Guest Post - Recycling Cell Phones – GreenBuyback – Be Green | Get Green

According to the Electronics Take Back Coalition, consumers purchased 1.8 billion cell phones in 2013. 125 million of those phones are iPhones alone. It is anticipated that the US will increase purchases of cell phones to a projected 1.96 billion in 2015. These are tremendous numbers and are consistently trending upwards. There is a major concern for the amount of potential e-waste this could create if consumers are throwing these phones away after they upgrade to a new phone.

What happens if cell phones end up in a landfill?

Cell phones and accessories contain heavy metals such as: cadmium, nickel, lead, mercury, manganese, lithium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, beryllium, and copper. If any of these metals leak into the natural environment, toxins may leak into the soil and contaminate it. This may cause metals to enter back into the food chain and cause major health problems. Dumping e-waste into landfills is simply not a sustainable method. This is creating a long-term pollution risk to our environment. We need to work together to recycle and reuse these cell phones and other electronics and help keep them out of landfills.

GreenBuyback - We Want to Help Find a New Home for Your Phone

GreenBuyback is a buyback company that purchases cell phones and tablets from consumers nationwide. It is our goal to provide top dollar in order to incentivize consumers to sell their cell phone. GreenBuyback’s primary goal is to find your used phone a new home rather than leaving it in a drawer, or even worse, throwing it in a garbage can. GreenBuyback even buys damaged phones. We work with partners that reuse parts and always recycle unused components. We have a zero-waste policy so you can feel good about selling your old phone and making some extra cash.

What are consumers doing with their old phones?

GreenBuyback questioned many of their customers what they were doing with their old phones? Some typical responses are “saving them in case I need a spare” or “I know there is value, I just didn’t know where to turn” or “I am scared to sell my cell phone because my data is on my cell phone” GreenBuyback asked their followers on Twitter how many total cell phones are in your house? The average household that responded was 4 phones per house. The highest amount of cell phones in one house that responded was 14 phones!

How does GreenBuyback Help the Environment?

GreenBuyback gives consumers a safe option to easily sell your cell phone or tablet from the comfort of your home. GreenBuyback is dedicated to educate consumers the value of recycling their cell phones, not only for the extra cash, but also for the benefit for the environment. GreenBuyback primarily resells all equipment that is collected from the website. In the case of purchasing damaged phones, we have partnered with trusted repair centers that we resell to. These agents reuse as many components of the electronics that they can. Every other component is properly recycled.

Our goal is to help find a new home for your old cell phone. We typically sell to individuals who may not be able to afford the newest cell phone. We strongly believe it is very important to help those in need and also help keep these used electronics out of landfills.

What if I can’t Find my Item on the Website?

If you cannot find your item on our website simply fill out this quote form. You can sell your cell phone by using this form. In some cases your electronics may be outdated and have no cash value. Please fill out this form in order to find out what your cell phone is worth. If it does not have any cash value, we can still lead you to our trusted partners that accept cell phones and redistribute them to charity. We are dedicated to helping everyone and would love to hear from you.

What About my Data Security?

Every item that is purchased at GreenBuyback will be completely data wiped. We are dedicated to keeping your personal data safe by eliminating it from the device. Not only do we data wipe and erase all the phones, we remove all sim cards and SD cards. You can always count on GreenBuyback to remove your data. If you need any help deleting the data from the device before you send it to us, simply call or email and we will help guide you through it.

How Do I Get Paid?

We pay all of our customers by either check or PayPal. When you are checking out on our website you will have the option to choose either payment option. We apply payments within 24 hours of receiving the phone into our inventory.

GreenBuyback Thanks You!

GreenBuyback is thankful for all of our customers and appreciate you taking the time to read this article. We are a small business located in NJ and appreciate the nationwide support. Please feel free to drop us a line on our social media channels or give us a call anytime. We are committed to helping consumers stay green.

This post is shared at Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Party Hop

Guest Post - Up-Cycling you’re Recycling

One of the easiest things to do around the office is recycling: you make a huge difference, while not requiring people to change their habits or workload. The reasons behind recycling far outweigh any negatives to the process. It’s really easy to do, and you can see the difference it makes, especially when you start buying recycled products as well. Making products from raw materials costs more than from recycled products, so when manufacturers can use old objects, a lot of energy is conserved.

