailing in the item. The shipping costs associated with a "Premium … Read more

I've thrown recyclables into the trash more than once: if I don't have a place to put a bottle separate from cans or newspapers, I don't want to worry about it. I certainly don't want to stick all of my recycling into just one bin. Sorting it back out again is time consuming, and can be a little gross. Ideally, I'd like to have three different recycling bins in my kitchen--but there's absolutely no room for them. However, the Three Section Recycle Bin provides a space-saving option that will fit in my kitchen.

The … Read more

Makers of mobile phones produce few "green" models with biodegradable, recycled, or fully recyclable materials. And although most vendors offer recycling options, less than five percent of the world's handsets will be recycled ethically in the end, according to a report released by ABI Research Monday.

Cell phones are a growing source of potentially toxic electronics waste. Among some 150 million handsets retired every year, fewer than 20 percent are recycled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

However, it's unprofitable for most companies to release dedicated eco-friendly models on a massive scale, the ABI report suggested.… Read more

Many sites pledge to pay you for mailed-in used consumer electronics. But how worthwhile are they? CNET's Elsa Wenzel has some answers.

Plus, good news for Cyber Monday. Not such good news for the PC industry. All this and more on Wednesday's CNET News Daily Podcast. Listen now: Download today's podcast

Today's stories:

Cyber Monday spending up 15 percent

PC shipments to grow just 3.8 percent in 2009

Wikipedia gets $890,000 for the Luddites

Picasa chief departs Google for Fetch

BlackBerry sales to disappoint Wall Street

Gadget trade-in services that pay off

Photo world begins grappling with video SLRs… Read more

Web sites that promise to pay for your old gadgets look bright around the holidays, when every extra dollar can count toward new gifts or even utility bills. But are the services worthwhile? How much can you earn?

We examined nine services that pay for your unwanted digital wares. These are among the newest options to help keep electronics waste out of landfills, while uncluttering your closets.

We looked up what each service said it would pay for working iPods, PDAs, laptops, gaming consoles, and more, with cables but lacking their original boxes. For dead devices, some offer a pittance, or will connect you with willing recyclers and charity recipients. Our chart (at right) shows what each site claims it pays for specific equipment. Keep reading for highlights of the trade-in services.

We can't yet vouch for the start-to-finish experience of mailing in products to these companies. Those that find your equipment in worse shape than you estimated will downgrade the trade-in value.

If you only need to offload an old phone, look out for our upcoming comparison of sites that specialize in refurbishing and recycling handsets, including Cell for Cash, Simply Sellular, and ReCellular. … Read more

Typical order of operations for gathering recyclables: Place empty paper grocery bag next to trash can. Fill bag with paper, bottles, and cans, but procrastinate on carrying it to the building's recycling bin. Accidentally kick the overstuffed bag, spewing bottles and cans across the kitchen floor. Run through a full vocabulary of profanities while cleaning up the mess and grumpily taking recyclables downstairs. Repeat.

Typical order of operations with the Mode All-in-One Recycling System: Crush cans and plastic bottles in the mechanical compactor, which drops them into the 8-gallon bin. Add glass, metal, and other non-crushables via a bypass … Read more

Proper recycling of computer and electronic equipment is a pain. Not only do you have to carry it to a special place, you often also have to pay $10 or so per item. For this reason, I've seen a lot of people just leave their computer on the sidewalk and hope it will somehow disappear.

To ease this pain and boost environmental consciousness, according to the Associated Press, Dell and Staples announced Wednesday that you can recycle any Dell computer equipment for free at Staples.

This equipment includes any amount of Dell-branded PCs, monitors, keyboards, printers, mice, and other … Read more