Recycleholic

Recycling Shutters

feed@recycleholic.com — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:09:13 PDT

What a better way to recycle then to give something you no longer need to a good cause. I requested the siding company put aside our old shutters so that we can donate them to Habitat for Humanity. The Connecticut chapter has a store that accepts donations which they in turn sell to raise funds.

Thirteen pairs of shutters in all. The shutters were in fine condition, just not part of the updated look and feel. These were definitely destined for the landfill.

Not only am I doing a good thing, I'm also getting a tax benefit for my charitable donation. Score two times. :)

The Benefits of New Siding

feed@recycleholic.com — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:01:10 PDT

With the new economic stimulus package going into effect, 2009 may be the year to think about that energy efficient upgrade. Personally I had already upgraded my attic siding and appliances. That left only one big change... siding. Now siding itself does not add much in way of energy efficiency but the insulation you use behind it does.

We decided to upgrade to vinyl siding WITH contoured insulation. More on this shortly. The existing aluminum siding was stripped and sold for scraps leaving the home's original shingles. This was left in place since it does provide a layer of insulation. I wish I knew what the R-Value would be.

On to the insulation. We were presented with two options. There very well could be more.

First, if you are installing siding on new construction, house wrap is your first line of defense against air infiltration. This is not an option if you are going over existing siding but it's safe to assume it is underneath your current siding. We kept our shingle siding up and went over it so this didn't apply to us.

Option #1. Flat rigid foam insulation. I would guess the majority of installers use this. Easy to install and is more or less the accepted minimum you should do. R-values can range from 1 to 3ish depending on the thickness. What I found to be the biggest drawback was its lack of siding support. There basically is a gap between the siding and the insulation. If something were to hit it (rock launched from lawnmower, errant ball) you could end up with a nice crack, especially in cold weather. Speaking to other vinyl siding homeowners (with rigid foam) they mention the siding tends to move alot on windy days too. Almost to the point where it could wake you up. Yikes.

Option #2. Contoured insulation. The brand we used was Fullback. Lots to praise here. Much thicker than rigid foam boasting higher R-values ranging from 3.0 to 4.0. Our specific one is 3.7. You also get added stability. No more worries if a ball hits your house. The extra backing provides the padding necessary to cushion the siding.

Conclusion
The house is 75% done and we are already feeling the difference. The general feeling is it's holding more heat in. Rooms that were constantly cold due to wind exposure feel much warmer. As a result I have lowered the thermostat one degree for the whole house. I'm sure I will realize the savings over the year as well and will report back after I get some data.

For clarification, the tax benefit is for insulation itself, not the siding. Just make sure you get a detailed invoice from your contractor so you have paperwork supporting your claim.

Aesthetics aside, re-siding your home with new insulation is a worthwhile home improvement which will allow you to reap the energy bill savings for years to come.

Save Green by Going Green

feed@recycleholic.com — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:52:10 PST

With the help of the new administration, 2009 is shaping up to be the biggest green year ever. Tax incentives and rebates are abound from a variety of resources. If you had put off doing any major home energy-saving upgrades (windows, added insulation, replacing appliances, etc.) you may want to consider doing them now.

To see if you are eligible for either federal or state incentives, check out the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency or DSIRE for short. You can narrow down your search by state and get individual program summaries for a wide range of technologies.

Here are a few examples:
Residential Energy Efficiency Tax Credit - up to $1500 tax credit for eligible efficiency technologies.
Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit - applies to solar-electric systems, solar water heating systems, fuel cells, small wind-energy systems and geothermal heat pumps.

Extreme Spammers: Haband

feed@recycleholic.com — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:30:00 PST

Recently someone sent me a gift from Haband. I have never heard of them before. Apparently they carry alot of "made for TV" type products. Well about a week after I received my gift it began. A deluge of junk mail the likes I have never seen. WEEKLY! I repeat, weekly, I have been getting junk mail from them!

What is their marketing budget??? To mail at that pace has to be expensive. Their products are not high end so I have no idea how this is profitable.

