Welcome to the season of holiday joy, packaging materials and dead batteries!

If you’ve ever wondered where to recycle these items, wonder no more.
RecycleChicken.comis a site, searchable by zip code, that will tell you where you can take anything and everything for recycling and reuse in your area.

Let’s search for how to reduce our waste this holiday season. RecycleChicken has recycling/reuse locations for the following holiday items:

• Christmas lights: You can recycle those burnt out incandescent lights. LEDs are all the rage these days.
• Scotch tape dispensers: Yes, tape dispensers!
• Snack chip bags: Recycle your Frito Lay brand snack chip bags after the holiday bowl games.
• Styrofoam: Even the molded stuff! Visit the site to find Bay Area Recycling for Charities and Kalkaska County recycling program.
• Packing materials: We’re talking foam chips, bubble wrap, etc!
• Christmas trees: Find listings for local collection programs. Often times the resulting chips are used on area recreation trails.
• Household batteries: Don’t throw them away. Find recycling locations close by.
• Small appliances: Did you get a new blender for Christmas? You can find a location to take the old one whether dead or alive.
• Cardboard: You know how this stacks up in the garage.
• Sports equipment: Miss the swaps? Take skiing, snowshoeing, skating, hockey equipment to a reuse location.
• Electronics & video games: ‘Tis the season to upgrade your electronic gear and try out the latest technology. Take your old techy toys to a local drop-off location.

Also, please remember your waste hauler when tipping or gifting this holiday season. Did you know that every year, waste handling is ranked among the Top 10 dirtiest and most dangerous jobs? We owe a bit of gratitude for these guys. We’d be in a real pile without them.

Happy Holidays from RecycleChicken!

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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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Recycling involves processing used materials (waste) into new products to reduce the consumption of resources and save money. Recycling is the modern component of waste reduction and is notably third in the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” hierarchy. (Hashtags for Twitter: #recycling #rcycl #rchk #3r, #3rs)

A Recycling Pioneer

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Our trash waste is the fecal matter of our cultural existence.

It is that which comes out of what we consume. Yes, this is a crude analogy, but a dead-on one nonetheless.

Taking this analogy a bit further, we can say that learning to recycle is much the same as potty-training. Early in an individual’s life, it is quite appropriate to go in your pants and someone else cleans it up for you. There comes a time around age two, when someone tells you it’s time to put your waste in a different and more appropriate place. You are changing your behavior–from going in your pants to going in the potty.

As a society, as a culture, we have been going in our pants for long enough. It’s simply time to deal with our waste in a more appropriate manner.

What is a landfill if not a great big (albeit highly engineered) diaper that leaks when too full, wet or heavy? And just like any leaky diaper, the leaking makes a mess of that which is adjacent and connected to it. Don’t get me wrong, a landfill is a highly appropriate place for that which cannot be reduced, reused or recycled.

So, learning to recycle is analogous to potty-training. It’s funny, I know. You giggled didn’t you when you realized how simply true this is?


Reduce, Reuse, Resell, Recycle & Rebuy today!

Straight talk from the coop!


–Head Hen
a.k.a. Kelly Ignace


www.RecycleChicken.com

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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

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Many people are starting to can their own food at home recently.  The once thought to be out of date practice is seeing a regrowth lately.  Canning is extremely beneficial and can be a very fun project as well.  Many have turned to canning as a means to save money but there are also many other health and economic benefits to canning as well.  Along with saving money canning also allows you to reuse those mason jars over and over again.  Once you have eaten all of the great pickles, jams, and sauces you made in the first batch, simply wash, sanitize and prepare to refill the jars with your newest creation.  Canning Local has written a great article on the subject and has made some great points.

