Do you know about everything our city is doing to stay green?

Houston’s a big city with even bigger dreams to be green. To help make this eco-dream a reality, the City of Houston established Green Houston, an initiative to encourage citizens to do their part to help the city become more green. Green Houston has a number of Green City Projects listed on its website that are improving the city and allowing Houstonians to practice living a greener life. 

One of the Green City Projects is the Residential Energy Efficiency Program (REEP), which assists income-qualified Houstonians in receiving weatherization measures in their homes, meaning their energy consumption is reduced by the installation of energy efficiency upgrades. The City has also established the Green Building Resource Center to help contractors achieve LEED for New Construction to the Gold level. Additionally, the City of Houston created the Green Office Challenge, a competition for commercial property managers that acknowledge achievements in turning their operations green. Other projects include the redevelopment of brownfields, a compost bin/rain barrel sale, the Energy Efficiency Incentive Program, the Environmental Coordinating Council, the Houston Bikeways Program, and various sustainable food policy initiatives.

To do its part, the City of Houston has partnered with Reliant Energy to explore new energy conservation technologies, one of which was the conversion of ten City of Houston vehicles to plug-in hybrid electric cars. City of Houston employees are driving these cars to help show how easy it is to be environmentally friendly.

Visit the Green Houston website to learn more about this amazing initiative and what you can do to help!

I’m Dreaming of a [Green] Christmas…

Are you still looking for the perfect gift for your family and friends?  Well look no further because we’ve created a green gift guide just for you!  Giving a green gift will not only put a smile on a loved one’s face, but it’s also good for the environment. 

One of our favorite stores to do our holiday shopping is One Green Street, Houston’s own “organic lifestyle destination.” One Green Street has clothing, accessories, candles, kitchen gadgets, home goods, and much more! Here are some of our favorite items from One Green Street that we’re putting on our holiday shopping lists!

• Sam’s Natural Holiday 2012 Fun Pack is perfect for the man who likes to look and smell good (and green!).  The boxed gift set includes slick shave soap, after shave, soap for men, Xtreme lip balm, everyday lotion for men, original deodorant, all which are made with natural, organic ingredients.
  
  

• One Green Street has a variety of beautiful, show-stopping jewelry. One of the pieces we love the most is the Raven + Lily Amleset: Macrame Tassel Necklace. The fair-trade statement necklace is made using melted bullet casings and recycled metals. Raven + Lily jewelry proceeds fund healthcare and literacy programs for women and children that are HIV-positive in Ethiopia, whom are also the ones creating the pieces.
  
  
  
  

• For the beach-loving women who like to tan and glisten, Lucy B’s frangipani bronze shimmer oil will accomplish all of the above! Made with organic coconut, jojoba and sunflower oils, this bronzing oil not only smells divine, but it will give your face, body and hair a beautiful sun-kissed look.
  
  
  
• For a unique gift, try Elvis & Kresse’s handsome wrap around cuff links. Made from genuine British fire-hose, the hand stitched cuff links are available in red, yellow, blue or black.
  
• The gold chevron print Uzma Travel Journal is sure to please the writers and travelers in your life. This gorgeous journal is handmade with 100 percent recycled cotton paper and textiles by marginalized women in Northern India. The proceeds from the journal collection fund literacy programs for the women and children in this community.
  
  

• The stylish Urban Junket Convertible Tote not only looks great, but it’s made using environmentally friendly materials, including recycled bottles. The bag features snaps that allow you to change the shape and style of your tote, making it completely versatile!

• Make the furry friends in your life fashionable with Spike’s Lighted Dog Collar. The collar, which made the “O” list, is a pulsing lighted collar made with recycled materials. The best part about the Spike brand is that 2 percent of all profits go to dog-friendly organizations.
  
  

We hope this list has helped to inspire you to shop “green” this holiday season! Happy shopping and happy holidays!

