Did you know that it really does pay to recycle? The pop cans and old pipes laying around the house have value, and turning those items into cash is easy — if you know where to look.
The easiest items to cash in are those made from aluminum, such as beverage cans, foil and tins used for baking. Most buy-back centers in the area accept aluminum and pay an average of $0.50 per pound for it.
However, most places don’t list the prices they pay on their websites; you have to call for quotes. It pays to save up recyclables until you have a large amount to drop off. The more aluminum cans, for example, the more you’ll get for them.
Continue reading 'Cash for Cans'»
We’re all aware of the failings of Chicago’s recycling program. It started with the infamous blue bag days when much of our recycling was scattered on fields in Indiana instead of being turned back into useful resources. Then the city rolled out a selective Blue Bin pilot-program, leaving many neighborhoods in the lurch without a pick-up recycling option. Even though the city has a variety of do-it-yourself drop-off locations for unsorted items, our neighborhood decided to go a step further and start our own recycling pick-up service. Continue reading 'Recycling One Neighborhood At A Time'»
In a Sun Times article titled Is Chicago throwing away $1 million on recycling carts?, by Fran Spielman last week, we learned that there is a warehouse on the South side storing about 22, 000 blue carts.
“Thousands of blue recycling carts — with a pricetag of nearly $1 million — are stashed away in a Far South Side warehouse because City Hall bought them to make the citywide switch to curbside recycling, but ran out of money one-third of the way through. The Daley administration acknowledged having a stockpile of “roughly 22,000 carts” at a cost of $45-per-container.”
Click HERE for the full story.
According to Sun Times City Hall reporter, Fran Spielman and a recent article that was published, Chicago officials may be looking to privatize recycling and several Aldermen say that they’ve been informed that the Streets and Sanitation Department are already working on the plan. This news comes after Alderman Tom Allen purposed an order to City Council on June 7, that would revitalize the Blue Cart Program.
Continue reading 'Talk of Privatizing Chicago Recycling'»
Chicago loves to call itself one of the greenest cities in the US, touting green rooftops, farmers markets, miles of parks and bike lanes and a recycling program that can’t be beat. Wait…scratch that last part. The fact of the matter is while Chicago is making great “green” strides, our recycling program leaves a lot to be desired. On Monday, June 7, Alderman Tom Allen of the 38th Ward introduced an order to the Chicago City Council that would demand that the city fulfill its promise to provide blue cart recycling to all its citizens.
Continue reading 'Chicago Blue Carts'»
From MLB Chicago Cubs Press Release
May, 26, 2010
The Chicago Cubs have partnered with Solo Cup Company, Allied Waste, Free Green Can and Levy Restaurants to introduce the “Real Fans Recycle” program at Wrigley Field. In total, the Chicago Cubs and its fans are expected to divert roughly 165,000 pounds of cardboard and plastic material out of the waste stream and back into the market in a recycled form each year, saving approximately 2,180 cubic yards of landfill space.
Continue reading 'Real Fans Recycle'»
Starbucks has set the goal of ensuring that 100% of their cups are reusable or recyclable by 2015. Surprising or not, Starbucks coffee cups are made with only 10% post consumer material and they aren’t recyclable. So, just because you’re throwing that cup in the recycle bin, doesn’t mean it’s getting recycled, because the industry standard liner, made from low density plastic, is un-recyclable in most paper recycling systems.
Continue reading 'Coffee Cups'»
So, okay, you might laugh at this, but there was a period of time when my husband, Kris, and I were pretty obsessed with X-Box 360. We logged hours playing Halo and virtually teaming up with friends of ours who lived just a few miles away. It was a cool gadget for us, because not only did we “game” on it, but we were able to stream Netflix through it and play DVDs. Then, one day, we got what’s referred to in the X-Box world as the “dreaded red ring.” Basically, the thing gave out on us. So, we were left with a hunk of machinery and a lot more free time.
Continue reading 'The Broken X-Box?'»
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