Apparently I am not the only one to take issue:
Epinions Reviews
Complaints Board
QVC Community board

I did email them to remove me off their mailing list to which they replied "it can take up to six months!" Horrible, just horrible. Stay away from Haband!

Google is watching your power consumption

feed@recycleholic.com — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:34:24 PST

Google has launched a prototype service called PowerMeter that will help consumers monitor their home energy information in near real time and best of all it's free!

To use this service you will need a smart meter. I was upgraded about two years ago. If you are not sure, just look for the dials. If your meter still has them, then you have the old style meter. You may be able to request an upgrade. I've never tried but you could call your utility company and see when you are scheduled for an upgrade.

I love Google for their ingenious ways of marrying data and web tools. Who wouldn't want to see their energy consumption right on their desktop?

PowerMeter is currently in closed beta but if you want to be notified when it becomes available you can join their mailing list.

Green Guide No More

feed@recycleholic.com — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:02:05 PST

Much to my surprise I received notice that National Geographic's Green Guide is calling it quits after the Winter 2009 issue. I'm not sure if this is a sign of the rough economic times or just realigning focus back to their main magazine.

If you happen to pick up a subscription that goes beyond Winter 2009 they will substitute it with National Geographic until your subscription expires. You can call for a refund too for the remain value at 1-800-647-5463 but have to do so within 3 weeks from now.

I do enjoy the magazine and have subscribed to it since I came across it in my local Costco. Apparently being green does not equate to making green.

Recycling Printer Cartridges

feed@recycleholic.com — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:04:02 PST

For about a year I have been driving around with an empty printer cartridge in the console. I intended to recycle it eventually, just never sure where.

Well as it happens I was killing some time with one of my kids and went to Staples. Just for clarification, Staples wasn't my destination. It just happened to be next to Petco where I really go to kill time with my kids :)

Well apparently Staples now PAYS you for your spent cartridges. There are some limits but as long as you have a Staples Rewards card you will get $3 per cartridge. Not bad for something I would have done for free.

There are other options available for recycling cartridges aside from dropping them off at a local Staples. You can:

Donate to charity. There are plenty of organizations that will take them off your hands and put the money to good use.
Refill them. I have never tried this but I have heard refilled cartridges can suffer from high fail rates and be quite messy.
Send them back to the Manufacturer free of charge. I know HP includes a return envelope in with their cartridges. I'm sure other manufacturers do as well.

All good options and require very little effort. Happy Recycling.

Penn & Teller on Recycling

feed@recycleholic.com — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:45:50 PST

For those of you unfamiliar with Penn & Teller and the Showtime show Bulls**t, they tackle a variety of topics and basically set out to debunk everything. If you are a skeptic of most anything like I am you probably would find it enjoyable. Warning: The language can be unsuitable for kids. Well I guess depends on what you teach your kids but anyways.

If the above video peeks your interest, check out the rest: Part 2 & Part 3

It can be disheartening to those that are recycling diehards like me. I just covered my ears on the parts that made me question why I still recycle.

Hacking it up

feed@recycleholic.com — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:00:01 PST

Since I started my basement remodel I have been researching ways to repurpose the different components I already have. This exposed me to a bunch of websites that I never knew existed. These sites take "hacking" to new levels.

Lifehacker - Hack your personal life with all sorts of shortcuts.
Ikea Hacker - Who doesn't love Ikea?
DesignBoom - Hacking everyday products.
Instructables - Lots of interesting ideas here. I plan to post here eventually as well. This is my new favorite site.

Computer modding is another interest of mine. Check out what people with good ideas and alot of free time do to take their computers to the next level. Here are some of my favorites:

Bender PC
Humidor Server
Spider case
Rodent PC

Is a nickel worth your time?

feed@recycleholic.com — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:52:00 PST

Last year I had planned to write an article about recycling soda cans and bottles. To be specific, recycling to get my deposit back, not recycling in the general sense. Time passed and I forgot all about it but my conclusion was that it a waste of time.

