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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Online Trading, Swapping, and Donating

Online swapping is nothing new (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/perfi/tips/2010-12-18-toys-swap_N.htm), but what are some sites that can be used to find what one is looking for?

If you have electronics that you do not use any longer, you can try Trade2Save, "a used electronics marketplace where you can get paid for your old gadgets. [Trade2Save makes] it easy to resell all those used electronics and media. Cell phones, PDA's, MP3 player, GPS units, laptops, gaming consoles, video games, and dvd's--if it works, it can be bought and reused and you get paid to be responsible." On their website they "promise you the best trade-in price plus you get a 4% bonus in Green Points for being green," so maybe it is worth checking it out.

For kids clothing, you can look at http://www.thredup.com that is like an online consignment store. They claim to be "the easiest way to save on great kids clothing brands, and hand down outgrown clothes for cash," and here is how they explain it works:
  • Browse thousands of like-new kids clothing items, which [they]'ve hand-selected and certified for quality. You'll find all your favorite brands discounted up to 80% off year-round. Shop »
  • And when your child outgrows clothing, simply fill up a thredUP bag and put it on your doorstep. thredUP covers the shipping, and pays you for every item we can hand down to other moms.
Those two sites are for selling second-hand items. If you are looking for a real swap, SwapMammas is the place to go for kid items. "Swapmamas is free to all. No middleman. No warehouse. No fees. You choose what you want to swap, who you want to swap with, and how you want to ship. The only thing you pay is the cost to ship your package to a friend. (And if that's not an option for you, join a local group and bypass shipping all together!)" There is no selling or buying, just swapping. They are also on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SwapMamas).

On Facebook you may be able to find other alternatives more local to you, like the Space Coast Mom's Swap, Shop & Talk for Brevard County residents. It currently has over 1,500 members and a separate group for swapping clothing, shoes and costumes.

Another group on Facebook that actually meets once a month to swap stuff is The Really Really Free Market (RRFM) of Melbourne/Palm Bay, Florida. It has 350 members now that are invited to meet from 1 to 3 pm on the last Sunday of each month at Holmes Park, 914 Melbourne Avenue, Melbourne. (Often called Manatee Park).

Freecycle.org is also an alternative to look for and offer items. On their site you can find a location near you, become a member, and get started. "The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 5,082 groups with 9,250,984 members around the world. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by local volunteers (them's good people). Membership is free."  

If you are interested in donating to schools and teachers' projects, you can use Donors Choose to see what projects are listed and towards which one you would like to contribute. DonorsChoose.org describe themselves as "an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need." On the site,  "public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests [...], and you can give any amount to the project that most inspires you. When a project reaches its funding goal, [DonorsChoose.org] ships the materials to the school. You'll get photos of the project taking place, a letter from the teacher, and insight into how every dollar was spent. Give over $50 and you'll also receive hand-written thank-yous from the students."


The options are out there -- and I bet there are still others -- and will be up to you to choose which ones would be best for you to try. I have used Freecyle and have been to our local RRFM. I sometimes donate directly to our local Goodwill, which could also be part of the above list.

So happy trading, swapping, or donating and...

Recycle Brevard!


Friday, December 14, 2012

Where can CFL be Taken to be Recycled?


CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) bulbs contain mercury and are considered hazardous waste. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, "recommends that consumers take advantage of available local options for recycling CFLs, fluorescent bulbs and other bulbs that contain mercury, and all other household hazardous wastes, rather than disposing of them in regular household trash. [...] Recycling prevents the release of mercury into the environment [that] CFLs and other fluorescent bulbs [would release] when [breaking while] thrown into a dumpster, trash can or compactor, or when they end up in a landfill or incinerator." (http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflrecycling.html)

An environmental-conscious friend of mine asked me where she could recycle her burned-out CFL bulbs. I found out that in Brevard County, we can take them to the landfill location that accepts hazardous waste at 2250 Adamson Road - Cocoa, FL 32926 - (321) 635-7954 or call Waste Management at 636-6894 or 723-4455 to order a FREE "Vapor Lok" bag (http://www.brevardcounty.us/SolidWaste/RecyclingInformation) that takes five days to be delivered. Once WM drops off the bag, you keep it until is full. Once it is full, you should call the same numbers for the bag to be picked up, also within five days.

Other alternatives listed at http://search.earth911.com, site of Earth911, Inc., "a for-profit wholly owned subsidiary of Infinity Resources Holdings Corporation that specializes in providing consumers with accessible and actionable recycling information across the country," were: Batteries Plus, Lowes, and Home Depot.

I called Lowes in Rockledge, (321) 631-0696, and they informed me that they always have a bin by Customer Services where fluorescent light bulbs, including CFLs, can be dropped off and they will take care of properly disposing of them.

Next time your bulb burns out, you now have an idea about where to go or where to look for places to drop them off. If you can't find a place to recycle your CFLs, EPA recommends to check "if your state or local environmental regulatory agency permits you to put used or broken CFLs in the regular household trash, [and if they do,] seal the bulb in a plastic bag and put it into the outside trash for the next normal trash collection."

Recycle Brevard!

UPDATE Oct 6, 2019 - Fluorescent lamps and CFLs can be dropped off at one of the county's hazardous waste collection centers: https://www.brevardfl.gov/solidwaste/householdhazardouswaste



Contact your local Lowe's or Home Depot or Batteries Plus stores to see if they still accept fluorescent lamps.

The
"Vapor Lok" option doesn't seem to be available any longer. The page listed in the original post is no longer available. Contact your city/town's Solid Waste Mgmt Dept to inquire.
 
Some other resources for you:
https://earth911.com/recycling-guide/how-to-recycle-fluorescent-tubes/





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