Dear EarthTalk: What happens to major appliances that get carted off when new ones take their place? We have a dishwasher and a refrigerator that are both on the blink now and may need replacement. I’d rather fix them than buy new, even if it’s more expensive to do so, because I don’t want to add these big clunkers to the waste stream. What’s your take on this? – D.M., Westport, CT

Tammy Green, courtesy Flickr

If you look hard enough you might be able to recycle those old appliances, and they will likely be reconditioned and find a good home in a household less privileged than yours, or broken down into their reusable parts and used to help rejuvenate other salvageable units.

The first place to check is with your utility, which would like to see you upgrade to a more energy efficient new model—an older fridge uses upwards of three times the energy of most newer models. Utilities in 10 U.S. states and in Ontario, Canada offer some kind of rebate and free pick-up if you do decide you want to upgrade in partnership with a company called Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc. (ARCA), which oversees the appliance recycling process. ARCA’s system can prevent up to 95 percent of the recyclable materials in old refrigerators and freezers from entering the waste stream.

Check with your utility to see if they participate in ARCA’s program or perhaps offer one of their own. For example, Puget Sound Energy in the Seattle area works with ARCA to offer customers free pick-up of old appliances for recycling and a $30 rebate on their next bill. One caveat is the appliances must be operational, even if not working at full capacity.

If your utility doesn’t participate in ARCA’s network or have its own appliance recycling program, maybe your municipality recycles appliances, although it’ll likely cost you $30 or more. Some will even send a truck for pickup for an additional fee.

But what if neither option is available in your area? Check out the non-profit website Earth911.org, a free online database of recyclers for anything imaginable across the U.S. Search for the keyword “appliance” and enter in your zip code. You will likely find more than one option within driving distance, but don’t be surprised if, like with a municipality, you have to pay not only to recycle your poor old broken down fridge but also for pickup if you need it.

If the appliance is still working, another alternative would be to donate it to a worthy cause which can either find it a good home with a needy family or sell it and put the proceeds into its programs. The housing non-profit Habitat for Humanity runs Habitat ReStores to resell donated goods in 48 U.S. states and nine Canadian provinces. Appliances as well as donated furniture, home accessories and building materials are sold to the general public at a fraction of the retail price to help local affiliates fund the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes within their communities while simultaneously keeping reusable appliances and other materials out of the waste stream. The Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul and the American Council of the Blind also may take donated appliances in working order.

CONTACTS: ARCA Inc., www.arcainc.com; Puget Sound Energy, www.pse.com; Earth911, www.earth911.org; Habitat for Humanity, www.habitat.org; Salvation Army, www.salvationarmy.org; St. Vincent de Paul, www.svdpusa.org; American Council of the Blind, www.acb.org.

EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E – The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe. Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.

How to recycle old appliances is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

Use the minimum required to get the job done. You wouldn’t bathe a newborn baby in a Roman bathtub, would you? Of course not. It’s far more than necessary to accomplish the objective. Likewise, extravagant use of household appliances doesn’t make much sense either. Although you may be accustomed to heating certain foods in a conventional oven, consider whether such meals can be prepared with a toaster oven or microwave without sacrificing quality. Instead of the stove, use a slow cooker to make soups and stews. When cooking on a stove top, use the smallest burner that’ll fit your pot or pan. Any excess will result in wasted money and energy.

Unplug appliances when they’re not in use. Even if turned off, many electronic devices continue to draw a small amount of energy when plugged in. If you’re not using it on a regular basis, unplug it and move it out of the way. Disconnecting all those counter ornaments disguised as cooking equipment might get you to finally admit you made a bad purchase decision. As an added bonus, clearing your counter tops of infrequently used appliances will likely lead to a more spacious and comfortable cooking environment.

Reuse and repurpose food packaging. Those plastic Chinese take out containers are perfect for storing leftovers. An empty ketchup bottle doubles as a pancake batter dispenser. Add a country spin to your glassware by using old salsa and mayonnaise jars as drinking glasses. Before you recycle or trash anything, ask yourself, “How can I get more use out of this?” If you’re not that creative, learn new ways to give your stuff a second life by browsing Real Simple’s New Uses for Old Things for more ideas.

Embrace the art of laziness and maximize the use of your dishwasher.

• Assuming your dishwasher is energy efficient, hand washing may be the more costly alternative to cleaning dishes.
• Save even more time and money by skipping the often extraneous step of pre-rinsing which can use up to 20 gallons of water. Scrape heavily soiled items if you’re concerned your dishwasher won’t be able to fulfill its job duties without your assistance.
• Wait until you have a full load of dishes before running your dishwasher. Recall the baby in a big ol’ bathtub analogy.
• Additionally, use the no heat dry feature. Yes, drying time will increase, but don’t worry. Your dishes will eventually dry. Worst case scenario, you’re forced to use a *gulp* wet dish.