Canning is a great idea because:

• Excellent quality and taste – When you use quality produce and perform the canning process correctly, you will create superior products to those for sale at the supermarket. Many recipes for home canned food are delicious and literally the quality is something that money can’t buy.
• Control over the ingredients – With home canning, you will know exactly where your food is coming from. Ideal sources of produce are your own garden and fruit trees, local organic farms, and any local farm. From any of these sources you will be able to hand select your produce at the peak of ripeness.
• Support of the local economy – By directly buying produce from local growers, you are putting money into the hands of local people. Local growers love selling from their own farms or market stands because they are not at the mercy of the big commodity buyers who set prices. This also allows local growers, especially small ones, to remain profitable, which is good for the local economy.
• Sense of accomplishment – Once you begin canning food, you will be thrilled with yourself. You will feel like you did something very meaningful to your existence because you did!  Along with that you also have the ability to reuse those jars once they are empty to cook up even more delicious canned creations.

These are all great reasons to start canning at home. Your family will love the delicious food you have cooked up and canned goods are a great gift as well. From homemade pickles to jams, and even flavored vinegars, your friends and family will be happy to unwrap a jar of something you’ve made just for them.

There are many resources on the internet that can instruct you on canning as well as thousands of recipes available.  Canning can be a little overwhelming at first but once you have done a few canning projects you should get the hang of it and it becomes quite easy.

Below is a list of resources to help you get started.

• http://www.freshpreserving.com/
• Pick Your Own
• Mountain Breeze Canning and Preserving
• Canning Pantry
• Country Home Canning

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Indosole is making really cool flip flops out of salvaged motorcycle tires. These are great shoes and they’re even cooler because you can still see the pattern of the tire treads on the bottom of the shoes.

IndoSole says that their sandals are made by people, not machines. They use materials which have been salvaged and re-born. Their goal is to save old motorbike tires and other trash from Indonesian landfills.

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The beginning of the school year is a fun time to think about recycling and reuse. Maybe one of the most fun things about this time of year, is resale shopping.

Don’t dismiss resale as a great option for back to school.  There are some very nice resale shops throughout northern Michigan, some specializing in children’s clothing and some even specializing in teen wear.  Check out Top Drawer Exchange for great teen clothing options in Traverse City. My own teen daughter loves this store. They carry a fresh and stylish selection of teen clothing, shoes and other accessories. Also a great spot for hip teen fashions, check out Zany Consignment in Traverse City and R3 Clothing Exchange Co. in Petoskey. For the smaller ones, any of the family resale and thrift stores are now stocking their racks with back-to-school bargains.  Try Children’s Orchard in Traverse City, New Hope’s new location on Garfield Ave. in Traverse City and Those Bloomin Kids and Grown Ups in Petoskey. Happy bargain hunting! Who doesn’t like to save some money?!

When I was in school, and being the creative type, one of my favorite activities for the beginning of the school year, was to make book covers for all of my text books. There are many materials you can use for book covers, from old wallpaper samples to fabric. But, my all-time-favorite was the brown paper bag version. This allowed me to decorate the cover. The paper bag covers are also surprisingly rugged.

Terri Mauro shows you how to do it:

1. Cut open a brown paper shopping bag. Remove the flap formed by the bottom of the bag so that you have one   large  sheet of brown paper.
2. Place the book in the center of the paper.
3. Wrap the paper up across the bottom of the book and make a crease along the bottom cover.
4. Repeat Step 3 for the top of the book.
5. Remove the book from the paper.
6. Fold the paper up at the bottom crease and down at the top crease. You should have a strip of paper big enough to cover the book from top to bottom.
7. Place the book back in the center of the paper. Wrap the paper across the front of the book from left to right and adjust the book position until the two ends of the paper are even.
8. Fold the overlap around the front cover of the book and make a crease. Then insert the front cover of the book into the slot created by the paper folded over at the top and the bottom. Slide the paper down over the book until you hit the crease.
9. Repeat Step 8 for the back cover of the book.
10. If the cover fits snugly, you can stop at this point. If it seems a little loose or the top and bottom folds are not lying flat, you can use small pieces of tape to pull the front and the inside flap together a little more securely.

