Post by Category : Interesting Stuff

Sustainable Business Forum: Intuit: Sustainability Report Cone Award

Another Cone for Intuit’s Green Team reported activity. The company has Green Teams at more than 15 locations and describes a enthusiastic activity ranging from engaging 4,000 Intuit employees in Earth Day activities, WasteWatch waste reduction program, Live Green Sweepstakes using the internal social network to make employees aware of a sustainable lifestyle with the chance to win a Vespa, Freecycle@work program to encourage recycling and reuse of “stuff” and a Green Your Business Forum, encouraging small business owners to engage to get Green Tips and advice.

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OnMilwaukee.com:

Welcome to April, Ok, so it’s technically still March but Spring is certainly in the air!! It’s starting to get warmer out, and hopefully we’ll soon all be able to open our windows on a regular basis.

This also means Spring cleaning!

Get out to that garage, up in the attic or down to the basement. Now is the best time to get that extra stuff moved out and into a new home!

FREECYCLE IT!!!!!! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MilwaukeeFreecycle/

You’d be surprised what other people would love to have. Stuff you don’t even realize you still have. How about that thingamajig you have in that dusty box in the back corner of your basement. I know it’s safely guarded by a field of spider webs, but if you arm
yourself with a metal bowl on your head to protect your hair from getting dirty (please wash it before you cook the family dinner, well, if it’s for the in-laws, it’s up to you), goggles to keep your eyes safe, some earmuffs to keep critters out of your ears, gloves to
keep your hands clean, and a bio-hazard suit to protect your clothes, you can make it through the army of webs and get to that box. Then you can FREECYCLE IT!!!!! (and get the webs out of there too) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MilwaukeeFreecycle/

It’ll be fun, go for it. You never know, someone might actually really really really need that thingamajig, and you might be the only one that still has it.

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North London Today: Enfield weekly round-up

ENFIELD was going green this week with thousands of canny residents choosing to freeccycle rather than dump unwanted goods in landfill but this was somewhat countered by controversy over the council sell-off of acres of green belt land.

THE council’s decision to sell chunks of the green belt, including the freehold of the West Lodge Park Hotel in Ferny Hill, Enfield, angered Conservative councillor Henry Lamprecht who accused the council of being “short-sighted”.

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Greenbuild News:The A team

Getting all these stakeholders involved has been important for the site’s social sustainability as well as helping its environmental goals. Local school children (there’s two schools very close to the site) have been on site tours and worked on biodiversity projects such as building bird boxes. One further example is the way waste has been dealt with. “We have donated materials to local people using a variety of methods, including advertising surplus materials on Freecycle and Gumtree” says Dixon. He also describes how spare Ultralam timber boarding was given to animal charity Anihab to build stables and spare pipework was donated to a local rabbit sanctuary, giving the residents lots of lovely new tunnels to run through.

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Bayside Patch:Keep Unwanted Junk Out Of Landfills

Freecycle.com: Freecycle is an online community where all goods are offered and taken for free to keep usable items out of landfills. You can post something you’d like to give away, or put up a posting for something you’d like to have. Freecycle forms networks by town, so check out their website and search for a group in your area.

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Lexington Herald Leader:When toys lose their appeal, parents have lots of options

Sparks said she has given away toys through Freecycle.org, but that method is “a lot more hit and miss,” because people sometimes fail to show up to get the items offered, and she said she rarely got items she listed on the site that she would like to have.

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North London Today:10,000 sign up for recycling network

THE Enfield Freecycle group, which allows residents to pass unwanted goods on to others in a bid to keep landfill levels down, has topped the 10,000-member mark.

According to the group the milestone was reached on Friday. The group’s website allows people to post information about goods they want to donate and they can also request specific goods they require.

Enfield’s lead moderator Mark Griffin said: “We get all sorts of things up on our website – from plastic ice cube trays, to cars and everything in between.

“It’s a good little community and it is based on goodwill. I detest throwing things away. Last year I gave away a tumble dryer that I was told had been broken. The guy I gave it to managed to get it fixed up.

“One person’s junk is another man’s treasure. We are changing the world one gift at a time. Our aim is to keep things out of landfill and there are very few things that cannot be donated.”

Together with the help of the North London Waste Authority and local authorities, Freecycle events have been staged across north London, including one in Jubilee Park, Edmonton, last year, allowing people to donate goods they no longer need and pick up things they want for free.

The Freecycle Network was launched by Deron Beal in Arizona in 2003 and has now spread to 85 countries. It is estimated to keep 500 tons a day out of landfill worldwide.
Go to http://groups.freecycle.org/enfield_freecycle to sign up.

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Lexington Herald Leader:The Fru-Gal: Getting rid of clutter

Just about anything

Freecycle.org can help you find a home for your unwanted items by connecting you with people who would love to have them. Also, don’t forget about the good old yard sale.

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AARP News: When to Buy New vs. Used

Furniture (advantage: mixed). With the possible exception of upholstered furniture — which can have hard-to-detect damage and possible sanitation issues — used furniture can be an incredible bargain. It might even be free. Keep an eye on the “Free” category on Craigslist.com and Freecycle.org for unwanted furniture, particularly when local colleges let out for the summer and many students give away their dorm furniture. Of course, the best used-furniture buys of all can be antiques or other pieces that will likely increase in value over time.

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Lincoln Journal Star: Lorene Bartos: Going green

8. Think before you throw something out. Donate duplicates or things you no longer use to a charity. You might also check out the Web-based Freecycle Network. Freecycle is a grassroots, nonprofit movement of people who are giving and getting items for free in their own town. Each local group is moderated by a volunteer and membership is free. Visit www.freecycle.org for more information.

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