Reduce refrigeration costs.

• Don’t leave the refrigerator door open. The fridge already accounts for about 8% of your home’s total energy consumption. Take a second, and close the door.
• Try to keep your refrigerator full for the most efficient cooling. (You should notice a theme at this point.) If you’re light on actual food, a few full containers of water is all it takes to accomplish this.
• Clean the condenser coils on an annual basis.
• Set your fridge’s temperature between 35 to 38 degrees Fahrenheit.
• And last but not least, learn to live with just one refrigerator/freezer combo. That should be enough for most families. If I didn’t personally know an individual who has a side by side refrigerator, an upright freezer, and a deep freezer, I wouldn’t have mentioned it.

Kick your bottled water addiction. Use a water filter instead. In case you’re unaware of how inexplicably expensive and damaging to the environment bottled water is, here’s a clever little infographic that summarizes these points nicely.

If you’re in the market for a new kitchen appliance, look for one that bears the Energy Star. It’s usually not cost effective to swap out a less efficient appliance in good working condition with one that consumes less energy. However, you should consider the electricity required to power a new appliance when the time comes to replace the old one. The Energy Star designation means the machine satisfies strict energy efficiency tests set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. You can further reduce the overall price of your new energy efficient product by applying for rebates and other sales incentives.

What strategies do you use to minimize energy consumption in your kitchen?

Shawanda Greene

In November 2007, Shawanda Greene had $54 in her savings account and about $25,000 in debt. By the end of December 2008, she was debt free with a 3-month emergency fund of $7,500. During that time period, she adopted a lifestyle of what some would consider extreme frugality. Shawanda now spreads the wealth as blogger-in-chief of You Have More Than You Think – a productivity focused guide to maximizing the money you have to obtain more of what you want.

7 Simple Ways to Save Energy in the Kitchen is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

Image via WikipediaEarthTalk®

From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: I am considering upgrading some older appliances in my home. Where can I find information on which models are the most energy efficient? – Jonathan Duda, Olivebridge, NY

There has never been a better time to upgrade some of those older creaky appliances that are gobbling up much more energy (or water) than they need to in your home. Fortunately, most of the sifting-through to find the best values has already been done for you.

The first thing to do when shopping for new equipment is to look for models emblazoned with the blue EnergyStar logo. This helps you zero in on those models that have been determined by the federal government—EnergyStar is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy—to be at least 10 to 25 percent more energy-efficient (and often much more) than conventional models.

Sears.com

For dishwashers, for example, EnergyStar qualified models use 31 percent less energy and 33 percent less water than conventional machines while performing as well as or better, according to EnergyStar. With clothes washers,

EnergyStar models can cut energy use by over a third and water use by half. EnergyStar-rated refrigerators will cut electrical use in half, compared to older machines made before 1993. With air conditioners, the savings is there, too, though at a more modest 10 percent over conventional models.

EnergyStar, which began in 1992 and first evaluated only computers and monitors, is a great jumping off point for evaluating everything from major appliances to home heating and cooling, lighting, home electronics, office equipment and more. The EPA recently extended the label to cover new homes and commercial and industrial buildings.

After first zeroing in on EnergyStar models, be sure to check out the accompanying yellow EnergyGuide sticker, which gets down to the nitty-gritty and estimates how much energy the appliance uses, compares its energy use to similar products and lists approximate annual operating costs. EnergyGuide labels also appear on appliances not EnergyStar compliant. Visit the EnergyStar website and immerse yourself.

Another way to help sort through the thousands of appliances out there that are EnergyStar-compliant is by checking out the Consumers Union (publisher of Consumer Reports magazine) free Greener Choices website, which compares a wide range of merchandise according to their relative environmental impact.

Greener Choices provides detailed information on dishwashers, washers and dryers, air conditioners, refrigerators and vacuum cleaners. Each appliance is assessed in comparison to other models via the website’s Green Buying Guides, which can help consumers decide how green they should go. It also offers up a series of calculators to determine the energy use of your current appliances, new or old. By providing the efficiency and price of various models, the site helps consumers decide how much green “bang” they want for a specific amount of bucks.

CONTACTS: Energy Star, www.energystar.gov; Greener Choices, www.greenerchoices.org.

SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk^®, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php. EarthTalk^® is now a book! Details and order information at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalkbook.

Suggestions for Upgrading Older Appliances is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag