Don’t have the yard space for a garden? You can reuse rain gutters to create a lovely herb and salad garden right on the side of your house or garage.  Simply attach gutters to a wall, fill with topsoil, and get planting.  These gutter planters are perfect for herbs as well as lettuce, and any other vegetables that have shallow roots and don’t spread out too much.

Great Picture from Recyclart.

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Raising a family is a lesson in handling STUFF–and, if you’re a parent, you’ve muttered to yourself more than once about how your family has way too much of it. We’re all familiar with the items we can recycle at the curbside or drop-off. What about everything else? Nearly everything else is recyclable. I think you’re going to be excited to hear about the things you can recycle right in your local community.

RecycleChicken, tells you where you can take anything and everything for recycling and reuse in your area. The site, searchable by item and zipcode, lists businesses and programs in your area that accept your beyond the curbside materials. Here is a listing of seasonal waste reduction suggestions.

• Pumpkins: A few ideas here. You could, of course, make pumpkin pie. You could feed the deer. You could add to yours or a neighbor’s compost pile. Roast the seeds or plant them for next year’s crop.
• Baby: Green Island Earth Friendly Goods in Traverse City is accepting used cloth diapers and cloth diaper systems. Call 231-933-8465  for accepting conditions.
• Vacuums & vacuum parts: Check with your local vacuum repair shop about what brands and conditions they accept. Most shops rebuild and sell used vacuums–a potential deal in itself.
• #3-#7 Plastics: Check in with Bay Area Recycling for Charities or American Waste.
• Garden Plastics: Bay Area Recycling accepts black (and other color) nursery pots, trays and plastic lawn edging. The Head Hen’s personal heroes!
• Dry Cleaning Hangers & Bags: Most drycleaners will take back their own or unprinted paper hangers as well as plastic dry cleaning bags. Call ahead to your favorite cleaner to check.
• Computers & Accessories (working or not): In the Traverse City area, some easy options include Goodwill and TC eWaste. In Emmet County, take to the Recycling Center on Pleasantview Rd.
• Other Electronics: In Traverse City area, take to TC eWaste. They take a wide array and even have drop boxes at Oryana Food Co-op. In Emmet–Pleasantview Rd. center.

To add your business or location to RecycleChicken’s recycling/reuse directory, use this easy “Get Listed” form.

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That’s right, latex as well as lamb skin condoms will biodegrade in your compost.  Latex is a 100-percent natural substance that breaks down both in sunlight and water.   Latex condoms do take a bit longer to break down than lambskin but the degradation process does begin almost immediately.  Exposure to sunlight quickens the process, but natural microorganisms attack natural rubber even in the dark. Research shows that under similar environmental conditions, latex balloons will biodegrade at about the same rate as a leaf from an oak tree.  This research also applies to latex condoms as both products are made from 100% latex.  The actual total degradation time will vary depending on the precise conditions, but condoms will break down in your compost pile.

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FREE COMMUNITY-WIDE RECYCLE & REPURPOSE EVENT FOR DAYLIGHT SAVINGS
‘Fall Back’ into Action to Clean Up and Green Up

The Michigan Green Consortium will once again produce a free community-wide recycle, repurpose and reuse event from 10am until 3pm on Sunday,November 7, 2010 at Parking Lot B in downtown Traverse City. The event is held twice a year, the morning following the time adjustment, and serves as a reminder to residents to renew their pledge to do their part to preserve the environment.

The Daylight Savings Clean Up and Green Up Event will be hosted by the Consortium and a dozen or more local area businesses that provide recycle and reuse services. The event is comprehensive, offering residents the chance to bring recyclable items to one location and at no charge for collection.

Area businesses will be on site that day to process a realm of household goods that have reusable or recyclable value. While not all vendors are yet confirmed, past vendors have included. American Waste; Bay Area Recycling, RecycleChicken, Rifkin Steel, L & B Recycling, Cartridge World, Goodwill, GT Profile’s Shredmonster, TC eWaste, Odom Reusable Building Products, Northern Michigan Garment Restoration, Evergreen Bottle Company, Team Elmer’s and Home Depot.

