the Green Bargains Blog

Don’t want your scrap car? Why not donate it to charity.

Giveacar is the original car donation service in the UK. They will collect any car or vehicle, anywhere in the UK, free of charge. The service is environmentally friendly, as Giveacar only use authorised treatment facilities, which recycle 85% of a vehicle in terms of weight, corresponding to DVLA and Environmental Agency guidelines. To date the service has raised over £100,000, and it only started this year!

Find out more www.giveacar.co.uk

Thanks to Tom Chance, Director of Giveacar Ltd, for supplying the text for this entry – John

Posted by John on September 1, 2010 @ 7:58 pm
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Just seen the ad’ on my TV for a company that will recycle your old CDs, DVDs and computer games into cash: musicMagpie.co.uk

It sounds like a great idea. If, like me, you’ve got more DVDs than shelf space to put them on and you want to thin out your collection, a site that offers to buy them off you sounds a godsend. But it pays to read the small print. Their FAQ says, for example, that if your discs are scratched “We will deduct up to 50p per disc as a refurbishment charge.” and “All discs are non-returnable, and our assessment is final.” (Italics added). And as only one of the four DVDs I tried inputting was worth more than 30p, that could mean you’d get no money at all if they adjudged the DVD to be scratched. Plus they state that “We only purchase CDs, DVDs, or Games with all pertinent artwork and inlays, undamaged and unmarked. We do not buy CDs, DVDs, or Games without cases.” and elsewhere it says that any booklets that were included with the DVD etc. have to be present and in excellent condition so this is not a way to get rid of your old, tired looking DVDs.

However, before we completely dismiss it, 30p may well be all you could reasonably expect to get (and remember, there’s no postage and packing costs to take out of that). You could, like me, be overly optimistic and stick your copy of Superman Returns (Single disc edition) on Amazon Marketplace but there are loads of them for sale there already, and a shortage of mad people to buy them!, so that 30p is beginning to look more tempting. Meanwhile, if anyone does use the service, please do share your experiences by adding a comment or using our contact form.

Visit musicMagpie.co.uk

Posted by John on July 28, 2009 @ 11:52 pm
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The Eco-Box(TM) produced by Viva, cuts down the use of plastic in the manufacture of cases for DVDs, games & blu-rays.

The company claims that they “Substantially reduce the mass of plastic by strategically removing material from non-functional inconspicuous areas“, this includes cutting the recycle logo into each case but they say “Box quality and functionality will not be affected” and “Packages look and act the same as a standard Box on the retail store shelf“, plus only 100% recyclable materials are used.

Sounds a great idea. Unfortunately they aren’t currently set up to supply small quantities to the general public but “We are supplying directly to replicators and studios in USA and Europe based on full truckload deliveries“. Anyone interested may click the link below for more information and contact details.

Visit Viva Eco-boxes

Posted by John on April 16, 2009 @ 10:01 am
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Tired of hanging carrier bags from door knobs, to do your household recycling, these ‘Ben Bins’ could be the answer.

Redcued from £6.99 to just £3.49 each, with free next day delivery on orders (placed before 3p.m.) over £35 (otherwise, add items to basket and view basket to see how much delivery would be). Ben Bins are available in light green (pictured) and blue and pink too.

Get Ben Bins

Posted by John on April 7, 2009 @ 5:12 pm
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Recycle your old mobile as cash, and be sure of getting the best price, with the help of a great new tool on Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert.com website.

Sadly, my Ericsson seems to be so old that it’s not even heard of it.

Visit Tool

Posted by John on March 25, 2009 @ 11:59 am
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The Environment Times website reports that the First Group of bus companies have teamed up with TRiP (Transport Recycling in Partnership) in a bid to recycle their old bus seats into trainers.

The TRiP includes London Underground and various other bus and rail companies and their aim is to show the benefits of better environmental management and avoid having to send them to landfill dumps or have them incinerated.

Read More

Posted by John on February 13, 2009 @ 1:25 pm
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myrecycledbags.com website

Got a load of old plastic carrier bags you don’t know what to do with? Why not recycle them as a new sturdy shopping bag?

The blog article includes instructions on how to first turn them into plastic yarn (or “plarn”), then how to make them into the three parts the shopping bag is made up from and finally how to assemble them into the completed article.

I imagine that you need to be choosy about what plastic bags to use in your creation. Some seem designed to self-destruct by photo or bio-degrading and falling to bits as I discovered when I stored some paperwork in some old carriers once, to return to them some months later only to have them collapse to bits as soon as I picked it up.

You can read the full details on how to make your own shopping bags on myrecycledbags.com

Click to Visit

Posted by John on January 7, 2009 @ 6:05 pm
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With all the wrapping paper that ends up in landfill each Christmas, one green solution is to use reuseable ‘gift bags’ that you just tie up, so are easily opened with destroying them meaning they can be used time and time again.

The only suppliers I could find are all in the US, like Mrs. Claus Gift Bags and Lucky Crow Gift Bags or you could make your own courtesy of the free patterns available on Lazy Girl Designs.  Of course, if you know differently, you can share your knowledge by leaving a comment by clicking on the post’s title above.

Posted by John on November 23, 2008 @ 6:18 pm
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Want to know where you can buy recycled products online? The Recycled Products Guide (owned by the Waste & Resources Action Programme) is a national database of companies selling products made from recycled materials.

There’s currently over 450 companies listed, selling everything from stationery to computers, electrical products, storage boxes to cat litter.

Click to Visit

Posted by John on November 23, 2008 @ 5:16 pm
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