Not only does it protect the environment from draining natural resources, but recycling reduces landfill – something that is a huge problem at the moment

Around the office

Firstly, establish what can be recycled. Standard items include:

- glass

- plastic

- metal cans

- white paper

- mixed paper

There are exceptions to this, depending on your location. If you use hazardous materials or liquids, contact your local council for more information on how to sustainably dispose the items. There are plenty of bodies to help identify what you can and can’t recycle, so get in touch – some items you might be surprised by!

Setting up a recycling scheme is something that can be done in a day (or less!). Place recycling boxes around the office, and start spreading the word! It’s often a good idea to have a ‘green team’, who can oversee the process, and make sure people are sticking to it, and recycling the correct products. There are plenty of recycling collection companies who will come to empty your bins, or alternatively, you could take it down to your local recycling bank.

There are many organisations, such as WRAP, who will be able to guide you through starting a recycling scheme at work.

As well as recycling, it’s important to remember to reduce what you use:

• Set photocopiers and printers to print on both sides by default
• Make computer files, not paper files
• Try not to print anything off unless it’s necessary – especially emails
• Use email or the phone more than hard copy communication.

Alongside reusing anything if possible:

• Try to reuse as much paper as possible. Do any unimportant printing on scrap pieces, and Always use both sides of a sheet of paper before recycling it
• If possible use ‘recycled’ toner cartridges

Top tips:

• Put recycling bins in convenient places so people don’t have to go out of their way
• Put up posters about the scheme, with clear information on what can/can’t be recycled
• Take away individual bins
• Buy recycled products
• Only order what you know the office will use.

Perks of recycling

Not only do you get that happy, guilt-free feeling that comes with helping to save the planet, there are several other considerable benefits that go with recycling in the office.

Reputation

We live in a society where it’s good to be seen being green, and companies that can advertise being Eco-friendly and doing their part will seem a lot more appealing to potential customers than brands who don’t.

Helping the planet

This is a bit of a no-brainer: you recycle because you want to help. It’s such a simple lifestyle choice, and has a huge impact on the world around you. If you can’t go and save the Amazon in person, it’s a one step in the right direction.

Simplicity

There’s little to no effort involved in setting up a recycling scheme, and for all the good you can be doing, it’s well worth it.

Tidiness

Getting rid of huge stacks of paper, spare sheets floating around, and unwanted plastic bottle not only makes the office look better, but reduces clutter, and promotes a better workplace.

Awards!

As the government are so hot on recycling and sustainability at the moment, there are loads of award programmes to encourage businesses to get involved.

Reinventing – Up cycling

Many people believe that a products life cycle does not have to end when the product is no longer required for its original purpose. With more people looking for sustainability and a more open attitude towards renovation can old products be “up-cycled” into a new product. Below are a few examples of up-cycling and how you can reinvent your waste.

Instead of buying a pen holder how about making one from the tapes you never listen to anymore? Instead of buying a pen holder how about making one from the tapes you never listen to anymore?

Good all out and back to nature and make a striking chair for the waiting room or for the boardroom. Good all out and back to nature and make a striking chair for the waiting room or for the boardroom.

Reward yourself with a wine rack made from up-cycled horse shoes. Reward yourself with a wine rack made from up-cycled horse shoes.

Author Bio
This post was written by Amanda Stockhill of Ecocleen, an office cleaning company that specialises in being green!

Image Sources:
Recycle logo
Tape Pen Holder
Up-cycled Chair
Wine Bottle Horseshoe Rack

America Recycles Day - November 15th

November 15th is "America Recycles Day". According to the National Recycling Coalition, it "is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to encouraging Americans to recycle and to buy recycled products". While their focus is on recycling in the U.S., we at Reduce Footprints open it up and encourage everyone, worldwide, to participate.

So, to get started I have two easy tasks for you:

First, watch the video entitled "The Story of Stuff". It's a brilliant video about the lifespan of ... well ... stuff. In a very entertaining way, the video will open your eyes about how stuff is produced, how it affects the earth and what we can do. Sit back, relax and when you're ready ... click on this picture:





Wasn't that great!

Okay, on to #2:

Visit the "America Recycles Day" site and browse around. You'll find good information on recycling and there is a page where you can step up your efforts in a more formal way. Are you ready? Here you go:





Recycling is one of the cornerstones of living a green life. It saves money, it's easy ... and it's really good for the earth.

As always ... I would love to hear from you!