Show of hands.  How many of you actively participate in recycling endeavors in your community?  You schlep around your empty cans, jugs, and bottles.  You pile them up with your used papers, then sort them all into bins so some poor schmoe down at the recycling center doesn’t have to.  All so your city can save a few dimes on an already expensive endeavor.

Let’s think about this honestly for a minute.  Because, I think we’ve got our terms confused.  What, exactly, is recycling?  It’s the taking of something that’s already been used, and putting it back through the manufacturing cycle so that the material can be used again.  That extra cycle is where the term recycling comes from!  But, what is the cost of that extra cycle.  Let’s break it down a bit.  We’ll ignore the first cycle, since it’s going to get used for the first cycle regardless.

Let’s consider a plastic bottle.  It’s been created, and used.  It’s empty, so has no further use in it’s first cycle.  You collect it with similar bottles, then submit it to the local recycling center.  We’ll discount the energy that you use in collecting the bottle, as it really isn’t that much more work than you would use in throwing the bottle away.  But, what about the energy that will be used in picking up or dropping off the bottle.  You’ve got to either have someone pick up the bottle, or you have to drop it off at the recycling center.  Once the bottle has been taken to the recycling center, it then has to be shipped to a factory where it can be broken down in a way that makes it recyclable.  More energy wasted in transportation.  Once it’s there, at the factory, it then has to be broken down.  Depending on the process, that could involve melting the plastic under heat.  It could mean squishing, cutting, and making the plastic into threads.  Even more energy wasted.  Once it’s been broken down, the resulting product must be taken to yet another factory that can then turn it into the “recycled” product.

By the time it’s recycled, it’s been through a manufacturing process three times.  Does the extra cost in energy, pollutants, and work make it worth our while?  I’m not sure that it does.  Want to take a deeper look at some of this?  Take a look at this video.  Now, arguably, the show is called “Bullshit”, and anyone who uses that as the name of their show (or as a title for an article) is out to be a bit sensationalist.  And, certainly, I don’t know that Penn and Teller count as experts.  But, I do think they make some interesting points.  There’s three parts to it, so it’s a bit long, but worth watching, I think. When you’re done, we’ll continue on below. P.S. as you can imagine, a show whose title is “Bullshit” has some NSFW language in it.

I admit, I like sensationalism. And, I’ll make another admission. I’m not entirely against recycling. But, I tend to think that the first two parts of the motto “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” are far more useful and important than the recycling. By reducing the amount of energy and products that we use, less needs to be made. By reusing the things that we can, we reduce the amount of products that will need to be recycled or thrown into a landfill.  Instead of expecting someone else to ease my conscious, and take away my trash to be converted into something usable, I’d rather reduce the amount of trash I make.  Less paper plates.  Less non-reusable water bottles.  Less stuff.

The one thing that I collect to send off to recycling is soda cans.  Mostly, because I can drop them off at the local Humane Society where they take them to a scrap metal yard and sell them for cash.  It’s an extra way to give to one of my favorite charities.  Here’s some more sensationalism for you.  The Humane Society is, essentially, a pet recycling center.  People take their unwanted and used pets there, so that they can be washed, fed, given their shots, and sent back out to a new family.

I’ve gone on about recycling long enough.  Now, it’s your turn.  Scroll down a few inches on the screen and leave a comment.  Do you agree that recycling might be bullshit?  Do you recycle religiously?  What steps do you take to reduce, reuse, and recycle?  Heck, you can let me have it in the comments too, if you like.  One small caveat in doing so, is that any excessive NSFW language will likely get edited out.

Saving money isn’t the only thing out there if you want to become wealthy.  All it does is reduce the amount of money you spend.  You’ve still go to find ways to make more money through a better paying job, passive income, or a second job.  But, it’s still an important part of a well-rounded wealth plan.  One of the more popular, green, methods of saving a few dollars is to turn off your appliances.  Turning them off isn’t the end of it though.  Many of them still pull a small amount of energy from the electrical system even when they are, technically, off.  While it isn’t a whole bunch, it still can amount to enough to keep you from realizing your full savings.  In the UK, they have electrical sockets that have switches built into them that turns the socket completely off, and cuts it’s supply of electricity.  Unfortunately, here in the US, we don’t have such a thing.  But, we can buy power strips and adapters that have timers and switches to cut the supply to the sockets.

