Players for the Planet E-Waste Drives

Baseball season is in full swing, with my beloved Indians in first place! (What can I say, I am from Cleveland). The Cincinnati Reds are rockin out this year as well, not just on the field, but for Earth Month as well. Read the following press release for details on today and tomorrow's e-waste drives for "Players for the Planet" -

Reds players Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs and Ryan Hanigan and Players for the Planet have joined forces with Global Environmental Services and many of Cincinnati’s leading corporations for the second annual PNC/Players for the Planet E-Waste Recycling Drive to provide an easy and convenient way for Reds fans and residents of Greater Cincinnati to recycle old electronics. The public is encouraged to visit the two PNC Bank locations with electronic waste items for recycling.

Friday, April 29, 2011
7 am to 5 pm
PNC Bank, Deerfield Township Branch – 5283 Bowen Drive, Mason, OH 45040


Saturday, April 30, 2011
8 am to 6 pm
PNC Bank, Hyde Park Branch – 3740 Paxton Road, Cincinnati, OH 45209
**Jay Bruce and Ryan Hanigan are scheduled to appear from 11:30 am to 1 pm. No autographs, please.

The first 200 cars at each event will receive two View Level tickets ($30 value) to the Monday, May 30 Reds vs. Brewers game (7:10 pm) at Great American Ball Park, while supplies last.

Items accepted include televisions, radios, VCRs, computer monitors, personal computers, hard drives and many other electronics. For a complete list, of what is accepted, please click here.

Players for the Planet is suggesting a donation of $10 per car.

Global Environmental Services will recycle the electronic waste and turn the waste into a cash donation to Players for the Planet, who will make a donation to the Reds Community Fund to be used for environmental educational projects in the Greater Cincinnati area.

Join the Reds in going green, and recycle your e-waste today or tomorrow! If you are unable to get to either drive, you can always take unwanted to e-waste to Greener Stock, where most electronics can be recycled for free.

Earth Month, Day #6: ReUse-apalooza!!!

Earth Month is FLYING by! Forgive me for skipping days 4 and 5. It has been a busy week! But you will learn all kinds of great tips for being green if you attend ReUse-apalooza! It is this Friday, April 8th from 7pm until 11pm. It is Building Value's Second Annual ReUse event. Building Value is a great resource for building materials and fixtures at a steal of a deal. The materials and fixtures, including doors, mantel pieces, windows, railings, facuets, toilets, and the list goes on, are all from houses and buildings that were deconstructed. Instead of just demolishing a house and sending all that material to the landfill, these pieces are saved. Come to ReUse-apalooza and check out some of these sweet items while being entertained by the likes of Jake Speed and the Freddies, Peace Drumming Circle, Drums for Peace and more! Design challenges, contests and a silent auction will also be taking place at this fun filled event. Hope to see you there! Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Event takes place at Building Value, 4040 Spring Grove Ave., Northside.

Earth Month, Day #3: Stay Hydrated

Last night I was fortunate enough to see one of my favorite bands live right here in Cincinnati. I have seen Guster perform at least ten times, if not more, and every time I am impressed with the great, green messages they send their fans. For example, they have a ride board set up so you can find out who else is going to the show and would want to carpool. One tour season they fueled their tour bus with biodiesel made with french fry oil collected from local restaurants. Last night's concert featured Brita water filters, and Nalgene water bottles.



The second sign says "Americans send 38 billion water bottles a year to landfills, enough to travel from Earth to the Moon and back 10 times if laid end to end. I didn't investigate as much as I should have, since I already have a water bottle, but I am pretty sure if you signed a pledge at the concert to reduce bottled water waste, they gave you a free Nalgene water bottle.

Using refillable water bottles, rather than bottle water, is a great way to save money, reduce pollution, reduce our dependence on plastic, and could be better for your health. I always have my Kleen Kanteen with me, and love that instead of using bottled water, or even the paper cups at a restaurant, I am helping to reduce solid waste from entering the landfill, or being recycled. Resuable water bottles are made in so many different sizes, shapes, colors, but I would recommend investing in a bottle that is made out of food grade stainless steel. The water tastes better, and harmful chemicals won't leach into your refreshing water.

I drink a lot of water, and imagining how many bottles of water I would be using if I didn't have a resuable bottle breaks my heart. After a hot trip through the Gobi Desert last summer in Mongolia, I promised myself I would never take advantage of water again! And I haven't, with my trusty Kleen Kanteen by my side.

Earth Month, Day #2: No More Plastic Bags

Plastic bags are everywhere. Just count how many you see whenever you are out in your car driving. I am willing to bet you see at least 5, maybe even 10. Watch this "mockumentary" on plastic bags. Being an nature lover, this gave me a good laugh. But it is also hauntingly true, seeing where all of these plastic bags end up most likely to stay forever.



Daniel and I are try as hard as we can to eliminate plastic bags from our everyday life. The easiest way to start was to invest in a few strong, lightweight, durable, easy to clean, and very easy to use bags. We logged onto one of my favorite "green" websites, Reuseit.Com to find the best bags for us. We settled on some dual handle bags made out of 98% recycled PET. Each one of these bags saves 10 plastic bottles from going into the landfill. The dual handle makes it easier to carry different sized loads, and they are great for all different kinds of shopping. These bags are so strong and durable that they can hold up to 1.5x the volume a typical plastic bag could hold. This was our choice of bag, but invest in whatever you feel fits your lifestyle the best. I would just recommend investing in bags that will last a very long time, as opposed to the free bags that are given out at different events. These bags work for a few months, maybe even a year, but eventually start to tear and will end up in the landfill anyways.

By reducing the use of plastic bags and switching to a more reuse lifestyle, we are reducing pollution and having a better impact on wildlife and their habitats, and moving away from a use and toss culture. Check out the "learn" pages on Reuseit.Com's website, include facts on how many plastic bags are used every minute (1 million) and how many pieces of floating plastic cover every one square mile of the ocean (46,000).

It may take a little bit to remember to bring your reusable bags to the store, but once you get in the habit it becomes second nature. If you happen to forget, always remember there are many ways you can reuse the plastic or paper bags the store gives out. Once you switch from plastic grocery bags to reusable ones, you can slowly start to make other changes. These changes could include using reusable produce bags (or not using produce bags at all). Happy (green) shopping!

[Photo from Reuseit.Com]

Happy Earth Month!

Earth Month is here. 30 days to celebrate the Earth and do something good for the planet (though, we should try to do something everyday)! How will you celebrate? Join me as I post a new tip, new green event, new resources every day this month, and go green! Start with small changes in your everyday behaviors like using cloth bags at the store, changing your light bulbs to energy efficient ones, and taking shorter showers. Once you are comfortable with these small changes, slowly work your way up to bigger ones. Every change you make towards a sustainable lifestyle, no matter how big or small, could have an impact on your health, your wallet and the environment.