Also, here are a couple important tips:

1. Do not tape the paper cover to the actual cover of the book; the paper cover will move a little when the book opens, and you could damage the book cover.
2. If your child likes and the teacher allows, decorate the cover with drawings or stickers.

If blank journals are on your back-to-school supply list, consider making your own. Cereal boxes make fun and interesting covers and you can fill them with your choice of paper type. Try maybe blank pages, lined or grid paper.  Even if you don’t use one for school, you can make small versions for yourself to keep in your purse. This first pic below displays some journals crafted by Crafterella.  Following that, you can visit the long thread blog for a detailed how-to on making box cover journals.

With books covered and journals crafted, you’ll need a good book bag. For that, check out PriorLIFE bags made from reclaimed billboard materials. These are locally made in northern Michigan and come in a variety of bright beautiful styles from totes to laptop sleeves to zippered pencil pouches.  www.priorlife.com

Then, let’s look at reducing our waste once school is started. One great way is of course to pack your own lunch. When packing lunch, consider the packaging. Try the stylin’ reusable lunch wraps Eco Lunch Gear. Eco Lunch gear is a company started by a northern Michigan mom. Her designs are fun and undeniably usable. My kids think they’re cool and vy for who gets to use the few pieces that we have on hand.

If you’re sorting out old crayons and making room for new, you can send your old ones to Crazy Crayons to be recycled into new fun molded crayon shapes. Crazy Crayons is an at-home-mom business out of Wisconsin. www.crazycrayons.com

If you’re looking for a fundraiser for your school this year, check out one of these two ideas. The first is TerraCycle.net, a program where your school can earn money by collecting common items such as juice boxes, snack bar and cookie wrappers for recycling. The school earns a few cents for each item collected. Check out the website. There is an easy sign-up process.

Then, your school may have fun hosting a recycled art fair/auction during the school year. This really gets the creative juices flowing and could be combined with curriculum units focusing on natural resources and waste reduction.

Good Luck putting these ideas to good use.

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RecycleChicken thinks that this company’s ideas are great and the stuff they are producing has charm and a somewhat rustic look to it.  It is stuff that’s being reused and recycled after all.

Junktion was founded in Tel Aviv in 2008, in order to give a second chance for what the city had already classified as junk. junktion people take everyday objects out of context, sometimes attaching them to others, unrelated, and at other times just turn them upside down on the table, take a step back and say: hmmmm…
junktion people love seeing objects in new ways, stuff that makes them think, stuff that makes them act, stuff that makes them laugh. They, apparently, love stuff.. Junktion people believe that there is enough stuff in the world already and try to take from what there is. And, often find our desires in what no longer interests others. They are committed to go happily to work every day.

For even more cool recycled products check out Junk+Ion.

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Materials:

• 55 Gallon Plastic Barrel (used) – $10
• 30 Gallon Plastic Barrel (used) – $10
• 4′ x 8′ x 2″ Extruded Polystyrene Insulation – $28
• Shower Drain + Reducer – $??
• Misc PVC Fittings and pipe – left over from previous plumbing projects
• PVC Ball Valve – $??
• Thermos – $5
• Casters (4) – $12
• 4′ x 8′ x 1/2″ Faced Insulation – $9
• Can of “Great Stuff” – $6
• 4″ x 7/8″ Corner Brace (2) – $5
• Aluminum Tape, spray glue, plywood, screws, etc. – Extra stuff laying about
• Grand Total = about $105 (figure $20 for the stuff that I don’t recall the price)

1. Big Drum Prep

Before cutting, draw a line around the top and use that as a guide for the saw. The plastic cuts fairly easily and a jig saw makes quick work of it. I left about 1″ of the sidewall attached to the lid. If doing it again, I would leave about 2-1/4″ so I could insulate the lid with the pink foam board (more on that later). Give the drum a good washing out. It doesn’t have to be perfect as the beer you drink will never touch it.

Set the drum aside and let it air out a bit.

Cheers from Instructables!!!

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