Recycling Phones & The Environment

It is a great time to recycle your mobile phone, you can earn money for those all important pounds which you need at christmas! You can earn up to £200 from online companies such as mobile phonee xchange, where you just simply post your phone to them. They even take damaged phones.

With all the hi-tech waste that’s generated these days, it’s good to know that there are easy ways to dispose of your old mobile phones, which are harmful to the environment if you just chuck them in the garbage. With today’s increasingly green-conscious world, more people are looking for ways to help out and make it a cleaner, safer place for the next generation. Like all electronic devices, mobile phones contain heavy metals that, if allowed to leech into the soil, will pollute the environment with potentially disastrous results down the road.

Recycling also means that materials that have already been taken from the environment via mining and so forth are reused, thereby cutting down on the drain on the earth’s resources, which are not, contrary to what some people seem to think judging by their throw-away attitude, infinite. Recycling hi-tech waste like old mobile phones also saves energy since raw materials don’t have to be refined, and refining is extremely energy intensive. It also means that the cost of electronics will decrease without the use of raw materials and their expensive extraction methods, plus recycling creates jobs.

If you’re not sure how to have your old mobile phone recycled, Apple has a free programme that makes it really easy to do. All you have to do is visit their website and fill in a form, and they’ll send you a prepaid address label, which you just print and stick to your package, then simply chuck it in the mail and they take care of the rest. It’s good to know that some manufacturers are prepared to offer free disposal of mobile phones and the like to help preserve our environment. Now it’s up to us to make use of this and help keep our environment safe for our kids.

We recommend using an online service such as mobilephoneexchange, to earn back money as you recycle!

It Makes Sense to Recycle!

Here is a bit of research
and further insight into the
current financial crisis:

If you had purchased £1000 of Northern
Rock stock one year ago, it would be
worth £4.95 today. With HBOS, you
would have £16.50 left of the original
£1000. With XL Leisure, you would have
less than a fiver. And if you had
purchased £1000 of Seguro Air Lines
stock, you would have a measly 49p.

However, if you had purchased £1000
worth of Tennent's Lager one year ago,
drank the lot of it, then re-cycled
the cans at an aluminium plant for a
cash refund, you would have £214. And
so, based on the above information,
the best current investment advice is
to drink heavily and recycle.

Majority of Mobile Phones not Being Recycled

Global consumer survey reveals that majority of old mobile phones are lying in drawers at home and not being recycled!

This is from a Nokia press release I got sent. Come on People, RECYCLE your old mobiles. You can sell them on ebay, or send them off for recycling. We don't want mountains of old mobile phones, do we? They also contain many very useful metals which can all be re-used. Please read below for more info.

Espoo, Finland - Only 3% of people recycle their mobile phones despite the fact that most have old devices lying around at home that they no longer want, according to a global consumer survey released by Nokia today. Three out of every four people added that they don't even think about recycling their devices and nearly half were unaware that it is even possible to do so.

The survey is based on interviews with 6,500 people in 13 countries including Finland, Germany, Italy, Russia, Sweden, UK, United Arab Emirates, USA, Nigeria, India, China, Indonesia and Brazil. It was conducted to help Nokia find out more about consumers' attitudes and behaviors towards recycling, and inform the company's take-back programs and efforts to increase recycling rates of unused mobile devices.

Markus Terho, Director of Environmental Affairs, Markets, at Nokia said, "It is clear from this survey that when mobile devices finally reach the end of their lives that very few of them are recycled. Many people are simply unaware that these old and unused mobiles lying around in drawers can be recycled or how to do this. Nokia is working hard to make it easier, providing more information and expanding our global take-back programs." He added, "If each of the three billion people globally owning mobiles brought back just one unused device we could save 240,000 tonnes of raw materials and reduce greenhouse gases to the same effect as taking 4 million cars off the road. By working together, small individual actions could add up to make a big difference."

The findings highlight that despite the fact that people on average have each owned around five phones, very few of these are being recycled once they are no longer used. Only 3% said they had recycled their old phone. Yet very few old devices, 4%, are being thrown into landfill. Instead the majority, 44%, are simply being kept at homes never used. Others are giving their mobiles another life in different ways, one quarter are passing on their old phones to friends or family, and 16% of people are selling their used devices particularly in emerging markets.

Globally, 74% of consumers said they don't think about recycling their phones, despite the fact that around the same number, 72%, think recycling makes a difference to the environment. This was consistent across many different countries with 88% of people in Indonesia not considering recycling unwanted devices, 84% in India, and 78% of people in Brazil, Sweden, Germany and Finland.