Power Strips

Power strips come in many different shapes and sizes, and almost all of them have a switch of some sort on them to cut the power.  Buying one isn’t a huge problem.  Your local Walmart likely has several to choose from.  Consider the things you’ll be plugging into the strip, however, when shopping for one.  If you’ll be plugging in sensitive electrical equipment, like computers, DVD players, laptops, and printers, you’ll want to have one with a surge suppressor, at the least.  You might even consider getting one with a battery backup system so that the equipment stays on when there’s a power outage.  If you want to get really fancy, take a look at this strip from Belkin.  It’s the Conserve Smart power strip.  It’s got a socket that can detect when the item plugged into it is turned on or not and shut off several of it’s other sockets based on that info.

Power Adapters

Adapters also come in several shapes and sizes.  If you want to get a close look at what you are using in electricity, you can use an adapter that will monitor usage and has a readout of the total usage. Something like this Kill-A-Watt energy usage monitor would do the trick.  A more simple, and elegant, solution is the Belkin Conserve Energy Switch.  It’s a simple adapter that goes between the socket in the wall and the device you’re plugging in.  It’s got a toggle switch built right in allowing you to simply flip the switch and cut the power to the device.  It should work great for devices like coffee makers, shredders, and anything else that doesn’t require multiple sockets or anything fancy.

Pull the Plug

Yes, there is an even simpler solution.  Simply pull the plug from the outlet.  No fancy adapters or power strips needed.

With any of these solutions, there’s a small amount of learning curve in play.  You’ve got to learn to remember to flip the switch or unplug the stuff when you’re not using it.  You’ve also got to learn to remember to flip the switch back on or plug the stuff back in when you do want to use it.  Not the biggest thing, and as you do it more and more, you’ll get used to it.  One small note, that I don’t think I really need to say, but I will anyways, is that this isn’t meant to be the be-all, end-all of conserving energy methods.  Making sure you’re using the most energy efficient appliances in the first place, for instance, is likely to save you a lot more on your energy costs than unplugging appliances.  Switching out your incandescent light bulbs for more energy efficient alternatives is also more likely to save you more money.  But, if you’re looking to squeeze a few more cents from your watts (terrible electricity pun, I know.), you’ll do everything you can to save some money, including unplugging or cutting the power to your appliances with a switch like those mentioned above.

Share with everyone!  What are your energy conservation tricks?  Do you turn the heat off all winter and wrap yourselves in wool blankets?  Do you turn off the fridge in the winter and simply store your goods outdoors in the snow?  Tell us!

Everybody knows it’s great to go green, but have you ever considered why? Here’s some advice for homeowners on how greening their homes can lead to a higher quality of life.

1. Homeowners with greener homes pay less for water and electricity each month. If you’re one of the green-savvy homeowners who have installed solar panels or a solar water heater, you are at a great advantage. Although these systems are usually used to complement traditional means of providing electricity and heating water, some lucky homeowners have discovered that they can produce enough green energy to go entirely off the grid. Not to mention that maximizing natural light can lead to lower consumption of electricity, as well.

2. Green homes last longer and sell higher. For those homeowners who are fortunate enough to be able to build their dream green home or participate in the construction of a home already in progress, green additions can be well worth the investment. Not only do these homes produce less waste during the construction process, but their green features — such as reclaimed bamboo floors and solar panels — last longer, giving them a higher resale price if you ever decide you want to move. And who knows how much more in-demand green homes will become as fuel prices continue to rise?

3. Green homes are healthier for you. When going green, it is important to think of the little things, as well. Using non-vinyl window blinds can help reduce the amount of lead particles in the air around your home, as well as using chemical-free paints. These chemicals, when ingested over a long period of time, can lead to health complications that you may not even be aware of. So greening your home is also a way to live a longer, healthier life.

4. Green homes require less maintenance. Whilst you’re spending time around the house this year treating your deck and polishing your floors, consider this: design materials made from recycled product often require little to no effort to maintain and last longer. This means that you can actually save both time and money by incorporating things like environmentally friendly flooring in your home’s decor.

