UPcycling

Fix it up and wear it out, make it do or do without.

How often do we find a new home for or recycle our belongings? Flea markets and antique stores frequently dot the landscape of New England but how many people actually furnish and decorate their home with pre-owned goods? Personally, I find my old furnishings bring a bit of history into my home. They have a character that a pressboard cabinet from China just doesn’t have. Not only made from a whole natural substance (wood, glass), they are often sturdier after 50 yrs. than their contemporary counterparts are after 2 yrs.

You don’t have to spend big bucks to buy so called antiques. Look at local flea markets (Todd Farm, Rowley), yard sales and online marketplaces such as craigslist.com or freecycle.com or to your friends who may be updating their outdated kitchen. UPcycle. Clean it up, add a little paint or if you are blessed with carpentry skills, modify the piece to fit your needs. The time you invest will be more rewarding than the time spent walking through the fluorescent-lit aisles of Home Depot. Wouldn’t you rather spend a sunny Sunday morning strolling an open-air flea market?

This method definitely requires patience. If you are looking for the perfect bookshelf it may take you a few weeks to find it…maybe even a few months. The American attitude of instant gratification has caused us to be a wasteful society. We want it and we want it now. It doesn’t matter if it’s an import that isn’t helping our economy, it doesn’t matter if it’s made of cheap materials and will fall apart in 5 years with no other future but to be landfill.

Of course, there are items you won’t be able to find what you need and will have to purchase new but you can do this responsibly and consciously. Ask yourself, where was it made? Is there a company, which manufactures the product in the good ol’ USA? Is the packaging recyclable and easy enough to recycle that you will actually do it? How long is the warranty? Does it seem sturdy or cheaply made? What do the reviews say (epinions.com)? Is it energy star rated? Is there an alternate option made of sustainable resources (bamboo flooring vs. linoleum)?

Let’s remember, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

Post-holiday waste

As the holidays draw to a close you may find yourself pulling out your shiny new monitor from its box and likely heading to the nearest trash can with all that polystyrene packing...STOP!

I have collected some info (albeit a little on the tardy side) on recycling those items which curbside does not accept:

Sealed Air, Fill-Air inflatable packaging #4 (LDPE)
Fill-Air® RF air-filled packaging cushions can be manually reinflated with a drinking straw for reuse. If reuse is not an option, all Fill-Air® cushions can be deflated and recycled commercially with low density polyethylene (#4) bags. This is the same material as plastic shopping bags which most supermarket chains accept at the store for recycling so check in at your local Shaws, Shop n' Save, etc.

Packing Peanuts
Find a drop off center near you: http://www.loosefillpackaging.com/
Often times, Mailboxes Etc and such places will accept drop offs. You can also purchase peanuts made from cornstarch which dissolve in water at Staples (Staples® Biodegradable Packing Peanuts)

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam packaging #6
DROP OFF: http://www.epspackaging.org/pdf/AFPRWebsiteRecyclingLocations112907.pdf

OR MAIL it: EPS National Mail-Back Option

If there is no EPS recycling in your community please send it via U.S. Postal Service or other carrier to the address below. Average shipping fees range from $1.50-$9.00 based on the total packaging size. To maximize your EPS recycling efforts via the mail-back option we recommend the following:

1. Make sure the EPS is clean and free of any plastic film, loose parts or glued-on cardboard.

2. To increase the amount of EPS in each shipping container, it can be easily broken or cut into smaller pieces so that more foam can fit in individual boxes. AFPR will also recycle the corrugated boxes used to ship the EPS.

3. When shipping EPS biomedical coolers simply tape the top and bottom pieces together with shipping tape and apply the label and postage directly to the EPS. An outer, corrugated box is not necessary.

4. AFPR does not accept extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam including meat trays, cups, egg cartons or other disposable foodservice items for recycling.

5. Prepare shipping label and affix postage for delivery to:

Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers
1298 Cronson Boulevard, Suite 201
Crofton, MD 21114 USA

6. To facilitate shipping from home, the United States Postal Service (USPS) provides numerous options for printing labels and/or postage using online resources. This convenience also allows you to have the shipment picked up by your local USPS carrier as outbound mail.
EPS can be identified by the number 6 plastic resin identification code. Many types of foam plastic are not clearly marked; if you have questions please contact AFPR at (410) 451-8340 for clarification.

Gift Wrap
Unfortunately, can not normally be recycled but can be reUSED

WasteCap of Massachusetts
Check out this great search engine to find a pick up/drop off for a melange of items: http://www.wastecap.org/wastecap/RSD2003/search.asp

Happy recycling!