Alot has changed economically speaking since my original intended post date back in July 2008 which begs the question, is a nickel really worth my time now? Up until now I pretty much have been throwing the few soda cans I collect into the recycling bin and not bothering to get my deposit back. Caulk it up to laziness. After some evaluation I've decided it wasn't much effort to actually collect those cans and cash them in when I go to the supermarket. A few nickels won't make any dent in my bills but seeing the country as a whole buckling down it just seemed wasteful not to.

The recycling centers seem busier these days also so I'm assuming I'm not the only one. I've seen alot more people rummaging through recycling bins too. Just another sign of the times I guess.

New Project: Basement Workshop

feed@recycleholic.com — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 04:03:00 PST

I found my winter project! I currently have an existing "workshop" area but as my family continues to grow so do my storage needs. This coupled with my wife's classroom materials coming home for the next couple years, I could have a problem on my hands.

Thus I have been banished to the basement corner room. As you can see from the picture it currently serves as gym, server room and storage. That white box is my wife's wedding dress :)

Another benefit from this move is I will now have an area I can lock up. I know off the top of my head there is a small axe within easy reach of a child. That's just for starters.

I wouldn't classify this as a full on green project. It's more an exercise in seeing how much I can repurpose while not spending a dime. I have a variety of stuff which I salvaged from other non functioning components. Screws, brackets, wood, all sorts of random goodness that I'm sure will come in handy.

My motto for this project: If I don't have it, make it :)

Dumping the Planner

feed@recycleholic.com — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:51:58 PST

I always kick off the year with a new planner. Nothing fancy just a monthly calendar. This year I decided to go green and do everything online with Google Calendar.

Google Calendar does everything you would expect and some. The nicest features are the ability to allow others to view and post to your calendar and the email auto reminders. Now my wife says I have no excuse for missing appointments. I'm sure I can come up with something :)

Green New Year's Resolutions

feed@recycleholic.com — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:15:43 PST

As we all compile our to-do lists for the coming year, take a moment and think about what little things you can do to improve your life and lessen your impact on the planet. Here's my list in no particular order:

Recycle more. Everyone recycles their glass and plastics (or so we hope) but how about those other random items? I've amassed quite a collection of maybe recycling. We'll see what's salvageable and what's not.

Convert one person to recycle...at least a little bit. You might be hard pressed to find someone that doesn't recycle anything. I know a few. Some with good reasons, some without. This is going to be the hardest one to do.

Invest in green companies.

Reduce water consumption. I basically stopped watering everything but my garden last year and the results were somewhat acceptable. Aside from the rain barrel which I wanted to install last year, I will explore other options.

Expand the garden. Plan to go organic again this year but will look at the possibility of adding fruit trees and expanding my vegetable selection.

De clutter my home and recycle/donate/sell everything.

Cancel all junk mail/catalog subscriptions. I'm pretty good and have cancelled most. Some I do enjoy getting, others are a waste. Going strictly online in '09.

I do have a couple resolutions for the website as well.

Blog more often. New year, greater focus or so I hope.

Start a ~~weekly~~ monthly blog carnival. OK I don't want to set the bar too high just yet. Monthly is a good start :)

Feel free to share your green resolutions as well. Happy 2009!

'60 Minutes' Covers E-Waste

feed@recycleholic.com — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:22:07 PST

This Sunday 60 Minutes will broadcast a show following the trail of E-Waste.

It looks to be quite interesting. Check out the preview.

November 9, 7PM EST.

Organic Garden: Season in Review

feed@recycleholic.com — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:08:25 PDT

With the garden winding down I have observed a few things in my first year organically gardening which make me contemplate its effectiveness.

Bugs. I have never seen so many bad bugs in a garden.... ever. I even had bugs I've never seen before. I tried an organic spray but that did nothing. As a result, I had no cucumbers or beans this year. They gobbled up everything.

Smaller yields, smaller fruits. Most everything was alot smaller in quantity and size than years past. Miracle gro does do quite a bit apparently. I did use organic fertilizer as I have done in years past but it didn't make up the difference.

For the most part I focused on tomatoes this year. Not all were affected in the same way astonishingly. My larger beefsteaks were of particular interest to bugs while my cherries were affected by fungal diseases. Granted the extremely wet weather summer we had didn't help either.

Taste. I didn't notice any difference with my cherries and my wife loved the beefsteaks so that's positive. My daughter ate the cherries like candy so I assume she liked them just the same too.

All in all not what I had hoped for in the first run. I believe I need 20% more plants if I continue to go organic to have the same yields as non organic. I probably will go organic again next year with better expectations and maybe some better "natural" bug deterrents and fertilizers.

Compost Update

feed@recycleholic.com — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:16:34 PDT

Throughout the summer I have been continually weighing my kitchen compost just for the fun of it. I just realized how sad it is to write fun and compost in the same sentence but anyways.

May yielded 41 pounds
June - 28 pounds
July - 46 pounds
August - 20 pounds

So for 4 months, I've composted a total of 135 pounds of biodegradeable goodness!

It's actually quite amazing when you quantify your trash how big a difference even a little effort can make.

Too many tomatoes

feed@recycleholic.com — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:49:41 PDT

As the summer winds to an end, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight for my garden. I have more tomatoes than either my friends or family can consume. Of course this was all part of my plan. I have already made a few trips to the local food bank totalling about 20 pounds of tomatoes so far. I have also shared with all my neighbors and co-workers at least once which I estimate to be about 40 pounds. Of course I kept some for myself.

Ironically, I only like cherry tomatoes. I'm not a big fan of seeds in foods. I hate cucumbers but love pickles. You figure that one out.

I need to find out how to make sauce and fast :)

Dehumidifier Auto Drain Complete

feed@recycleholic.com — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:10:34 PDT

The constant emptying of the dehumidifier was really getting to me. I decided to figure out how to have it drain without lifting a finger. Here's how I did it.

Step 1. Build a stand higher than the condensate pump I plan to drain to. With a couple 2x2's and some scrap plywood this was a breeze. Stating the obvious, this is to allow gravity to do the work of moving the water to the pump.

Step 2. Attach the unit to stand. There were a few holes already in place underneath the removable tank. I marked and drilled through the platform securing it with a few bolts. This was to prevent the unit from accidentally toppling over.

Step 3. Connect tank to pump. The air conditioner condensate pump had an extra spot for a hose connection. The dehumidifier tank had a built-in hose connection. I used a leftover washer drain hose to connect the two and that was it. I couldn't ask for anything simpler.

So phase one is now complete. Onto phase two which is to have condensate pump drain to the soon to be built rain barrel.

Summer Update

feed@recycleholic.com — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:10:30 PDT

I apologize for letting too much time lapse since my last update. Once its nice out I make every effort to be outside. I'm a farmer at heart and just love messing around in the backyard.

Quite a few things have happened since my last post:

My garden has taken off. For the curious, here's what I planted:
25 tomatoes of varying types: Big Boy, sweet 100, husky cherry
8 green peppers
Corn
Cucumbers: standard and lemon
Peas
Yellow Squash
Zucchini
Lots of herbs

I deliberately planted more than I need with the idea that I would give whatever my family can't consume to the local food banks and neighbors. This is new for me as I usually just grow what I need. If it goes well this year I plan to expand the garden from the roughly 200 square feet I have dedicated to it now.

We had our first official family vacation to Sesame Place. I have alot to say about it and it's recycling efforts and that's better covered in a separate post.

I found a use for my solid concrete bags! They are actually more useful than I thought they would be.

This among a few other tidbits I plan to elaborate on in future posts. More to come. Stay tuned.

Bulk pick-up & dead electronics

feed@recycleholic.com — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:13:09 PDT

My first bulk waste pick-up of the year just passed. Usually I do not put much out except for branches and small odds & ends. I never put out computers or dead electronics. They sit in the basement until the next electronic recycling day. No big deal.

