Recycling
Real Simple Recycling A to Z
A Comprehensive Primer on Recycling Nearly Everything, Often for a Good Cause
Each water bottle you recycle may seem like a drop in the bucket, but don’t undervalue your efforts.
America is recycling nearly 33 percent of its waste almost twice as much as 15 years ago. But sometimes it can be tough to tell what can go in the bin, what can’t and what your recycling center does and does not accept.
Below are a list of links for recycling many items:
American Birding Association – accepts donated backpacks
www.carpetrecovery.org – carpet-reclamation
Flor (www.flor.com) – carpet-reclamation
www.junkmycar.com – which will pick up and remove cars, trailers, motorcycles and other heavy equipment for free
The Wireless Foundation – refurbishes old phones to give to domestic-violence survivors
www.recyclewirelessphones.com – for information about other cell-phone charities
www.mygreenelectronics.com – for a list of computer vendors for recycling
www.sharetechnology.org – donate computers to a charity
www.cristina.org – donate computers to a charity
Nextsteprecycling.org – repairs your broken computers and gives them to underfunded schools, needy families, and nonprofits
National Crayon Recycle Program – recycles crayons – melts down crayons and reforms them into new ones
www.zunafish.com – DVD & CD swapping
www.greendisk.com – DVD & CD recycling
www.recycle-steel.org – steel-can recycling
www.neweyesfortheneedy.com – eyeglasses donations
www.operationfairydust.org – prom or bridesmaid dress donations – will give it to a girl who can’t afford one
www.catherinescloset.org – formal wear dress donations – they will give it to a girl who can’t afford one
Recycleforbreastcancer.org – will send you prepaid shipping labels, recycle your gadgets – like PDAs, MP3 players and other devices, then donate the proceeds to breast cancer charities
www.elmersgluecrew.com – empty containers of Elmer’s glue and glue sticks
Starkey Hearing Foundation recycles used hearing aids & eyeglasses
St. Jude’s Ranch for Children – to recycle Holiday Cards
www.terracycle.net/brigades – TerraCycle will donate 2 cents for each Honest Kids, Capri Sun and Kool-Aid Drink pouch, and 1 cent for any other brand you collect, and send in to the charity of your choice.
www.soles4souls.org – a nonprofit that collects used footwear (in decent condition) and distributes it to needy communities.
www.earth911.org – for a list of recyclers, retail stores, and manufacturers near you that accept electronics, mattresses & more
Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program – accepts old sneakers (any brand) and recycles them into courts for various sports so kids around the world have a place to play
www.oneworldrunning.com – If your sneakers are still in reasonable shape, donate them to needy athletes in the United States and around the world
www.yellowpages.com/recycle – phone book-recycling
Trade sports gear Play It Again Sports
www.sportsgift.org – gives gently used equipment to needy kids around the world
Skichair.com – donate skis
www.plasticbagrecycling.org – to recycle grocery & plastic shopping bags
Greencitizen.com – to recycle electronic waste (or e-waste)
Freegeek.org – to recycle electronic waste (or e-waste)
You can also send videotapes, cassettes, and floppy disks to www.greendisk.com
www.lifenets.org/wheelchair
www.iloveschools.com, teachers from around the United States specify their wish lists
www.grassrootsstore.com
Ship your old lights to HolidayLEDs.com
Ace Hardware stores accept lights as well; search by ZIP code at www.acehardware.com
www.terracycle.net – For every yogurt cup collected, Stonyfield will donate 2 cents or 5 cents, depending on the cup size