You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Environmental’ category.
Hello all,
So we’ve been somewhat slow at putting up new blog posts over the last week or two, but for good reason. Exchango is now officially beta testing the real site. We plan to release the site to the public in about a month, so get ready. Here is what you can do to help us out. Start looking at all your unused items now and figure out which of these items you can give away to someone who has a real need for them. Remember, things that you think are useless are almost always valuable to someone else. Become part of something larger by posting your items on Exchango, together we can build the wave of change and stop filling out landfills, polluting our lakes and rivers, destroying our forests, and contaminating our clean air.
Check back every couple of days for news of our launch date.
Lets begin the surge that moves the tide of change, alone we may be small but together we will succeed. Perhaps its better to think of the alternative to success, failure means we continue to consume at an unsustainable rate such that eventually every last resource disappears and basics like clean water cost more than any diamonds or precious metal ever could. Change the pattern now, live clean, take responsibility for our actions, and feel good about doing your part to reverse the “buy, use, throw away” trend.
Live the reuse, repurpose, recycle lifestyle by becoming part of the Exchango community! Now go find those unused items and prepare them for the EXCHANGO LAUNCH DATE COMING SOON!!!
Here is clear evidence about why the mantra reduce, reuse, and recycle is more important than ever. We’re sure that many of you have already heard of the “great pacific garbage patch,” but for those who haven’t, take a look at these staggering facts. The existence of this garbage patch in our oceans should be a wake up call for all of us to change our own habits and make an effort to help those around us change their habits as well.
For more information, check out:
Don’t throw anything away! Seems impractical to most, but it’s a lofty goal to achieve. It’s possible if we take small incremental steps to reduce our impact.
Good Magazine gives us six steps to achieve zero waste.
Article by Ben Jervey, originally published April, 6 2010 on Good
See the full article here.
“Zero waste is more than just a visionary goal– it’s a practice that’s easier to adopt than you may think. The basic principle is that nothing should be thrown into landfills– that everything is somehow reused or repurposed. There’s no better place to take the practical steps towards zero waste than in your own home.”
Six Steps (paraphrased):
1. Monitor – Take notice of your wasteful habits. Be conscious of the things you throw away. Identify areas for improvement.
2. Three Bins – One recycling. One compost. One landfill.
3. Use 3 R’s – Reduce, reuse, and recycle, in that order. First, reduce the amount of waste coming into your home. Second, reuse by making reusable goods part of your life rather than disposable (when there’s an option) and find creative ways to reuse durable items or give it to someone that will. Third, recycle everything else (important enough for its own number).
4. Recycle – Recycle everything that you cannot reduce or reuse.
5. Compost Organics – Recycle your organic waste back into nutrient rich soil by composting.
6. Rethink – Rethink your behavior and lifestyle. Question your basic habits. Make adjustments.
Interesting resources and motivation to achieve zero waste:
When explaining Exchango to friends and family, I am often asked “what can I do to make a difference?” So I have composed a short list of easy steps you can take to make a difference by lowering your impact on the environment (and saving you tons of money, too!)
What Can You Do?
- Live simple.
- Have a reuse and recycle strategy.
- Repair items to extend their lifespan.
- Find or buy used stuff.
- Don’t trash stuff. Share your unwanted items with others to reuse.
Use Exchango!
The Story of Stuff explains the life cycle of material consumer goods. First released in 2007, this short documentary film is a must see. Follow up films include stories of: cap-and-trade, bottled water, cosmetics, and (coming soon) electronics.
We hope to mitigate the adverse effects of consumer culture by redistributing useful products to others who need them. As a result, (1) disposal is avoided; and demand for new products is lessened, which (2) saves resources from extraction, and (3) saves energy and waste from production and distribution.
With your help, we can extend the life cycle products. Simply stop the shop, consume, trash, and replace mentality! Live simple, think Exchango!
Article by John R. Platt, originally published June 16, 2010 on Tonic
See the full article here.
You may not need that item any more, but that doesn’t mean its lifespan is over. Others can still put it to good use.
Reduce, reuse, recycle. For years, we’ve heard that environmental mantra. And we follow it, more often than not. Companies cut down on their packaging so it costs less to ship, and we recycle our plastic bottles and cans. But what about reuse? How many of us put something to further use beyond its initial application?
The thing is, re-using can be much better than recycling. A perfectly good item can have its lifespan extended, even if it has served its purpose in your own home. It can go to someone else, for whom it is good as almost-new, and in the process we save the cost of producing brand-new goods that will also have limited lives.
Don’t know how to get your old goods into the hands of someone who can use them? Don’t worry, here are eight easy ways to inspire re-use in your community.
[The list abridged]
1. Don’t recycle, Freecycle
2. Use Craigslist to purchase used items
3. Start a magazine or book trade
4. Shop at thrift shops
5. Help provide schools with supplies
6. Work with groups that already exist (such as church, social club, or service organization) to start a reuse project
7. Hold a reuse fair
8. Be a re-use role model
[We add one more]
9. Use Exchango to find stuff you want for free, share stuff you don’t need, and pay it forward
There are always doubters. Yet this is an issue that rises above. We must preserve the world that sustains us. The only wrong answer is inaction. Even if all the scientists are wrong, even if all the hype and threats are overblown, even if we lose some jobs and profits in the short-term, we cannot lose in the end if we develop a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable world. So let’s create a better world, whether it’s for nothing or not!
Cory Scott
Exchango
Strom
Tommy Porter
Exchango 