Send That Old Phone Yonder
Standing in line at the post office today, I let my eyes wander over the plethora of mailing product displays...you know, the priority mail envelopes, the express mail packs, mailing labels, stamp collections...wait, what's that? Whatever it is, it says "recycle." I must investigate.
It turns out that US Postal Service has launched a brand new program to recycle customers' small electronics for free. Green and free? Tell me more.
All you have to do is pick up a free, postage paid envelope in the lobby of any post office, pop in your old cell phone, PDA, MP3 player, inkjet cartridge or any old small electronic that has outlived its usefulness, close up the envelope and stuff in the nearest mailbox. No excuse, now!
According to a statement from the USPS: "Postage is paid for by Clover Technologies Group, a nationally recognized company that recycles, remanufactures and remarkets inkjet cartridges, laser cartridges and small electronics. If the electronic item or cartridges cannot be refurbished and resold, its component parts are reused to refurbish other items, or the parts are broken down further and the materials are recycled. Clover Technologies Group has a 'zero waste to landfill' policy: it does everything it can to avoid contributing any materials to the nation's landfills."
And not to toot their own horn, but they also mention "The Postal Service recycles 1 million tons of paper, plastic and other materials annually...The nation's environmental watchdog, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Postal Service eight WasteWise Partner of the Year awards, the agency's top honor."
So even though, Rox and I were just griping about the lack of recycling bins near the post office boxes, it seems as if the Post Office is good green wackiness for all. For more information, check out the USPS press release.
About this blog
Roxanne Kotzman is a Daily News Photo Department veteran of nine years. When she and longtime friend Stacy Long
discovered their love all of all things environmentally responsible, they launched Happy Monkey Planet and jumped head-first into the vibrant eco-community.
Wow, so much to learn! But initially the idea is a pretty simple one: Let's change the world through information, education and action.
Rox & Stacy are a lot like you: ecologically minded but sometimes just plain overwhelmed when charged with the task of making a far-reaching difference in the environment. They have jobs, families, homes, lives and pets.
But what if doing better was a simple as a light-bulb change, a reusable canvas grocery bag, recycling that soda can or a cold-water wash?
These eco-chicks just hope to have a little fun, learn a little more, share a lot of information and maybe make the planet a happier, greener, cleaner place.
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