Green has become more than a color or adjective…it’s
become a verb and a mission! Here’s a tip that let’s you
take a small step in becoming green. And, you can turn this into a
fundraiser for a local charity helping to bring in the green.
When the holiday decorations begin to come down, don’t you wonder
what a shame it is to throw away those holiday greetings. Here at
Mariner, we decided to look for options. Our goal to be more environmentally
responsible was energized when we welcomed our newest association
management client this year, The Maryland
Recyclers Coalition Since then, we’ve been looking for ways
to reduce,
reuse and recycle. Along the way, we found some nifty, thrify
ways to reuse those holiday cards.
Our favorite idea is to turn the cards into mini card boxes you can
use for gift-giving, decorating or an easy fundraiser! Click here
[jump to Easy Steps below] for directions. To adapt as a fundraiser,
you can have kids collect cards, recyle into boxes and either sell
as is or fill them with trinkets for surprise gifts.
More Recycling Ideas
Some Do’s & Don’ts
to Keep in Mind
Fun Facts & Trivia
Cool Links
7 Easy Steps to Turn a Holiday Card into a Gift
Lastly, take the pledge
and join in 2008
America Recycles Day Nov. 15. 
Have a green new year!
Some
Do’s & Don’ts to Keep in Mind from the National
Recycling Coalition include an urge to definitely recycle cell phones,
electronics and yes eyeglasses. Click through to learn more.
Fun Facts & Trivia
- In 2006, we generated a little under 5 lbs. per person per day
of solid waste and recycled (excluding composting) about 1.12 lbs.
per person per day. WasteAge
“Municipal Solid Waste 2006”
- Need a reason to buy new appliances? The most effective new appliances
typically use 50% less energy than the most wasteful ones. If you’re
shopping includes a new fridge, consider that a freezer on top instead
of the side-by-side unit, will saves you about 20%. Oberlin
College
- Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for
three hours or the equivalent of a half a gallon of gasoline and
as a bonus, there is no limit to the amount of times aluminum can
be recycled.
Recycling-Revolution
- Five PET bottles (plastic soda bottles) yield enough fiber for
one extra large T-shirt, one square foot of carpet or enough fiber
to fill one ski jacket. National
Recycling Coalition
- If America's recycling rate for aluminum and steel cans, plastic
PET and glass containers, newsprint and corrugated packaging increased
by 10%, we would save enough energy to provide electricity to 1.8
million Americans for an entire year. National
Recycling Coalition
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Cool Links
Conversionator Recycling Calculator – this interactive tools
turns recycling education into fun. Drop an item into the conversionator
to find out the benefits and how-to’s of recycling and use the
calculator to determine your impact on the environment.
Recycling
101– everything you ever wanted to know or need to know.
The Internet
Consumer Recycling Guide – their goal is to “help
make recycling so easy and automatic that it blends into the flow
of everyday life” by offering a starting place for your hunt
for tips, rules and connections.
Freecycle Network
– learn how thousands of local groups are “changing the
world one gift at a time” just by connecting people with stuff
to give to those who can get. Find a group near you. Check out their
Freecyclopedia!
– offers connections for recycling at home and work.
EcoCycle
– offers connections for recycling at home and work.
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7 Easy Steps to Turn a Holiday Card into
a Gift
An internet search turns up many options, but here’s the simplest
we found from www.Pedagonet.com
that takes you from Christmas Card to Box in 7 steps:
- Separate the card at the fold creating two pieces, one for the
top of the box and the other for the bottom.
- Create the box pattern by marking an X on the back of one of
the pieces by drawing a line diagonally from one corner to the next
one.
- Fold the edges of all four sides to the middle of the X.
- Create tabs by cutting along the fold lines.
- Fold all tabs to create a box.
- Tape folds.
- Create the bottom for the box by using the same procedure only
fold the edges beyond the center of the X.
More of a visual learner? View
their instructional video.
For more ideas for holiday cards and more patterns, visit Allfreecrafts
or Wikihow.com
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