The idea of getting paid to recycle may sound far fetched and you may think the story will end with, “…and they lived happily ever after.”

But that is not the case with a company from Pennsylvania who has come up with the genius idea about how to encourage people to recycle.

The company is called RecycleBank and it’s a Philadelphia-based private company that has a very high tech idea about how to interest more people in the thought of recycling.

Idea being recyclebank:

It may sound like a science fiction movie, but the idea is to issue wheeled totes to people that have a computer chip implanted in it that would keep information about the people who own the tote.

In addition to the name, address and phone number information there would also be included a bank account number, linked to RecycleBank that would tally the amount of recyclable-waste that is turned in to a collection truck that would be equipped with a special computer and barcode system.

It will work along the same lines as the self-serve lane at the grocery store and other retail stores.

Without a doubt the best play time is spent outside in the fresh air and in an effort to remain responsible to the environment there are a few things to keep in mind when out and about.

Recycling while playing:

Recycling doesn’t just mean to be conscious while you are in the home. You should also be conscious outdoor.

Cutting down the unnecessary use of petrol and electricity are also in the recycling process.The best place to play is somewhere that you don’t need to fly to, take a train to, or drive to.

Yeah, your own backyard is a good place but not everyone is fortunate enough to live near a national park. There are bike paths to find and trails to hike that can be found all over the place, and can be new journeys of adventure with very little effort.

Check with your town or city hall, they may have little treasures all over your community that you go past everyday and are not aware that there is a walking path tucked in somewhere because you don’t take the time to walk in and explore.

We’ve all heard the warnings; acid rain, global warming, landfills without any room, and on and on. We don’t recycle because it’s the “in” thing to do; we recycle because we don’t have any other options if we plan to leave the planet for generations to come.

Recycling:

When you think of recycling you should really think about the whole idea; reduce, reuse and recycle. Think about it; if you don’t need it, don’t get it. If you have to get it, get something that can be used again and if you get something that needs to be recycled by the professionals, put it in the recycle bin.

These are easy concepts and yet there are still people out there who ignore the signs. The signs aren’t just the ones that bare the recycle logo, but the signs that the oceans are warming and the snow caps that were visible a few years ago are barely an outline as far up as you can see.

If you’ve seen the Al Gore movie, An Inconvenient Truth, you’ll know that those of us a few miles inland from the coast will be looking at water front property one day, without having to move.

Recycling has been around longer than any of today’s young teens have been alive and maybe that’s why recycling programs has never been a question for them as to whether or not they should recycle but has always been more of a “How else can we help when recycling,” kind of thought process.

My own generation, having grown up in the 70’s has a different mind-set. In fact, I have to remind myself the reasons we recycle, when to recycle and how to keep my family and household up-to-date and aware of the reasons to recycle.

This new, younger generation, is an impressive one, to me. They seem to be aware of humanity on a global level. Lessons they’ve been taught in school on a consistent basis have always had a common theme; take care of the Earth or we may lose it. They are keenly aware of how wasteful prior generations have been and seem to be of one mind when it comes to solving those problems.

Think about recycling and maybe the first thing to pop into your head isn’t damage that’s done to the earth when we use products with harmful chemicals, but that’s part of the cycle, too. As well as reducing waste, recycling products and reusing what can be reused, protecting the earth from harm is all a part of the same cause.

Recycling:

It’s not something we set out to do, at the beginning of the day; the thought isn’t, “Hmmm, how can I hurt the Earth today?” It probably sounds something much more like, “Gee, I need to clean today, let me reach under the cupboard and see what I have,” not realizing that whatever is done with the products I use to clean, once I’ve cleaned, can be harmful to not only the earth itself, but any living things that may come in contact with the wash off.

We live in a sterilized world, where the idea of a clean home, clean work place and clean where ever we take our children is the first order of business. But we need to stop and think about what harm we may be doing in our quest for the cleanest living area.

With the way technology is out-doing themselves year after year with newer, better, bigger and improved products for computer users, you can just imagine the amount of waste that is generated when consumers upgrade along with the process.

One household may have one or two computers to upgrade on a yearly basis but if you add to that computers and monitors from even a small business, the numbers add up very quickly.

Danger with the Computer and TV’s regular replacements:

What is the problem with throwing computers, their monitors, TVs and the like away with the rest of our trash? The main concern is that with CRTs and TVs they each contain approximately four pounds of lead per unit. Lead cannot be biologically broken down and if it were placed in a landfill there is the possibility of the landfill becoming contaminated with the toxins from lead.

Importance of recycling electronics:

Lead poisoning has been associated with several health problems in children, including, learning disabilities and behavior issues and in some extreme cases, where high doses of the lead has been found, there have been reports of seizures, coma and even death.

There are so many ways to integrate recycling crafts and arts still have hours of entertainment and maybe make a few holiday gifts.

Different recycling crafts and arts:

Decopauge recycling crafts:

One of the recycling crafts is to decopauge. The materials needed to do this recycling craft are simply old magazines, a pair of scissors, some white glue and something to decorate.

I’ve seen people use this art medium on every kind of article from wooden boxes up to queen bed head boards.

Making decopauge recycling craft:

Once you have the item (or items) you want to decorate you can put them aside and start flipping through the magazines for pictures and words that jump up at you or help convey something you want to say. The great thing about this craft is that there is no “wrong” way to do it.

Some people will use an entire advertisement including the background in the ad and others may cut out the person or object from the background. The idea is to have a piece of a page to be layered upon the object to be decorated.

You may not be aware, but in the United States, we are using bags all of the time! There are the bags we get at the grocery store, the ones we pack lunches in, the ones other retail items come in and everything that is packaged by the manufacturer.

Inevitably we could all end up, literally, buried under the pile of bags that we collect in a life time. And what a waste that would be! The good news is that most of those bags come from recycled products and with any luck, in the recycle process, will return to the start and be recycled bags that we will use again and again.

Big pile of bags!

But what should the average American consumer do when those bags start to pile up? It doesn’t take long for the pile to start to form, maybe two or three big trips to the grocery store, and you could end up with 15 or more bags per visit. What are some of the ways we can keep the build up of plastic bags to a minimum?

Traveling with the family can be a joyous experience and there is no reason to leave your recycling attitudes at home; you can do your part even when you’re far from the comforts of home.

Recycling in the hotels:

When you’re staying in a hotel or B&B, let the management of the hotel know that you will be reusing your towels and there is no need to have the bed linens changed daily.

With a family, towels can get mixed up and there is an easy way to prevent that; from home, get a couple of safety pins and some beads.

Put beads on the safety pins, one design for each family member and when you get to the hotel, simply pin each towel with a beaded safety pin to identify the different ones.

Just reusing your towels for a few days will greatly impact the time and money that goes into running the laundry everyday in this way you can continue recycling process of saving water in the hotel.

Recycling energy: Be sure to turn off all lights when you are leaving the hotel room, and any TVs or radios that may be plugged in and running.

It may come as a surprise to you, but there is a really good chance that the town or city you live in offer a service you may not have heard of; an energy audit.

Cities and towns all over the country have started doing this, where an auditor comes to your home and goes through your living space and helps you to see where you could make changes that will not only help you conserve energy but will help you save money! What a bonus it is to save money by doing the right thing.

There are so many changes you can make in your home to impact the way we recycle and in the end, will help you keep some of the money in your pocket.

Steps that you should take to have proper recycling:

Having recycling bins set up so that you can properly sort the items that are recycling is a great first step. That activity alone can cut down greatly on the items that end up in the landfills rather than where they can be recycled.