5. They help maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with the environment. This may seem like a no-brainer, but green homes do a lot more for the environment than just reduce waste. Home builders who know how to work with the environment in the process of designing their homes can actually use things like the angle of the sunlight to eliminate the need for artificial lighting. They can also take advantage of wooded areas on the land for climate control inside the home instead of destroying the trees.

photo credit: Pylon757

After Andrea’s wonderful post on Go Green Method to Save Money: eBooks, and the ensuing conversation that started in the comments, I though it might be nice to share my story in regards to ebooks and ereaders.

Where it begins.

I’ve been a reader for as long as I can remember.  Some of my earliest memories of reading are of reading the Chronicles of Narnia series and the Hardy Boys series.    All through my school years, I read voraciously.  I made my way from shorter books up through goliath undertakings like just about anything by James Michener.  Sadly, when I moved to college, I drifted away from reading.  Most of my reading time was taken up by schoolwork and socialization.  Later, while taking a break from college to pursue more nefarious things, I had a job which usually entailed a whole lot of doing nothing.  To pass the time, I began reading again.  The spark was back.  Heck, I even read the 5th Harry Potter book in a day.

I eventually got a real job, finished my degree, and then got married and started having children.  And, as I was pretty busy doing those things, my reading habits slipped off again.  It wasn’t until we cancelled cable shortly after our first born came along that I got back into it.  And, even then, it was not nearly with the same pace as I had before.  Throughout all of this, I’ve carted around my books.  Each time I wanted to read something new, I bought it rather than borrow it.  Why?  Call it OCD collecting.  I’ve always fantasized about having this huge library in my house with wall-to-wall books. In short, I had an infatuation with books.

But, here’s the thing.  Of all the hundreds of books I had (have), I’ve only reread less than 10 of them.  So, I came to the realization that I was carting around all these books that I would never (probably) read again.  Moreover, they were slowly taking over every bookshelf in the house, and even some of the floor space.  When I came to this realization, I went through them all, and posed a large majority of them on PaperBackSwap.  But, all that did, really, was to swap the clutter of books I had read with a clutter of books I hadn’t read.  I’ve currently got well over 50 books on my “to read” shelf.  For reference sake, I only read about 35-40 books a year.  So, I’ve got close to a year and a half worth of books sitting, waiting to be read.

Through all of this, my desire to have less clutter in my space has led me to try to remove as much of it as possible.  I had downloaded the kindle reader app for my blackberry phone, but I found it absolutely terrible to try and read anything on the little, itty-bitty screen.  At that point, I decided that ereading just wasn’t for me.  At the time, I would rather have the physical book in my hands than try and read on a little screen.  Then, I upgraded my phone.

I traded in my blackberry for a new android based phone.  It’s got a screen that’s roughly twice the size as the old blackberry had.  A couple of books that I wanted to read were available only as ebooks.  So, I gave the cell phone reading another try.  On the larger screen, not only was it bearable, but I found that I liked it.  And, now, several ebooks later, I’m a convert.  An ereader has rocketed to the top of my wish list, although I haven’t decided whether it will be a kindle or a nook, or something else entirely.
photo credit: anieto2k

The following is a guest post by Andrea from Nickel By Nickel. This article is part of the Yakezie blog swap #10 and the topic for this blog swap is The Best Go Green Method to Save Money.

I’m sure you’ve all read the posts on laundry detergent, compost piles, insulation, rain-barrels and gardening and I’ve implemented most of those things into my life already so I was trying to think of something a little more off the beaten path and I started thinking…

If you’ve read Shane’s post from Beating Broke on my blog today you’ll know that in order for him to jump on the ‘green’ bandwagon, it has to be frugal! So with that in mind you should know that unlike Shane I’m willing to drop a pretty penny to ‘go green’. I’ll buy the fancy paint and the fancy insulation and the organic clothing – locally manufactured stuff – even though it costs twice as much as the stuff right next to it. I’m not sure if I’m harboring a bit of a crazy Greenpeace-style environmentalist inside me or what’s going on with that. In any case, in the past I’ve been willing to spend MORE to go green than to do things the ‘normal’ way. Because of that (perhaps a little crazy) mindset I had a tough time coming up with a topic to go green and be cheap! I really had to dig for the cheapo inside me to come up with something:

