Gimme 5 recycle #5 plastics

I've been saving my #5 plastic containers with the hope that one day I can recycle them. In searching the web I found a recycling organization based in Cortland, NY.  I learned they have partnered with many organizations with drop off locations.  I'm excited that all my saved yoghurt and take out containers can be dropped off at Whole Foods. It's a lovely feeling to know my waste will be recycled into another product. follow the links below to find where you can recycle your #5 plastics.

Check it out:

Finally, a recycling solution for your yogurt cups, hummus tubs and other #5 plastic containers! If you’re serious about recycling, you know that most communities don’t accept these common containers for recycling. There’s not enough money in it for them to make it work. And those communities that do accept #5s are generally forced (by poor economics) into bundling them with other plastics to form a mixed plastic bale. This mixed plastic bale is of low value and is often shipped overseas to an unknown end of life.

Preserve and our partners created the Gimme 5 program to offer a simple way to save these plastics and make sure they have a second life. Now you can enjoy all of the great products that come packaged in #5 plastic, save them up, clean them out and drop them at a participating retail location, or mail them back to Preserve for recycling. And as a thank-you for your recycling efforts with us, we have partnered with Recyclebank, a company that rewards people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals from local and national businesses. You will now get rewarded for recycling your #5s in the Preserve Gimme 5 program! Learn more here.

NYC Recycle tips + E-Waste events

 

  
Throughout the year the Lower Eastside Ecology Center sets up E-Waste drives at multiple NYC locations. The next Electronic Waste Recycling Day is April 06, 2013 10:00am - 4:00pm  
at Tekserve  119 West 23rd Street (between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue), New York, NY 10011  
info@lesecologycenter.org
Here's a link to find out what you can bring to these events. 

 

Remember the 3 R's Reduce, ReUse and ReCycle

I love the Broadway Green Alliance and what they are doing little by little to make a huge effort in not only how theatrical sets are recycled, but how to change day to day habits, helping to reduce the enormous amount of waste we produce in NYC and beyond. Read more below and consider joining (it's free).  also connect with Rebekah Sale, rsale@broadwaygreen.com who can fill you in on all you need to know and how to become an active recycler. It will change your life.

I've been saving chip bags wondering where I can recycle them, read on.  Corks? you bet. Batteries?  No one should consider throwing into waste bin.  EVER! So here's the deal, yes it takes a little effort and maybe a visit to one of the drop off locations, but BGA is working hard to make it easy for us all. Boradway Green Alliance office is located at W. 46 St., #1312, 13th Fl.. I love their newsletter so much I want to share it, so read on.....

Dear friends of the Broadway Green Alliance,

  • Trying to find a better way to dispose of batteries, corks, toner cartridges, or old makeup containers? The BGA operates more than a dozen collection bins for items like these to make sure they get properly recycled or even up-cycled. We also operate a binder exchange and twice yearly electronic waste and textile collections in Times Square.  See below for a complete list of our collections.

Broadway Green Alliance Collections

Batteries 

Rechargeable: Recycled through the 4th Bin (4thbin.org).  Collected at the Gershwin (242 W. 51 St.) and Minskoff (200 W. 45 St.) Theatre Stage Doors.

Regular: Recycled through WeRecycle! (werecycle.com)  Collected at our twice yearly E-waste events in Times Square (January and July) or at the BGA office (165 W. 46 St., #1312, 13th Fl.) year-round.

Binders 

All kinds and sizes are accepted at this exchange; great for readings and workshops! You can drop off or pick up as many as you need.  Collected at the BGA Office and soon at Actors' Equity too (165 W. 46 St. -- 15th Fl.).

Bottle caps, plastic

Recycled through Aveda (aveda.com).  Accepted at the BGA office or at any Aveda store.

(Please note: metal bottle caps are recyclable through NYC Residential recycling or by all theater waste haulers)

Candy wrappers 

Upcycled through Terracycle (terracycle.net). Collected at the Majestic Theatre (247 W. 44 St.).

Individual candy wrappers, large candy bags and multi-pack candy bags.

Chip bags 

Upcycled through Terracycle. Collected at the Majestic Theatre.

Any size, brand, style of chip bag.

Cleaner Packaging

Upcycled through TerraCycle (see terracycle.net for complete list of accepted items). Collected at BC/EFA (165 W. 46, Suite #1300, 13 Fl.).  Pumps, triggers, pouches, and flexible cleaner product packaging.

Corks

Upcycled through Terracycle. Collected at the Gershwin, Majestic, and Minskoff Theatres

All natural or synthetic corks as well as cork stops.

Electronic waste (e-waste) 

Recycled through WeRecycle! Smaller items collected at the BGA office year-round or wait for our twice yearly drives.

Inkjets

Upcycled through TerraCycle. All Inkjets accepted. Collected at BC/EFA.

Makeup containers  

Upcycled through Terracycle. Collected at the Imperial (249 W. 45 St.) Theatre.

See terracycle.net for a complete list. Includes most tubes, bottles, jars, cases and old makeup.

Stuffers --cast change notices for Playbill insertion.

Upcycled into scrap pads through Genie Printing by the BGA. Contact the BGA to drop off boxes of stuffers.  

Textiles 

Recycled by Wearable Collections (wearablecollections.com).  Collected at the BGA office, at Actors' Equity--14th Floor Credit Union, and Local 764 Wardrobe Union year-round. Or bring to our twice yearly Textile Drives in Duffy Square (March and September).

Toner Cartridges 

Upcycled through TerraCycle.  See terracycle.net for a full list. Collected at BC/EFA. 

Some Brother, Canon, Dell, Panasonic, Xerox, Apple and all HP types of toner cartridges accepted.  

Writing Instruments 

Upcycled through TerraCycle. Collected at the BGA office.

Pens, mechanical pencils, markers, highlighters, permanent markers, and all related caps.

Thank you for being a member of the Broadway Green Alliance!

Please contact us with any issues, questions, or green ideas.

Rebekah Sale, rsale@broadwaygreen.com

 

  

Broadway Green Alliance collection bins for recycling ease

I love the Broadway Green Alliance and what they are doing little by little to make a huge effort in not only how theatrical sets are recycled, but how to change day to day habits, helping to reduce the enormous amount of waste we produce in NYC and beyond. Read more below and consider joining (it's free).  also connect with Rebekah Sale, rsale@broadwaygreen.com who can fill you in on all you need to know and how to become an active recycler. It will change your life.

I've been saving chip bags wondering where I can recycle them, read on.  Corks? you bet. Batteries?  No one should consider throwing into waste bin.  EVER! So here's the deal, yes it takes a little effort and maybe a visit to one of the drop off locations, but BGA is working hard to make it easy for us all. Boradway Green Alliance office is located at W. 46 St., #1312, 13th Fl.. I love their newsletter so much I want to share it, so read on.....

Broadway Green Alliance

August 2012

Dear friends of the Broadway Green Alliance,

  • Trying to find a better way to dispose of batteries, corks, toner cartridges, or old makeup containers? The BGA operates more than a dozen collection bins for items like these to make sure they get properly recycled or even up-cycled. We also operate a binder exchange and twice yearly electronic waste and textile collections in Times Square.  See below for a complete list of our collections.

Broadway Green Alliance Collections

Batteries 

Rechargeable: Recycled through the 4th Bin (4thbin.org).  Collected at the Gershwin (242 W. 51 St.) and Minskoff (200 W. 45 St.) Theatre Stage Doors.

Regular: Recycled through WeRecycle! (werecycle.com)  Collected at our twice yearly E-waste events in Times Square (January and July) or at the BGA office (165 W. 46 St., #1312, 13th Fl.) year-round.

Binders 

All kinds and sizes are accepted at this exchange; great for readings and workshops! You can drop off or pick up as many as you need.  Collected at the BGA Office and soon at Actors' Equity too (165 W. 46 St. -- 15th Fl.).

Bottle caps, plastic

Recycled through Aveda (aveda.com).  Accepted at the BGA office or at any Aveda store.

(Please note: metal bottle caps are recyclable through NYC Residential recycling or by all theater waste haulers)

Candy wrappers 

Upcycled through Terracycle (terracycle.net). Collected at the Majestic Theatre (247 W. 44 St.).

Individual candy wrappers, large candy bags and multi-pack candy bags.

Chip bags 

Upcycled through Terracycle. Collected at the Majestic Theatre.

Any size, brand, style of chip bag.

Cleaner Packaging

Upcycled through TerraCycle (see terracycle.net for complete list of accepted items). Collected at BC/EFA (165 W. 46, Suite #1300, 13 Fl.).  Pumps, triggers, pouches, and flexible cleaner product packaging.

Corks

Upcycled through Terracycle. Collected at the Gershwin, Majestic, and Minskoff Theatres

All natural or synthetic corks as well as cork stops.

Electronic waste (e-waste) 

Recycled through WeRecycle! Smaller items collected at the BGA office year-round or wait for our twice yearly drives.

Inkjets

Upcycled through TerraCycle. All Inkjets accepted. Collected at BC/EFA.

Makeup containers  

Upcycled through Terracycle. Collected at the Imperial (249 W. 45 St.) Theatre.

See terracycle.net for a complete list. Includes most tubes, bottles, jars, cases and old makeup.

Stuffers --cast change notices for Playbill insertion.

Upcycled into scrap pads through Genie Printing by the BGA. Contact the BGA to drop off boxes of stuffers.  

Textiles 

Recycled by Wearable Collections (wearablecollections.com).  Collected at the BGA office, at Actors' Equity--14th Floor Credit Union, and Local 764 Wardrobe Union year-round. Or bring to our twice yearly Textile Drives in Duffy Square (March and September).

Toner Cartridges 

Upcycled through TerraCycle.  See terracycle.net for a full list. Collected at BC/EFA. 

Some Brother, Canon, Dell, Panasonic, Xerox, Apple and all HP types of toner cartridges accepted.  

Writing Instruments 

Upcycled through TerraCycle. Collected at the BGA office.

Pens, mechanical pencils, markers, highlighters, permanent markers, and all related caps.

Thank you for being a member of the Broadway Green Alliance!

Please contact us with any issues, questions, or green ideas.

