Recycle, eh

I've been having an interesting time with cell phones recently and have gone back to using a land line. One reason was that I kept forgetting to take the silly thing with me when I went out. Or I wouldn't hear the ring tone because I didn't like a loud sound and kept the ring low. Or worse, I kept getting calls trying to sell me something. 

The other thing was I've been getting kind of upset about was how many electronic gadgets I had that needed constant recharging - camera, laptop, cell phone (okay, only three but still it can add up!!). What does all this do to the energy grid? It can't be good. Treehugger has an article about how you can save energy through careful selection of your electronic gizmos. It also refers to an article by the International Energy Agency about how energy use is going up as our love for all things electronics rises. 

The thing that really got my knickers in a twist was that in Canada you pay for sending and RECEIVING a call! Now that can add up, especially when you start getting calls from advertisers (how did they get my cell phone number anyway??). So, I thought, time to go back to my semi-luddite lifestyle and at least get rid of the cell. If people love me, they'll call back on my land line.

The problem now was how to resell my cell phone. Resellers do exist, I found such as Recycle Mobile Phones in the UK and Cell For Cash in the U.S. Both sites tell you how to go about recycling your cell phone.

But first I had to figure out what precautions to take beforehand. There's lots of sites that offer tips but I found the following had good, clear information.

Important Tips for Reselling Your Cell Phone

Steps for Reselling a Cell Phone (video)

CD/DVD jewel cases are made of non-biodegradable materials; they will not decompose in a landfill, and destruction by burning is toxic. If your community has a Take It Back program, such as the one in Ottawa, you can find companies that specialize in recycling the cases. There are also companies online that will recycle these although you may have to spend a bit of money to ship the packages.

For more information on recycling CD jewel cases, check out the tips at Best Green Home Tips.

If you’d rather try your hand at reusing your empty jewel cases, there are a number of creative ways to repurpose them. You can easily transform a jewel case into a stand-up photo frame or a refillable desk calendar stand. If you have loads of empty jewel cases, you can pop in your favourite photos (cut to 4 3/4 x 4/ 3/4 inch or 12cm x 12cm) to create a wall display of your favourite pictures. 

If you've got a pile of old CDs or DVDs cluttering up your bookshelves and drawers, there are many creative ways to reuse and recycle them. Here's one stylish way to transform a really big pile into a eye-catching curtain.

You will need a heavy-duty hole puncher to make the 4 holes as shown in the above photo. Join the CDs with large paper clips and voila, a shiny new curtain in no time.

To recycle your CDs and DVDs take them to your local Future Shop or Best Buy stores.