I recently purchased a wonderful piece of technology, the Sony Arc, and while I’m a bit of a geek anyway it was my first smartphone and let me say this; I’m never going back to whatever-it-is-I-had-pre-smartphone. The problem is that with that one fancy piece of technology you can end up spending A LOT of money on add-ons. Have you ever checked out the Android or iPhone market? Have you seen how many ubercool apps there are… for like a few dollars? I got a headset too, I considered a hands-free for in the car… It’s easy to let go of the frugal mind-set in these situations. But I found a way to make this fancy phone work in my favor;

Aside from being a technology-lover I’m also a bookworm, hello! I blog and read other blogs! I LOVE reading! When one of my friends found out about my smart phone purchase he emailed me an ebook in epub format. In the weeks following this he sent me a few more that I devoured and I then downloaded several apps (for FREE!) that allow you to browse, select and download ebooks for a fraction of the price of real books. In fact there are thousands of free books out there.

Because I’m currently going through a big-crazy renovation I’m purging a lot of stuff and I’m letting go of a lot of my books, there are very few books that I will re-read and unless I keep something as reference material it really just ends up sitting on the shelf collecting dust.

I’ve found ebooks to be a fabulous way to actually spend more time doing something I love while saving cash and saving a few trees that would otherwise end up in the form of a book-collecting dust on my shelf. I read in the car, on breaks at work, on the bikes at the gym and I’ll even sneak in a few pages while in bed. I’ve finished a few books already in the past weeks and today transferred another 76 titles to my phone. (Yes you read that right!)

If you haven’t tried ebooks, I highly recommend them – and the ones you really love you can always pick up at a yard sale at a later date to add to your collection.

(Editors Note: Since we’re on the subject of ebooks, this would be an excellent time for you to pick up a copy of the Beating Broke Guide to Your Credit Score)

Typically, we hear about how much oil we use and turn into plastics.  When you think about it, it does make some sense that you could then turn plastics back into oil.  And you can! Watch this:

Of course, the first thing that comes to mind after watching that is, “Why can’t they do that on a much larger scale, and eliminate a huge portion of our plastic waste?” And, here’s your answer. They can. In fact, here’s an article from 2009 about just such a plant. It’s called the Envion Oil Generator, and the company was getting ready to roll the plants out nationwide at the time. I haven’t heard anything about them since then.

It’s an intriguing idea, really. Take the plastics that we create, and then waste, and turn them back into usable oil. It would probably put a fractional dent in our oil use, but any little bit is better than none, and would help make the oil supply last longer. Of course, there’s the downside that emissions would continue that much longer too, but, frankly, I don’t see the dwindling oil supply as anything more than a epic disaster, so the longer we can offset that, the better. According to that article, the plant can create oil from plastics for about $10 a gallon(oops. Where’s my proofreaders?) Barrel. You’d think the profit margin there would be well worth building a plant or two.

What do you think? Is it a smart thing to do? Useless?

photo credit: the extinction blues

In today’s economy, with today’s prices, coins have become nearly worthless.  We all know that the penny costs more to manufacture than it is “worth”.  When was the last time you paid for anything with a few pennies?  Or with a few nickels?  Heck, even paying for anything with a few quarters is becoming a bit harder to do.

So, how do you know when coins are worthless? (besides their worth being less than metallic value)  People start using them regularly (and even commercially) for purposes other than as currency.  Like, I dunno, maybe using coins as an alternative to tile.  Someone has used Nickels to tile their bathroom floor.  There’s several instances of Pennies being used as tile.  A bathroom tiled with pennies. And an entire restaurant floor.

Kinda looks cool, actually.  I can’t find a figure on the pennies, but according to the post, the nickel floor has 195 nickels per square foot.  Or, about 9.75 a square foot for flooring.  Kind of expensive for flooring, really.  You can get cheap ceramic tile for less than $3 a square foot.  If I had to guess, I’d bet that the pennies are comparable to that price though.  Maybe you could even design a mosaic of some sort.  Lincoln’s bust in pennies surrounded by nickels for a background, perhaps.

What’s next?  Wallpapering with $1 bills?  That might look kinda cool.

Image credit: Penny Floor: Hotel Congress by cobalt123, on Flickr

The green industry is great for the planet, but it’s still an industry, and some argue an elitist one.  Switching to hybrids and shopping solely from Whole Foods are neither frugal nor often green options (if you’ve read The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, you’ll know that Big Organic is a lie).