The survey revealed that one of the main reasons why so few people recycle their mobile phones is because they simply don't know that it is possible to do so. In fact, up to 80% of any Nokia device is recyclable and precious materials within it can be reused to help make new products such as kitchen kettles, park benches, dental fillings or even saxophones and other metal musical instruments. Globally, half of those surveyed didn't know phones could be recycled like this, with awareness lowest in India at 17% and Indonesia at 29%, and highest in the UK at 80% and 66% in Finland and Sweden.

Mr Terho said, "Using the best recycling technology nothing is wasted. Between 65 - 80 per cent of a Nokia device can be recycled. Plastics that can't be recycled are burnt to provide energy for the recycling process, and other materials are ground up into chips and used as construction materials or for building roads. In this way nothing has to go to landfill."

Many people interviewed for the survey, even if they were aware that a device could be recycled, did not know how to go about doing this. Two thirds said they did not know how to recycle an unwanted device and 71% were unaware of where to do this.

Nokia has collection points for unwanted mobile devices in 85 countries around the world, the largest voluntary scheme in the mobile industry. People can drop off their old devices at Nokia stores and almost 5,000 Nokia Care Centers. To find their nearest take back point people can visit www.nokia.com/werecyle.

Responding to the survey findings Nokia is developing a series of campaigns and activities to give people more information on why, how and where to recycle their old and unwanted devices, chargers and mobile accessories. The company is also expanding its global take-back program by adding many more collection bins and promoting these in store to raise greater awareness.

You Can also Recycle Mobile Phones at Envirophone, mobile phone xchange and 3 Mobile.

Ethical Superstore Sale - Save 80%

The Ethical Superstore currently has an amazing sale on eco-friendly and ethically produced items.

There are over 300 items in the sale, including cool eco-gadgets such as
water-powered calculators (£2.99) and wireless energy monitors (£34.99).

Eco Friendly Electronics at Digital Direct

Digital Direct have launched Eco Direct, where it presents the greenest electronic products available from it's site. Eco Friendly products include plasma tvs & DAB radios from top brands such as Sony and Pure Digital.

"It’s important for us to take care of our environment and look after our planet and more and more manufacturers are trying to do the same. Here we have created a collection of all the products we currently sell that will help you to reduce your carbon footprint."

So head on over to digital direct to compare these products power consumption and how they were manufactured.

Free Envirosax Eco Bag with Lonely Planet Guides

Lonely Planet is offering a free Envirosax Eco Bag and free shipping in June!

Envirosax is a well known eco brand and Lonely Planet readers will should snap this up!

John Lewis Goes Green

John Lewis have split their website into key eco areas to help customers buy environmentally-responsible products - Take a look for yourself!

Energy-efficient
If you'd like to do more to cut down on energy consumption, invest in the latest appliances and gadgets

Organic
If you want to reduce your exposure to complex man-made chemicals, find nature-friendly and sustainable options

Fairly-traded
If you'd like to help communities in need to grow and prosper, fair trade's the right direction

Sustainable
If you want to make sure the products you buy have been sourced responsibly, you have choices

Recycling
If you like the idea of new from old and reducing waste, choose recycled

Well done John Lewis!

Biodegradable Picnics

Here's a novel eco-friendly way to enjoy time out in the countryside or at a festival without leaving a harmful trace of your shenanigans.


This whole picnic set with the exception of the cloth will return itself back to nature, leaving you guilt free about your impact on your favourite beauty spot. It even comes in biodegradable packaging!

It's not Easy Being Green

Just found this cool site about a BBC programme - 'its Not Easy Being Green'



They have some superb video clips with ecellent green tips and examples of how people are reducing their energy bills, with help from Dick of course!

Check out Dick, hes a dude! That moustache is the greenest on the planet!


I found this excellent link while checking out the newspaper Briquette Maker on evengreener. Apparently this product was featured on the show. This device turns waste newspaper into fuel for heat for just £20!

Fairtrade Tea from CafeDirect

Our office has gone a bit greener this week with the addition of Fairtrade Tea from Cafedirect! I have been drinking this fairtrade tea all week and have ditched the PG tips.

Cafedirect work with 270,000 growers, encompassing 39 grower organisations across 13 developing countries, to bring people the best tasting and highest quality coffees, teas and drinking chocolate.

Growers of the tea are paid above market prices, and much of the profits are fed back into the growers businesses and communities. This money funds training and development programmes, empowering them to build a better, sustainable future.

You can order the delicious tea from the Ethical Superstore.

