recycling

Photos: Green homes on the cheap

There are all sorts of tech geeks working at CNET. I'm an energy geek, both at home and at work.

So how do you do the "green building" thing? Well, if you're wealthy enough to hire a sustainability architect, you have a new home built with bamboo flooring and solar panels (and lots of closet space.)

For all the rest of us, I've assembled a photo gallery on ways to "green" your lifestyle using some examples from my home. For a very thorough run-down of resources, check out "How to green your life&… Read more

How to green your life

Want to green your life in honor of Earth Day on Tuesday? Good luck. There's seemingly no limit to the potential catch-22s of trying to do the right thing by the environment.

For example, could so-called green fuel destroy rainforests and drive up food prices? Are organic vegetables shipped from South America really better than those grown conventionally yet closer to home? What if the making of solar panels would pollute a city in China?

Consumers are far removed from the design, mining, manufacture, packaging, and transportation involved in making goods available for daily life, while a complex global … Read more

Study: E-waste recycling poisons people with heavy metals

A new study highlights the toll that electronic waste is taking on the people and places where large-scale recycling is done.

The scientific journal Environmental Science and Technology published results of a study that measured the level of heavy metals in Guiyu, China, a village heavily involved in processing discarded electronic products like PCs.

Researchers measured the levels of heavy metals that are released by people using "crude" processing techniques of electronic circuit boards.

From the summary:

Levels at the schoolyard and food market showed that public places were adversely impacted. Risk assessment predicted that Pb (lead) and … Read more

Cash in trash: RecycleBank gets hefty funding

RecycleBank on Tuesday said that it has raised $30 million to increase its operations in the U.S. and expand into Europe.

The series B round came from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, RRE Ventures, Sigma Partners, and The Westly Group.

The company has developed a novel business model to incentivize consumers to recycle more.

It gives households points based on the total weight of what they recycle rather than throw away. Those points can be redeemed to purchase more consumer goods, like food and coffee.

So far, RecycleBank has gotten 40 municipalities in the northeastern United States to sign … Read more

Third-world lessons for recycling phones

SAN FRANCISCO--Jan Chipchase is a cell phone modification guru. A researcher at Nokia Design in Tokyo, he's seen cell phones modified to hold up to 16 SIM cards and plenty more in his role at the company.

Chipchase is a member of a team at Finnish cell phone giant Nokia that's trying to lower the cost of phones for emerging markets, an effort that's part market development and part recycling. The group of 15 has scanned bazaars and street shops in places as diverse as Ghana, Brazil, Iran, India, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, China, and Mongolia to learn … Read more

Office Depot trying to demystify green, recycling

One of the toughest things about being environmentally sensitive is knowing exactly how to do so.

To that end, Office Depot will launch a new brand on Earth Day (April 22) called "Office Depot Green" that will specialize in green products. And the company will explain why its products are green too, i.e. provide information on recycling, reuseability, etc. The company will also set up programs for small businesses that will explain strategies and tips for energy efficiency and other topics. Designer Kelly LaPlante will set up a site later this year that will rate the greenness of building materials. … Read more

Give your old gadgets new life

Think before you toss your broken cell phone in the garbage.

And your old CRT television or desktop monitor, for that matter. Three million tons of electronic waste go into landfills every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and much of what's thrown away is either in good condition or at least fixable.

Many options are available from manufacturers like Hewlett-Packard and Dell and retailers like Staples that voluntarily take back broken-down tech and recycle or refurbish it.

If that's too tough to figure out, there are third-party companies that are dying for your old tech toys. … Read more

Jump in my (green) bed

My favorite green product of the week: Keetsa eco-friendly mattresses

What is it?

Keetsa mattresses are made with 100% recycled steel coils, scrap memory foam bits, and a variety of sustainable materials like bamboo fabrics and unbleached natural cotton. Keetsa offers six different types of mattresses.

Why is it better?

Most people sleep on mattresses. Most people spend one-third of their lives in bed. But most people don't know that conventional mattresses are covered in flame-retardants, petroleum-based pesticides, and other harsh chemicals. Well, not Keetsa mattresses. Not to mention, all those recycled materials I listed before? A lot of … Read more

Samsung performs first ever printerectomy

Scoot over and make room for another member of the green-trend bandwagon; Samsung just threw itself into the mix. Today, it announced its PrintCycle program aimed at businesses looking to get eco-friendly. The basic premise comes from the idea that the quality of a workhorse printer dwindles over time. Most people conjure images of a certain scene from Office Space when they're ready to dispose of their units, but Samsung's offering a better solution: Get a new printer on the vendor's bill.

Here's the plan: three years after your initial purchase date, Samsung will come break … Read more