Concentrating wholly on frugality, however, can also be damaging both for our bodies and the planet.  Yes, the dollar menu is cheap, but it’s a first-class ticket to heart disease and perpetuates the evils of urban farming.  For those of us looking for a happy medium, read on.

1. Support local farmers at your farmer’s market.
   Meat can be more expensive here, but most family farmers have healthier, happier animals than those in CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation), which means healthier final products.  Try also to buy whole chickens instead of just legs so you’ll get more for your money.  Vegetables are often cheaper at these markets than at local grocery stores.  You’ll save money and help boost your community’s economy.
2. Cook your own meals. It’s hard to do with our busy schedules, but the payoff is worth it, since you’ll be saving money on produce you buy from the farmer’s market and getting less packaging, which means less trash.  Since basic supplies like flour, sugar, salt, and such are cheap and go a long way, you’ll find that you save money even by making your own pancakes in the morning rather than buying packaged ones from the store.  If you don’t have time in the morning, make the batter and keep it in the fridge overnight.  Even the kids can toss a batch on the frying pan by themselves, saving you cents and time.
3. Cultivate your own garden.  Basic herbs like basil, rosemary, and thyme are low-maintenance and can be grown even on your apartment patio.  If you’ve got land, though, try your hand at tomatoes, garlic, onions, green onions, carrots, and the like.  It’s better to spend your time with the earth than with cable TV, anyway (as long as you wear that sunscreen).  This brings us to our next point:
4. Get rid of your cable.  Most TV shows are online these days, anyway, and one HD cable can hook your laptop up to your TV.  Seeing as a monthly cable bill can cost anywhere from $30 to $70, you’ll make up for the cable in two to four months, tops.
5. Stop going to see movies and renting them at Blockbuster.  There are plenty of movies on Netflix you can get for just over the price of one movie ticket a month.  You’ll save on gas money, too.
6. Learn to sew and DIY.  Ripped your pants?  No need to go out and buy a new pair.  If you deem it irreparable, at least go to a thrift store first so as to limit waste.
7. Go easy on the spray cleaners.  Most of the things in spray cleaners are horrible for the water system and the environment in general, not to mention your own lungs.  Varying mixtures of vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, and essential oils do the trick in most cases and will cost you less.
8. Use towels, not paper towels.  Americans have become obsessed with disposables.  Everything is disposable now.  Are we too good to use the same thing twice?  Throw a dish rag into the washer and use it again, and when it gets old, use it as a cleaning rag.  We’ve spoiled ourselves enough—isn’t that why we’re in a recession, anyway?

Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, researching various online programs and degree programs. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Photo Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1077158

Well, it’s more like Earth Week at Amazon.  They opened it up today and it’s pretty nice, if you’re trying to do as much as you can to go green.  They’ve got some links on different things that you can do to go green and have a smaller footprint.  They’re not essays, but you might find a few nuggets in there as well.  For instance, I found out that some people use worm castings and bat guano for fertilizer.  Worm castings, I understand.  But, how do you collect bat guano?  Or, where do you find it?

And, of course, since it’s Amazon, the most prominent part is the links to all the green products that they carry.  My wife uses a cleaning solution that is made with vinegar and swears by it.  Cleans better than most of the less green chemical cleaners that she’s used.

I, personally, do not believe that global warming is as dramatic as what some say it is.  I do believe, however, that we should do what we can to be good stewards of the Earth.  I’ve thought a lot about rainwater collection and composting, but our current location isn’t conducive to it.  Too many neighbors for stinky compost, and our house is at the bottom of our lot, so I’d have to have a pump or some way to get the rainwater to flow back up the hill in order to use it for watering.  We’ve made plenty of changes inside with our cleaners and many of the foods and other products that we buy to try and do our part.  It’s not nearly enough, and we need to do more, but we’re making attempts to improve.  And, I’m glad that places like Amazon (and Walmart) are making an attempt to make it easier to for us to make those changes.

Disclaimer: those are all affiliate links to Amazon.  It doesn’t influence my thoughts on the matter, but there’s no reason that I shouldn’t make a little money so I can go green for less!