Green People Win Award for Organic Beauty Products

Green People have triumphed in the 'Natural Health Beauty Awards 2008'.

Their major prize was winning the 'BEST ORGANIC RANGE' Award. A huge well done to Green People from the Jolly Green Blogger!

Green People were delighted to receive recognition at this years Natural Health Magazine Beauty Awards taking home the much coveted ‘Best Organic Range’ Award. They have showed that with continued dedication to producing quality organic formulations coupled with strong company ethics and values has finally paid off!

Green People were also Winners in other categories: ‘Best Cellulite Zapper’ for the Organic Body Spa, Triple Action Cellulite Lotion and ‘Best Natural Lipstick’ for the Certified Organic Red Shimmer Lipstick!

With Highly Commended awards received in many other product categories:

Best Miracle Skin Worker - Fruitful Nights
Best Face Oil - Rejuvenating Facial Oil
Best Moisturiser for Dry Skin – Vita Min Fix
Best Facial Toner - Gentle Tone
Best Sun Protection - Sun lotion SPF15 with suntan accelerator
Best Hair Treatment - Intensive Repair conditioner for colour treated hair
Best Natural Deodorants - Green People Organic Formula Deodorants

So if you are after organic beauty products you can do a lot worse than 'Green People' it seems!

Google's Carbon Footprint Project

Use the Carbon Footprint calculator to measure your carbon footprint and find out what practical steps you can take to make it smaller. On a personalised google page, you can track your progress, update your carbon-reducing actions and see a Google Map featuring the footprints and actions of everyone taking part. To share ideas, ask advice or find people in your local area to collaborate with, join the UK Carbon Footprint discussion group.

Add the "Carbon Footprint" tab to your iGoogle homepage!

Google also revealed these tips to make your office greener on their Adwords blog.
1) Turn off the lights in conference rooms after you're finished with a meeting.
2) Turn off computers when you leave for the day.
3) Bring your own reusable water bottles and coffee mugs to work.
4) Carpool with your co-workers.
5) Try duplex printing -- save paper by printing on both sides.

Here are some more ways in that Google is helping people go green!

Nokia 3110 Evolve Ecophone

Technology meets Ecology with the Nokia 3110 Evolve
The Nokia 3110 Evolve is designed to help you cut down on energy wastage without compromising on functionality. The Phone has a 1.3 Mpix camera, web browsing, Mp3 player and FM radio functions.

* Help make a difference with bio-covers created from more than 50% renewable materials. The packaging is smaller too and uses 60% recycled materials.
* Charge your battery with a clear conscience. The AC-8 charger minimizes the no load energy consumption in case you forget to unplug it from the power socket.
* Never miss a shot with the 1.3 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom
* Connect wirelessly to your PC or accessories via Bluetooth
* Relax and unwind with the stereo MP3 player and FM radio
* Get news and entertainment via video 3GPP streaming
* Stay accessible with up to four hours of talk time and up to 370 hours standby

Sounds good to us! Hopefully other manufacturers will follow suit and make their mobile phones more eco friendly.

You can buy the Nokia 3110 Evolve direct form nokia for £149.99.

Top Ten Greenest Brands

Marketing week carried out a survey recently and here are the results!

A lot of this is obviously to do with image, with M&S recently charging for plastic carrier bags.

10 Greenest Brands

1. Marks & Spencer
2. The Body Shop
3. Innocent
4. Co-Op
5. Ecover
6. Honda
7. Waitrose
8. Tesco
9. BP
10. Greenpeace

10 Worst Brands

McDonalds has starting converting old chip fat into biodiesel to power its lorries, but this failed to improve it's un-green image. Probably all the chavs leaving smelly rubbish on the tube don't help.

1. Shell
2. Exxon Esso
3. McDonalds
4. BP
5. BA
6. Ryanair
7. BAA
9. Coca-Cola
9. E.on
10. British Gas

Virgin Money Launch The Virgin Climate Change Fund

Ever want to Invest Your money into the greenest companies? Virgin are now offering a green investment fund which looks to invest into environmental leaders in their industry. Apparently these greener companies are performing better than heavy polluters so hopefully these bad-boys will take note now, and go green themselves :)

The Virgin Climate Change Fund is an environmental fund with a difference, investing in businesses who are driving outstanding profit growth and are environmental leaders in their industry.

Unlike most green funds, the Virgin Climate Change Fund can invest in oil, transport, and every other sector, cherry-picking the environmental leaders in each who can offer the highest returns.