Driving around my neighborhood I saw numerous TVs, VCRs, monitors, all headed for the dump. I saw 5-6 monitors and TVs just on my street of 10 houses. Initially I thought I would grab a few and store them for later recycling but it would be too much.

Why do people just toss electronics? You have to be living in a bubble to not know that you can recycle it. I chalk it up to laziness. How hard is it to bring it to a recycling center? It's not that complicated.

Just wait until the government mandated digital TV transition goes into full effect next year. You will see TVs alongside the weekly trash. My prediction: Towns will impose a "fee" to dispose of the unusable electronics and still dump them in the landfill.

Compost & Mulch

feed@recycleholic.com — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:13:04 PDT

The month of May is finally over and my compost pile is HEAPING. I gathered another 24 pounds of compost bringing the month end total to 41 pounds! That's alot of garbage.

If it's not obvious by the fact that I am documenting how much refuse I create, I am fairly obsessed with compost. I find myself turning the murky brown pile weekly to stimulate breakdown. I will go out of my way to put large earthworms I randomly find into the pile. I will even till it monthly to keep everything light and airy. The net result is about every 2 months I have organically rich mulch ready for use in my garden.

I tell everyone I know to compost. The Compost Guide provides an excellent summary of anything you ever would want to know about the subject. No matter how big or small you can't go wrong.

Recycled iPod Case

feed@recycleholic.com — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:12:58 PDT

A few months ago I finally caved and bought a 160GB classic iPod. I needed something to motivate me to organize my music and the only way I would do it is if I actually owned a player.

I wasn't comfortable taking my iPod out without some protection and I didn't feel like shopping around for a case so I decided to cobble my own.

Here are the components:
A leather case from my old Handspring Visor (which I still have).
The tray included with the iPod packaging.
Foam packaging used for a bathroom towel bar I purchased.

The iPod tray fit PERFECTLY into the case. The spongy foam was cut to size and is the right amount of padding to fill the case when closed.

In all of five minutes I had a nifty homemade recycled iPod case. Not pretty but it does the trick. If you do a search for "custom iPod cases" you will find plenty of tricked out ones. Also check out Etsy for ones with flair.

Here are some other interesting ones:
Wooden Case, Dokumon Case, Treadz Case

Dismantling Junk

feed@recycleholic.com — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:12:53 PDT

Here is the situation. Your radio/computer/office desk has seen better days. It's time for the Old Yeller sendoff. What do you do?

Do you:
  a) Toss it
  b) Recycle it
  c) Dismantle it for parts and then recycle it
  d) Shoot it

Nine times out of ten I choose C. Before I give any item a final sendoff, I give it a once over. I will remove anything potentially useful: screws, bolts, brackets, you name it. Junk organ harvesting I guess.

I can tell you my bin o' junk has bailed me out on more than one occasion.

Here's what I believe should be an obvious warning. Make sure you know what you are doing. If it's something that carries a current or has a little danger sign on it (CPU power supply, CRT monitors, TVs) don't mess with it. Personally I don't mind a little electric shock every now and again. It keeps me in check :)

Compost Weigh-in

feed@recycleholic.com — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:12:48 PDT

13 days in and already filled the five gallon container.

17 pounds!!!

Hot damn that's alot of organic matter. That's more than the heaviest regulation bowling ball. :)

Electronic Recycling Day

feed@recycleholic.com — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:12:42 PDT

One to two times a year a number of Connecticut towns hold a major electronic recycling day. Every year I go. I make it a point to recycle SOMETHING even if it's on someone else's behalf. This year I'm proud to say I had decent collection of dead electronics.

Here's the list:
32" TV encased in lovely faux wood. A classic and well over 150 pounds.
1 printer. (not mine)
2 radios.
1 CRT monitor.
1 Walkman.
2 powertools (I'm not sure if they recycle them but I felt bad throwing it away.)
A box of miscellaneous speakers, phone headgear and cables circa 1997.

It's a good feeling knowing they will not end up in the landfill.