Michigan Green Consortium is a trade association established in 2008 to promote and support green and sustainable businesses; to educate the business and local community on what should be done to ensure a healthy environment and provides networking opportunities for green
companies. The consortium is funded solely by member dues and public contributions.
To learn out more about the Daylight Savings: Clean Up and Green Up event, call (231) 947-1688 or visit www.mgconline.org

To add your business or location to RecycleChicken’s recycling/reuse directory, use this easy “Get Listed” form.

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There are the Beatles and there are Beetles. The Beatles are a beloved band from the 60′s/70′s and Beetles are a beloved car from the same period.  You recycle the Beatles every time you listen to them on the radio, an old LP or your iPod.

You can recycle a Beetle in a variety of ways. Here are some fun and creative ideas.

If the body is rusty and you want a quick fix, try this fuzzy option, this patchwork beetle, this green as can be beetle, or … how about this conversion that even the Big Bad Wolf couldn’t blow down?

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Got your attention with that one, didn’t we? Well, we’re going to cover several things here. You actually can recycle fish. Here’s what we mean: First, there is the most straight forward form of recycling fish. You have probably heard of the concept of catch and release. There is a website called RecycleFish that encourages catch and release, and … you have to admit … the name is fun. Secondly, if you decide to keep and clean your fish, the guts or remains can be used for gardening. Fish remains when properly composted make a second to none garden fertilizer. Here are some great links for how to properly compost fish remains:

• http://www.gardenguides.com/87815-compost-fish-guts.html

• http://www.ehow.com/how_4603012_compost-fish-remains.html

• http://compost.css.cornell.edu/fishwaste.html

• http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/soil/msg1211121914104.html

Last, we share with you a number of ways materials have been recycled or repurposed into some crafty fish or fish related items:

• Beer Can Fish by Ritch Branstrom (great daddy, uncle or grandpa gifts)
• Bottle Cap Fish by John T. Unger
• Recycled Fish Tin Desk Organizer
• Fabric Fish by SewnNatural

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Every piece of furniture True Connection creates is made from reclaimed cedar. The wood colors range from brown to gray and each piece is totally unique.

You can purchase these items and many other cool furniture items at Etsy.

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All you need is a glass jar with a screw on lid, a little soil, some moss you found in the back yard, and a small plant found in the back yard as well.  Put it all together and you have a beautiful little terrarium.

1. Go on a short walk around the yard or maybe through the woods and be on the look out for some moss. As soon as you find some scoop it up and place it in a plastic bag.

2. Now that you have your moss, be on the look out for small plants that look like they would fit into the jar that you have selected for you terrarium.  They don’t have to be flowering plants, as you can see they have used clovers in this picture.  Now hurry back to the house with your plant as they do not survive that long out of the soil.

3. Once you are back at the house, examine your moss to make sure there are not any unwanted plants or other debris you don’t want in your terrarium.

4. Make sure that you have cleaned your jar very well. Also, make sure that any labels have been completely removed.

5. Mound up a little soil on the inside of the lid and place your moss on top of it.  You can now gently place the small plant that you have collected carefully into the moss.  Once you have created the perfect arrangement you can sprinkle some water over it.

6. Now for the hardest part of the whole project.  Gently slide the glass jar over your mound of moss and plants.  Once you have done that screw on the lid tightly and your terrarium is complete.

According to Design Sponge, the water level should be fairly self-sustaining after the first watering (depending on the tightness of the seal). If it looks a little dry, half unscrew the lid and run under the faucet for a minute.

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Urban Farmer uses Eco-Packetsâ„¢ to package all of it’s seeds.  Eco-packets are made using old magazines and catalogs that would otherwise go to a landfill.  They  separate the catalogs by paper strength and size and then use a “secret” process to turn each page into a new seed packet that will be filled and shipped out to their customers.

RecycleChicken thinks this is a great idea. Not only is this a great way to repurpose magazines but the graphics look so cool on seed packets.

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The rope used to cast out lobster traps in Maine can only serve this purpose for so long before they have to be replaced.  So what do we do with it after it has become too worn to catch lobsters.  We make door mats or course.

Here are a couple retailers that are selling door mats that have been made out of lobster ropes from Maine. They’re really bright and colorful and they do a great job of getting all that dirt and grass off of you shoes.

RecycleChicken has found them for sale at Uncommon Goods as well as Etsy.

To add your business or location to RecycleChicken’s recycling/reuse directory, use this easy “Get Listed” form.

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