What if there were easy, simple things you could do that not only protect the earth but also protect your family's finances?
Profit by Recycling
We live in a throw-away society. You'd be amazed at what some people throw away -- everything from bathtubs to books. But the truth is, there's no such place as "away." Every day in the United States, roughly 690,000 tons of materials are dumped in landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. And only a small fraction of that is legitimate waste.
If you've read my book "Start Late, Finish Rich," then you are familiar with my advice to people who want to earn money on the side. In the book, I wrote about how to get rich on eBay, and it turns out that this is also excellent advice for people who want to go green and make more money.
It sounds absurd, but you can profit by recycling. By selling the things you are accustomed to throwing away. By buying used. By not buying just because there's a newer model. It's a whole new way of thinking about your "stuff." Some communities are even offering cash incentives for people who require less trash pickup, which you almost certainly will if you are dedicated to reusing, reselling, recycling, and gifting the things you no longer need. Read on to learn how.
Buy and Sell Everything
Even though you may no longer want your old rug or toaster, someone else will.
In New York, moving often means putting the "junk" you no longer want out on the curb and coming back half an hour later to find that it is gone. Clearly, your trash is someone else's treasure. And they might be willing to pay for it, too. As evidence, people traded $52 billion worth of items last year on eBay. That is $210 per user. Craigslist.org is another great place to sell your stuff, and because it's local it keeps shipping (which requires packaging and fuel) to a minimum.
Think before you buy, too. Do you really need an upgrade to replace something that works perfectly well? Buy used whenever possible. Why pay $250 or more for a brand-new futon frame, for instance, when you might find a barely used one for free on Freecycle.org? This is the kind of "green thinking" that puts money in your pocket by helping you not to take out your wallet in the first place.
Go Green actions steps:
• Set up an eBay account and start selling your unwanted stuff for a profit.
• Look for bargains online. Craigslist offers online classifieds for 450 cities worldwide.
• Shop for free. The Freecycle Network has more than 4 million members in 75 countries. It's a grassroots, nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. According to their site, their service keeps more than 300 tons a day out of landfills!
• For great tips on how to have a profitable yard sale, visit Yardsalequeen.com.
• If you'd rather give than sell, you can donate items to your local charity thrift store. Even then, be sure to get a receipt for your donation, because it's tax-deductible. For information on deducting charitable contributions, go here.
Make $210 this year -- or a lot more -- selling your unwanted stuff on eBay.
We can all save 300 tons a day -- or a lot more -- from going into landfills.
Pay as You Throw
The amazing truth is that, depending where you live, 75 to 90 percent of your waste can be recycled. Things that can't be collected through curbside recycling -- such as electronics, paints, and batteries -- may still be recyclable at a local drop-off center.
Recycling is a special responsibility here in America, where we produce more than a third of the world's garbage: 4.5 pounds of trash per person every day. More than half of it ends up in landfills, where it emits more methane -- a greenhouse gas -- than any other source. Eventually, those landfills leak toxic materials into the surrounding soil and water.
Luckily, there's a new trend known as a pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) program. PAYT programs charge residents a fee (between $1 and $2) for each bag or can of waste. So garbage collection gets treated like electricity, gas, and other utilities -- you pay for what you use. It's a great incentive to recycle more, compost more, and buy items with less packaging -- and save money.
Go Green actions steps:
• Recycle everything you can. Learn your community's recycling program. Go here to find recycling programs in your area.
• Pay as you throw. According to the EPA, more than 7,000 communities nationwide have PAYT garbage programs in place -- and that number is growing. If your community doesn't yet offer a PAYT program, ask your town planner or local elected representatives to visit the EPA website, where they can click on "Waste" in the Quick Finder, then select Pay as You Throw.
• Manufacturers are becoming more aware that customers don't want products wrapped in materials like Styrofoam and nonrecyclable plastic (60 percent of which ends up in landfills!). Reward the do-gooders (such as Celestial Seasonings, which uses biodegradable plastic wrap and doesn't put tags on its tea bags, saving tons of paper and staples) by looking for products that use the least amount of packaging.
• The aluminum cans we throw away each year use up the equivalent of 16 million barrels of oil, enough to fuel a million cars for a year.
Save an average of $26 a year by "paying as you throw."
PAYT keeps 6.5 millions of tons from landfills annually.
Get Rid of Junk Mail
In America, shopping is a leisure activity. We don't even have to leave our homes. Every day, catalogs and junk mail fill our mailboxes with temptation to buy things we don't need. In 2006, we bought $160 billion in merchandise from catalogs. Recycling your catalogs without reading them is one of the easiest ways to get rich (or at least not get poor!) by recycling.
According to Catalog Choice, more than 8 million tons of trees are used each year to produce 19 billion catalogs, requiring enough energy to power 1.2 million homes for a year and producing as many emissions as 2 million cars. They're then sent to consumers via plane and truck, burning up fossil fuels and adding to global warming. Sears alone sends out more than 425 million catalogs a year -- that's nearly a catalog and a half for every single person in the country.
As for junk mail, the average adult is on at least 50 mailing lists, resulting in about 40 pounds of mail sent our way each year. And we forward nearly half of it to the landfill unopened. (Recycle it!)
Luckily, "opt out" legislation now provides websites and phone numbers that let you just say no to junk mail and catalogs.
Go Green actions steps:
• Cancel your catalogs. Most catalog mailers use the Abacus database, so taking yourself off the list helps eliminate many catalogs at once. Go here to "opt out" of catalog junk mail.
A new website, Catalog Choice, lets you opt out of catalog mailing lists individually. Sign up here, and then each time you receive a catalog you don't want, enter its name into the site's database and decline it.
• Cut down on junk mail (fliers and envelopes, rather than catalogs). Call (888) 5OPTOUT (567-8688).
• Decline unsolicited credit card offers. Go to OptOutPrescreen.com.
Save $1,413 per year on catalog purchases.
Together, we all save 8 million tons of trees a year.
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"Go Green, Live Rich" is printed on recycled paper. A portion of the proceeds from the book is being donated to Waterkeeper Alliance, a grassroots advocacy organization dedicated to preserving and protecting our waterways from polluters.
We want to hear from Yahoo! Finance readers on ways you've gone green and saved some cash! Post your comments, email them to us, and the 10 best will get an autographed copy of "Go Green, Live Rich."
Buy a book and help save the earth! Take part in our online campaign beginning April 1 to help raise $100,000 to protect our waterways and plant 1,000 trees to fight climate change. You'll also get free bonus gifts and be entered to win a stay for two at Amansala, an eco-chic resort in Mexico! Click here for details. (Yahoo! is not associated with this drawing and shall not be responsible or liable for its implementation or outcome.)
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