<< Return to Blog Home

Archive for January, 2009

Soda Goes Green!

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

Well as green as you can be and still be brown.

Coke in conjunction with RecycleBank recently announced a rewards system for recycling through RecycleBank. Customers that participate in the program collect points by recycling and then use the points to purchase fun rewards.

Of course, you’ll need to reside in a city that participates in the program. It’s a curbside recycling effort, with points and rewards.cola can

Customers in the RecycleBank areas gain points for brands like, Coca-Cola classic, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Disani water, Nestea and Gold Peak tea, Minute Maid juices and juice drinks as well as Fuze and Glaceau beverages.

Customers can then redeem their recycling points for magazine subscriptions, gift cards, Coke gear, and other rewards.

RecycleBank now services over 90 municipalities and over 200,000 households.

  • Share/Save/Bookmark

Recycling Should Be Easy

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

For most people, recycling is easy. Especially for those folks in metropolitan areas.

Where I live, the people that live in town have curbside recycling. You know, those little blue bins they set out at the curb, filled with their recyclables for the week.

I was grateful when the local city decided to do curbside. That meant they were getting serious about recycling. More residents would recycle if it were easy for them.

The problem?

Now that the city has curbside recycling, they’ve done away with all but one of the stand alone recycling centers. I live way outside the city, so I just save my cardboard, plastics and glass up until I have a big box full, then take it with me when I need to head to town.

First they took away the recycling center on the east side of the city. Then they took away the recycling center on the north side of the city. All that’s left is one on the south side. This is the one I must now use. plastic recycling bin

Next they reduced the size of the recycling container for plastics at the one remaining recycling center. Sometimes it’s just too full to put anymore plastic in it, so what do I have to do but haul it all back home again. They aren’t making it easy for the non-residents to recycle. Of course, they may be doing that on purpose.

If they close the last recycling center, that would mean I’d have to haul it to the next city, about 30 miles each way.

Not a very green solution is it?

  • Share/Save/Bookmark

It’s Time to Consider Solar for Your Home

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

Back in the 80’s there were some great tax incentives to acquiring solar for your home. We had solar panels built and installed way back then. BUT, technology has come a long way since those days. Now there are a pyramid of different looks and styles of solar panels to choose from.

If I were to do it all again, today, I’d get the flat ones that look like part of the roof.

So many to choose from. There are marine solar setups for boats! For farm and entry gates. Portable solar solutions and more. AND I’ve read that there are some new tax credits helping homeowners and business owners fund clean energy solar systems with tax credits of up to 30%.

For a lot of folks, the tax credit really cuts the payback time for your solar system. If you are considering purchasing a system, there’s never been a better time to go solar!

Solar paneling is a fantastic addition to home improvement projects, and they are even better when coupled with a kitchen remodeling project using energy star appliances!

  • Share/Save/Bookmark