Motorola Moto W23 Renew

After having Solar Powered Cell Phone by Samsung, this week’s cool gadget comes from Motorola through The Motorola MOTO W233 Renew as their green steps. If Samsung makes their green steps by producing a solar powered cell phone, Motorola was able to beat them all out by producing a cell phone that is made from recycled plastic, 100% recyclable materials, comes with eco-friendly packaging, RoHS compliant, and comes with a postage-paid envelope so whenever you’re done with them you don’t have to worry about how are you going to recycle its 100% recyclable materials. You know what? YOU CAN SEND THEM BACK TO THE FACTORY TO BE RECYCLED! This is what you call a 100% green cell phone (it’s literally green, though).

This amazing gadget is available online at Amazon starting from $9.99

Happy Green Living!

ReBagz Eco-friendly Clutch by Half the Sky Designs

This silver pouch looks ordinary and commonly seen at the department store you visit. But not after you hear what 1000 Green Steps have to say about this purse. This is HAND-WOVEN, and made of cleaned or recycled plastic fruit juice packs you always poke a straw into!

These kinds of bags and clutches are made under ReBagz Company, where rice sack graphics totes and hand-woven purses are combined into one.

This clutch is available online at $29, and purchase it now to be more eco-friendly and be chic!

Happy Green Living!

Green Birthday Party

Gifts

1000 Green Steps think that it’s nice to apply gift exchange in a birthday party. That is even better if every child brings a ‘green’ friend of them (plants, soil, or even animals!) and in the end they will go home with their own new ‘green’ friend.

Garnish

For the party supplies, try IKEA dinnerwares which are recycled plastics. If your child demands characters decorations such as Spiderman or Princesses, try drawing (or tracing) favourite characters or items on kraft paper to make a tablecloth. Even better, let the kids do it at the party. As for balloons, it might be easiest to go cold turkey. That may sound outrageous, but there are plenty of reasons. Fancy mylar balloons are not biodegradable. Even normal latex balloons, which do eventually break down, can cause problems.

Goodies

While kids are thrilled to rip open these sacks of treasure, the pleasure is usually short-lived. There is a reason that these items were inexpensive – they are poorly made, mass-produced, and definitely not sustainable. Use a small cloth bag or a recycled cardboard instead, or if you are on a budget, you can go back to number 1 where goodies bags are no longer needed to be provided by the host.

Happy Green Living (or Partying)!

San Franciscans… Make yourself proud! All of us can give them congratulations now, because starting from July 2011, San Franciscans will have to pay for not recycling non-organic matters.

How much?

For those ‘criminals’ the fine would be $500 (such a waste!). Well, in case you need more actions of The San Francisco Board of Supervisors to prove their eco-friendliness, I will tell you something. Maybe you can find some other cities that make their citizens doing the recycling part, but not COMPOSTING.

How will that work?

Well, the garbage collector simply will put tags on containers that haven’t been sorted correctly. So re-open your books about how to separate organic and non-organic matters again fellas!

1000 Green Steps hope other countries in this world start to realize how important these kinds of regulations are for our environment. Next time we won’t see cities or counties, but COUNTRIES

Happy Green Living!

1000 green Steps know that almost every woman knows that recycling in their kitchen would be a good idea. The problem is that green steps are not always easy or convenient! Who really wants to lug a bag full of aluminum cans out to the recycling bin (especially during the cold winter months?) No one. Luckily, this aluminum can crusher makes your green steps much less daunting! Simply crush all empty cans and store them until enough have accumulated for a single trip out to the bin.

Happy Green Living!

The holiday season is approaching again. While we all love holidays, it is also a time with huge waste of energy and materials.

Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, one million extra tons of garbage is generated each week in the U.S.

However, with a little green thinking and effort, we might be able to reduce that figure significantly.

1. Christmas tree

Plant a small potted tree and use it for Christmas each year.

Although artificial trees cost un-renewable energy to produce, if you can use it year after year, it shouldn’t be too bad.

If you must have a real cut tree, most cities have a program to recycle it into mulch and compost.

2. Lights

Switch to LED Christmas lights. They are 90% more efficient than traditional ones. They also last longer and emit little heat.

