The Evolution of Earth Day: Recycling Becomes the Focus for April 22

In 1970, Earth Day was originated to help save the environment from air and water pollution, but today, the celebration takes on a new meaning. Forty-seven percent of Americans associate Earth Day with recycling, while only 23 percent associate it with cleaning up local parks or beaches – which most resembles the day's original purpose – according to a survey from ecoATM, Inc., the nationwide network of automated electronics recycling kiosks. 

Recycling options have increased since the first Earth Day, and companies such as ecoATM are giving consumers an incentive to do so; ecoATM offers instant cash at the 1,890 kiosks nationwide for cell phones, tablets and MP3 players. Despite growth and widespread accessibility of recycling programs, there are recyclable items still being thrown away. Forty-four percent of Americans admitted to trashing batteries, in addition to:  

• Clothes (38 percent)
• Ink Cartridges (24 percent)
• Coins (six percent)

While 62 percent of Americans admitted to trashing recyclable items, a relatively low number of those have tossed small electronics: only eight percent have thrown away a cell phone, and four percent an MP3 player.

"Thankfully, recycling gadgets has become more common than trashing them; however lack of convenience and the potential of using the device again were two main reasons cited from respondents who choose not to recycle their devices," said Randy Erman, director of product marketing at ecoATM. "Making recycling easier is one of the main reasons we introduced ecoATM; we offer a safe and convenient place to recycle small electronic devices that could otherwise contribute to e-waste in our nation's landfills."

ecoATM® kiosks accept over 5,500 types of tablets, phones and MP3 players, and have already collected more than four million devices. To further incentivize device recycling, ecoATM is increasing its payouts beginning April 7 to coincide with the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge availability, offering even more instant cash and guaranteed price minimums for Samsung Galaxy S5 and iPhone 6 devices.

For more information on pricing or to locate a kiosk, please visit http://www.ecoatm.com/

Another Easy Way to Recycle Glass Jars

I turned this old glass candle jar in into my change jar. Easy! Easy! Easy!

After I thoroughly cleaned the jar, I spray painted the exterior in flat black paint. I applied three coats to make sure it was completed covered. After the paint was dry, I dry brushed it with metallic copper craft paint. Two hours later, I applied self adhesive scapebook embellishments. Voila, a plain glass has found new life collecting my pennies for Christmas.

How to Recycle Old Batteries

Got lots of old batteries and cell phones laying and round and don’t know what to do with them? Take ‘em to a Call2Recycle® center, located at many common retailers. Call2Recycle is the only no cost rechargeable battery and cell phone collection program in North America.
Since 1996, over 70 million pounds of rechargeable batteries have been collected through Call2Recycle. It has established a network of 30,000 collection sites throughout the U.S. and Canada. Click here to find a collection site near you.

Various federal, state and provincial regulations govern the proper disposal of rechargeable batteries and cellphones, naming Call2Recycle in official legislation as the collection method for eco-safe rechargeable battery and cell phone reclamation and recycling. Call2Recycle is the first battery program to obtain Responsible Recycling® (R2) certification and e-Steward recognition by the Basel Action Network (BAN) and upholds strict third-party standards for environmental safety and social responsibility.

From Trash to Flash

I hate throwing out glass jars and bottles. There’s always a way to repurpose and keep them out of a landfill. When I finish with a jar, I clean it up and then add it to my craft stash. I may night have an idea for right then, But I never know when inspiration might strike… Like it did a few days ago.

Digging through my craft stash looking for something to do, I came up with this idea for some quick Fourth of July decorations you can use year after year. For this projected, I used empty candle jars, but really, you could do this any kind of empty glass jar.

I used this project as an opportunity to see what kind of paint works best on glass – brush on acrylic craft paint or enamel spray paint. I matched the base colors to some scrapbook cut out decorations that I had. One set was rustic, muted reds and blues and the other was vivid, glittery sparkly red and blue.I don’t do scrapebooks, but I find that the cutouts come in handy for other projects – like this one, so I pick up them up when I find them on clearance.

I spray painted two jars a light tan and brush painted two a bright white. I put about three coats on all four of the jars. After they were dry, about four hours, I applied the scrapbook decorations to each of the jars using white craft glue.

The glittery pieces went on quickly and easily. Soft and rubbery, they were easy to work with on the curved surface. I accented the pieces with dots of red and blue paint. It took me less than 30 minutes to complete both jars. I set them aside to dry.

Next I worked with the rustic pieces. They were more difficult to work with because they were stuff and did not want to follow the curves and adhere to the surface. I ended up gluing down the middle first, allowing that to dry and then gluing down the sides. I took about three or four attempts to get them securely glued down.

After they were dry, I sealed all the surfaces by brushing them with white craft glue.

Three of the jars didn’t have lids, but they looked a little odd uncovered. I solved that problem by cutting squares of fabric twice the width of the jar opening. I edge the fabric with serrated scissors. Once the jars were completely dry, I secured the fabric to the jar with a rubber band and then tying a ribbon over it.

Trash to Treasure

When my parents moved from the old homestead some years ago, I found myself rummaging around in their barn. Barns are great places to find amazing treasures. Slated for the dumpster was an old Eight O’clock Coffee tin. There’s no telling how old the tin is, but it’s price, still marked on the bottom was 99 cents. Eight O'Clock Coffee is the brand name of the light roast of coffee introduced by the American supermarket chain A&P in 1859. I’m guessing that it came from paternal grandparents homestead since A&P was the only grocery store near Sulphur Springs for years. The brand still exists, but it’s no longer sold in a tin, nor is anywhere near 99 cents. However, the tin itself is worth what I pound of Eight O'Clock Coffee sells for today – about $25.


I also found a vintage wooden canister set with two red, yellow and green roosters on the front. I seem to recall my dad telling that it they were dug up on a job site somewhere in America years ago. At any rate they were dirty, but otherwise in good shape. After reaching the find, I discovered that they three canister set was made in Japan circa 1950. The complete four piece set – which I have – is worth about $50.

Not one to let such treasures hide away, I used them as pots to create greenery arrangements: Silk greenery with red, white and blue flowers, garnished with a few seasonal picks. Every year, I trot them out as part of my summer decorating scheme. This year, they’re going on my free standing wine rack.

Yup, somebody else’s trash is my treasure.