These businesses are starting to outperform the worst polluters. Customers prefer them, and they’re not saddled with green taxes and penalties. The net result for investors? A better return on their money.

Apply to the Virgin Climate Change fund Online

Eurostar - The Environmentally Friendly Option

Eurostar is bigging up its green credentials to attract some of the short haul fliers who are worried about their carbon emissions.

You will already be aware that Eurostar's 186 mph high-speed train service has become the number one choice for travellers between London, Ebbsfleet, Ashford, Paris, Brussels, Lille, Calais, Disneyland Resort Paris, Avignon and the French Alps. But that's not all - don't forget that Eurostar is also a more environmentally friendly option.

Flying between London, Paris and Brussels generates ten times more emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) per traveller than going by Eurostar.
Eurostar is also committed to generating even less carbon dioxide emissions per traveller in future years and has pledged to achieve a reduction of 25% per traveller journey by 2012 (compared to 2006).

Taking the train is now a truly attractive greener alternative to flying.

I have never took eurostar, but I would gladly give it a go. Especially as now I don't drive! Have you used Eurostar before?

Ecoballs - The Eco Wash Balls

Ecoballs are designed as an environmentally friendly alternative to washing powder in washing machines.

The price works out to about 3p a wash and an ecoball will last for around 1000 washes. They are also refillable.

So what do you do with your ecoball for an eco wash?
Simply place 3 ecoballs inside the machine instead of detergent. There are no harsh chemicals to filer through to the environment with ecoballs! You can also reduce the amount of water you use with a reduced rinse cycle, which also saves electricity - YES!



More benefits of ecoballs:
- Eco Balls will not fade bright colours
- Ecoballs willnot damage clothing fibres
- Ecoballs are Hypoallergenic so suitable for sensitive skins/eczema (including babies and children)
- Ecoballs® softens clothes even in hard water. As your clothes will be softer no fabric conditioner is necessary.
- Ecoballs® are also anti-bacterial and kills Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus Aureus.

Save £10 with Eddiesessentials!
Was £34.99, now £24.99
What you get:
- 3 ecoballs
- ecoball refill
- Stain Remover
- 30 day moneyback guarantee

These seem a great idea to me for busy households, and the ecoballs can also be combined with limescale reducing Magnoballs for an even greener wash!


if you tumble dry clothes then use tumble dryer balls for faster drying and for softening clothes.

Carbon Neutral Car Insurance Quotes

I am trying to sell my car at the moment but if I did buy another one in the future I would try to go green with my car insurance!

There are a few 'Green' car insurance companies out there at the moment. A lot of people with cars probably feel a bit guilty about emissions, and rightly so. Going to a carbon neutral car insurance company makes a lot of sense these days, even for that warm smug feeling. If you can save any money at the same time then thats a bonus!

1. The Green Car Insurance Company

This insurance company offer a 100% offset of your car's emissions! You also get a 5% discount if you drive a low emission vehicle or do a low mileage each year. 5% of claims are also donated to charity which is also rather nice. We at jolly green blogger love incentives to invest in a more eco-friendly vehicle!
Get a Car Insurance Quote from the Green Car Insurance Company

2. iBuyEco

This insurance company provide a similar service to the green car insurance company listed above, where they offset your motor's CO2 emissions each year. At the moment they have a special offer where they pay out the money themselve sto offset your emissions, so its a pretty good deal!
Get a Car Insurance Quote from iBuyEco

Lets just hope these companies do not spoil it all by mailing a tonnage of paper to each customer!

Do you use any of these car insurance companies? I would love to hear from people who do. As for me, I am giving up the car so I no longer have to pay for insurance. Ahh!

Wayne Hemingway's Large Butt

Would you place a giant bum in your garden?

In all fairness, there usually are large bottoms in many of the UK's gardens already, so im sure one more would not hurt at all. We here at Jolly Green Blogger are all for innovative products which can help the environment, especially when they are as cheeky as this!

These limited Water Butts are a limited edition and are designed by fashion guru Wayne Hemingway and his Wife as part of their new 'Shackup' Brand. They have also designed some sheds, but I don't think they can hope to be as interesting in a design sense as an odd water butt.

I don't think they are to everyone's taste, but to the more eccentric water savers out there these products will not hit a bum note. The Water Buts have a 215 litre capacity, have a tap to drain the fluid and can fit any standard size downpipe.

The product pictured is called the 'bottlebutt', and is available from Evengreener for £99.99. There are 3 colours to choose from: White, Black and Tanned.

Here is the 'Butt being looked at on the 'this morning' program, hosted by another ass, Richard Madeley.