3. Gift wrap

Save wrap from previous years and reuse it.

Use newspaper, old calendars, posters, magzines, or catalogues as gift wrap (better yet, skip the wrapping).

Recycle any wrap that is no longer useful.

4. Other

Recycle greeting cards, gift tags, and especially cardboard or use them for crafts.  Avoid using disposable tableware. Save and reuse holiday decorations.

Hope we all have a greener holiday this year. For more green holiday ideas, click here.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

To my surprise, last posting on 3 steps to turn your business green had gained many visitors’ attention. That encourages us to write more implemented 3R steps to be done. This time, 1000 Green Steps will show you just how easy to apply that exact same 3R at your very own home. Continue reading

Reduce

Reduce paper towels usage, and use cloth towels instead. To make things simpler, just avoid using anything disposable. That will just increases your unnecessary waste.

Try to buy everything you need ONLY IF it is packaged with eco-friendly packaging. Example: Choose card board-packaged eggs instead of Styrofoam-packaged eggs.

Reuse

Conduct a small (or big) garage sale for goods you don’t need anymore. This is 1000 Green Steps favorite step since it could make us money and being eco-friendly all at once.

Maybe you can choose old books from your shelf to be donated to your local library and see if they could use them.

If none of those works, I still have a back-up plan. In my upcoming post, I will show you how to make some Do-It-Yourself things you’ll like. Try to do that, and reuse your old stuff.

Recycle

Bundle up all non-organic stuff inside your house and give them to your local recycling center to get it recycled.

Buy goods from shops that allow you to return its bottles whenever you’re done with it. They are the producers, and believe us, they know how to recycle those packaging better than we all do.

Happy Green Living!

Green Printing Service

Whoa whoa wait! 1000 Green Steps is 100% sure that you all have heard (or at least read) that printing is not that eco friendly and you should just either save it in your computer or print it on a recycled paper. However, if you are talking about brochures, newsletter, postcards, or even photos, you can’t really print it on a recycled paper, can you? Well 1000 Green Steps had thought of that possibility, so we find you a solution! Greenerprinter.com gives you the tools you need to grow your business. More than a printer, they offer comprehensive tools for spreading your message and cultivating new customers so your business can thrive. They make it easy, affordable, and green by using 100% post customer recycled paper and soy or vegetable based ink with eco friendly practices and green steps.

Happy Green Living!

When it’s time to let your computer go, consider recycling it.

Green Programs

Mandatory take-back programs: Some state requires manufacturers to take old computers back to recycle.

Verified recycling: Some recyclers participate in the Electronics Recycler’s Pledge of True Stewardship. They agree not to use ill-equipped facilities and export of hazardous materials.

Taking out toxins: Some manufacturers are developing new computer designs that use less toxic materials.

Recycling and Disposal

If your old computer is still running okay, try to find a new home for it.

Many nonprofit organizations take usable computers for those who can’t afford a new one.

If your computer is too old to reuse, try to find a local recycling program for electronic waste.

Some computer companies may take your old one if you buy a new one from them. Some even offer a discount for customers who recycle their equipment.

Also, consider keeping the old monitors. They usually can be reused.

For more information, check out the website www.greenerchoices.org/electronicsrecycling.

Source: www.MotherEarthNews.com

Waste generated by home demolition and construction is huge. But if handled properly, much of it can be reclaimed and reused.

“Freecycling” is an Internet service for people to trade things locally. There have been plenty building materials being traded between members (free membership). Internet auctions (like eBay) often have used construction materials too.

Houses that are set for demolition or are under remodeling are good places to search for used building materials in your neighborhood.

There are often local companies or organizations who sell recycled or used construction materials at a fraction of their regular prices.

There have been a lot of progress in the technology to reconstitute construction waste into new products. Look for the construction material recycling programs in your area.

If you plan to build or remodel a home, make sure to hire professional builders who are willing to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Plan ahead to reduce construction waste. Practice deconstruction rather than demolition. When you do have some “junk” after finishing the work, try to find out who need them or sell on eBay before recycling.

For more information, including recycling resources, click here.