Rebekah Sale, rsale@broadwaygreen.com

 

 

Next collection drive: Textiles

Coming up in Times Square in September

 

Next collection drive: Textiles

Coming up in Times Square in September

Our textile recycling partner, Wearable Collections, accepts all clean clothing, paired shoes, hats, belts, bags, sheets, towels, curtains, etc. Including stained, torn, or broken items. 

 

 

watch our website BROADWAYGREEN.COM for a confirmed date

We have a couple of special offers that we would like to tell you about: 

  • Did you know our members can sign up to save money on janitorial and office supplies at Staples through the strategic sourcing company, ServCo?  Some of our members have switched to greener supplies andsaved 10-30% in the process, by signing up for this program.  

All members get a program customized to the specific needs of their theater or organization

Office products

Janitorial products

Technology

Furniture

All members receive the same price - smaller companies buy at the discounts available to the larger organizations

Savings are ranging from 15% - 30% for current participants

On-line ordering, free next day delivery (anywhere in the US)

Over 50,000 products to pick from including approximately 3,000 green products

Local Staples service team

Cost to participate:

BGA membership (free, but you must sign up)

30% of first year's savings (as the fee to ServCo)

To find out what your specific savings could be -- on the products you currently order or on even greener ones -- please send an email to us at green@broadway.org and we will send you more information about the BGA green products program.

  • Do you love biking? For the first time the BGA is applying to be a charity partner for Bike New York's 2013 Five Boro Bike Tour.  This amazing, 40-mile ride takes place on Sunday, May 5th, 2013. BGA riders can be part of a team raising money for the BGA and receive a guaranteed entry in the ride. If you are interested in riding, just send an email to green@broadway.org and we will be in touch with the fundraising information and riding details.Take a look athttp://www.bikenewyork.org/ride/five-boro-bike-tour/ to find out more about this fun ride.  

 

 

Holiday waste? reduce, reuse, recycle

Here's some ideas on how to be more environmentally thoughtful for the Holiday shopping, gift giving season.

Shopping has an environmental cost, especially online shopping with extra packing and shipping cost of transporting those gifts door to door.  Did you know that 25% more waste is produced between Thanksgiving and New Year's? Be mindful of how to reuse packing boxes and materials.  When shopping, bring bags with you so you don't arrive home with so much unnecessary waste.

Recycle old wrapping paper, cards, boxes and packing materials.  I collect throughout the year and reuse.  What to do with the plastic bubble wrap shipping envelopes?  I reuse those too, either covering over the address to add the new one, or filling a box with them as packing materials.

Most wrapping paper and cards use toxic paint and dye.  I try and reuse those as much as possible. I also take last years Holiday cards and cut off the covers and find a creative way to send a "new" card to family and friends. Or make Christmas tree ornaments by cutting out shapes and holiday images. 

For wrapping paper, I save and trim off any old tape or ripped sections.  This year I used all old paper to wrap gifts.  In our family with people as far away as Oregon, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan and Florida, we were happy to pack our Christmas packages with boxes and packing that we reused from previous packages.  In our apartment with little space, I do break down the box and store flat in the back of the closet.  Sure I need to use extra packing tape that way, but it's better than throwing the entire box out.  so much better to use an already existing box. Imagine the energy used to take a cardboard box and turn it into a new one.  I'd rather just use the old one.

When I get those pesky Styrofoam packing peanuts I fill up a small plastic bag like one you can get at the veggies aisle at the grocery store. With an old twist tie from a bag of bread, I tie off the bag.  These small packs of packing I reuse to fill my boxes and more importantly the recipient doesn't get to open a box with Styrofoam peanuts flying all over the place. If I can't use them, then I donate to a local shipping store. 

My thoughts:

1-Reuse wrapping paper. Think twice before crunching up wrapping paper, take a moment and fold and save for next year.

2-Reuse boxes and packing materials.  If you can't reuse, find a local shipping store and donate your boxes and packing materials.  They are happy to have them.

3-create new creative cards and ornaments form old Holiday cards.

4-Bring your own shopping bags with you to the store to reuse multiple times instead of gathering more waste.

Not bad, all these gifts were wrapped with reused paper!

Sheryl Eisenberg of NRDC has a useful December 2011 Holiday guide to Reuse and Recycling

Happy Solstice,

Cathy NYCSubwayGirl 

 

e-waste something you can do

Tekserve in NYC has regular e-waste drives.  Saturday October 9th is the time to recycle your e-waste. NYC'ers clean out your limited space and instead of throwing away electronic dinosaurs, recycle them.  It's easy and you will feel good about ridding yourself of last years cell phone, computer, fax machine, printer, game, what ever, that just fills up your very expensive space.

here's the link for details

from tekserve website:

Why Recycle Your Electronics?

The components in many electronics can be incredibly hazardous to the environment - contributing up to 70% of the toxins found in landfills - so it's important that they are properly recycled. Find out more through our links to articles on computer recycling. Sponsored collection events, like this one, are one of the easiest ways to properly dispose of your old gadgets in NYC. Due to funding constraints, the city's electronics recycling events and the Build It Green electronics drop-off program have been suspended.