E-Cycling After the Holidays

TVs, cell phones, laptops and tablets are common gifts that millions of people receive every holiday season. While getting new gadgets is exciting, have you stopped to think about what happens to your old electronics? Sadly last year, 384,000,000 electronics ended up in landfills, exposing Americans to toxic chemicals. On Sunday morning, CompuCycle’s president, Clive Hess, was on ABC 13’s morning news to discuss how to properly recycle old or unwanted electronics after the holidays.

We may be biased, but we think Clive did a wonderful job during his interview explaining the importance of e-cycling and the dangers of improperly disposing unwanted electronics. He described the services we offer and how our facility responsibly recycles e-waste. Furthermore, he listed the types of electronics we recycle and the steps we must take to correctly dispose each item. Even the interviewer was surprised to hear that our company recycles TVs!

In addition to Clive’s plethora of important information about e-cycling, the segment also featured great coverage of CompuCycle volunteers hard at work processing e-waste. You can watch the full interview from ABC here! 

If you received new electronics this holiday season and want to retire your previous models, be sure to do so responsibly with CompuCycle! You can drop off your e-waste at the CompuCycle facility every Friday or head to Discovery Green for Recycling Saturdays! If you’re thinking about recycling with us, read the following tips so you’re prepared to properly part with your e-waste!

-Be sure to erase all data and wipe all hard drives (including on your cell phones) before recycling these items; if you forget to, a certified recycler is required to do this, as well.

-Once you’ve determined which items you’ll no longer be keeping, find a certified electronics recycling facility or GreenSpot Dropoff box to bring your items to.  Be sure to find out what items are accepted before dropping anything off.

-Encourage your friends and family members to recycle their unwanted electronic items as well; make sure they know that when electronics are not responsibly recycled they can easily end up in landfills, releasing toxic elements into our air and water streams.

-Learn more about the effects of unsafe electronic disposal in the US, by visiting the EPA or CompuCycle’s websites.

Host Your Own Holiday E-Cycling Drive!

Are you looking for a way to give back this holiday season? Why not host your own e-cycling drive!? You’ll be giving back to the community, helping the environment, and will finally be able to responsibly remove those unwanted electronics from your home that are wasting space! Hosting an e-cycling drive is easy, fun, and not to mention rewarding. Just follow these guidelines and you’ll be collecting retired electronics faster than Jack Frost would melt in Houston!

Pick the Right Place                                                     

Make sure your venue is large enough to accommodate all of the electronics that you will be collecting. Donations can range in size from PDAs to flat screens, so make sure you know what you’re getting yourself in for. Look at the list of products we accept, account for size and remember you want as many as possible! If you’re holding the drive within your office, make sure it’s been approved beforehand and pick a centralized location, again, with plenty of space.

Invite friends and make sure they know why they’re there

Because you’re trying to get the most electronics as possible, spread the word! Go through the contact lists in your email and phone. Take advantage of your social media networks such as  Facebook and Twitter to invite your family, friends and acquaintances to participate in the drive.

Connect with CompuCycle so we can help you out

There’s nothing we like more than e-cycling drives, so we would love to help you promote yours! We know a lot of great people in Houston who are interested in e-cycling and we would gladly help you spread the word. When your drive is done, for only a $75 fee, we’ll be there with our truck(s) to transport the electronics you collected to our facility. Don’t worry, we’ll safely, securely and responsibly destroy all data, as well!

It doesn’t hurt to provide some incentive for dropping things off

During the holidays, people are feeling generous, but it’s still nice to reward those who help with your drive! Why not hand out candy canes, sweet treats or hot chocolate to people who donate. Or reward people like our friends at IntegratePR did: when they hosted an e-cycling drive, they gave free beer in exchange for electronics! 

Let us know how it goes!

Post pictures to our Facebook and Twitter to let us know how many pounds you were able to collect! This is the one instance during the holidays where the more pounds you gain, the better!

All kidding aside, an e-cycling drive is a wonderful opportunity to make an impact on the environment and the community, all while spreading holiday cheer!