The Lower East Side Ecology Center is making responsible disposal of working and non-working electronics easier than ever before by collecting them at their NEW E-waste Warehouse in Gowanus (469 President Street at the corner of Nevins Street).

Any New York resident, small business (max. 50 employees) and non-profit organization can drop-off unwanted electronics for free.  If the equipment works, let folks at the Warehouse know & they’ll try to give it a second life.  They guarantee data security & offer affordable electronic equipment & parts, too.

DROP OFF HOURS:

• Tuesday: 10am – 5pm
• Wednesday: 12pm – 7pm
• Thursday: 10am – 5pm
• Friday: 10am – 5pm
• Saturday: 10am – 4pm
• CLOSED Sunday & Monday

For more info, check out their website by clicking here.

With thanks to the Lower East Side Recycling Center, Grow NYC and NYC.gov, we bring you a slew of tips for Greening Your Holidays…

Sending cards?

Try e-cards or look for greetings made with recycled content (we’ve got them at Green in BKLYN).  Include a note with your cards saying they can be donated for reuse by sending them to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, where they’ll be re-purposed into greetings for 2012.

Purchasing gifts?

Show some style when shopping by bringing your own reusable bags (or pick up some with our Green in BKLYN logo on them at the shop) .  Choose minimally-packaged items made with recycled content and give items that will be treasured, not thrown out before the next holiday season.  Remember to “wrap it recyclable” by using old newspaper, recycled paper gift wrap (at the shop!) or a nice paper gift bag.  A convenient reusable bag is the gift wrap that keeps on giving.

Preparing a holiday meal?

Look for items in recyclable packaging and buy minimally- or non-packaged fresh produce, like that from the local farmer’s market.  Compost your vegetable trimmings or bring them to select Greenmarkets or other drop-off sites.  Prevent waste by making small changes such as using recyclable aluminum foil rather than plastic wrap for food storage or use Snack Taxis & glass storage containers (also at Green in BKLYN).  Serve your masterpiece on reusable plates and offer guests reusable flatware, glassware & napkins.

Stuck with clean up duties?

Remember to include gift boxes, wrapping paper and other paper packaging with your regular paper and cardboard recycling (remove tape, ribbons and other decorations).  Your eggnog cartons can be recycled too—place them in your recycling bin along with glass, metal and plastic items.  Reuse Styrofoam packing peanuts and compost the ones made from cornstarch.

Done with your  holiday tree?

If you’re putting up a real tree for the holidays, plan to chip in at MulchFest on January 7 & 8!  Trees (cleaned of stands, tinsel and ornaments) will be collected and recycled into mulch for NYC parks.  Bring your own bag to select sites and take home mulch for your yard, garden or street tree.  Find citywide drop-off sites and mulch pick-up locations here.  If you miss MulchFest, the city will pick up trees (also stripped of ornaments, etc) curbside from January 3-14.

Have unwanted electronics?

If you’re upgrading or unloading electronics, don’t send them to the landfill.  Find recycling resources here and check out the “After the Holidays” e-waste collection schedule from the Lower East Side Ecology Center.  There are events in all five boroughs through January 2012.

Changing clothes?

Clear out ill-fitting, outdated and otherwise unwanted clothing and other textiles (even the stuff you spilled cranberry sauce on at the holiday party) and bring them to one of GrowNYC’s weekly collections for reusable and recyclable textiles.

Swapping on your mind?

GrowNYC’s Stop ‘N’ Swap is the ultimate re-gifting party.  Bring reusable items to share (portable items only) or simply bring a tote bag or two to take home things you can put to reuse.  Winter swap dates and locations will be posted at GrowNYC.org/swap.

Feeling generous?

Others may want the stuff you no longer need. There are many local charitable organizations interested in receiving your gently used clothing, furniture, books and electronic goods.

Wishing everyone all things wonderful in this holiday season & in the new year – peace, joy, laughter & love!

PS – We’ll be closing Saturday, December 31st at 4pm & will be closed Sunday, January 1st – Monday, January 2nd after which time we’ll return to Winter Store Hours:

• Tuesday-Friday 12pm-7pm
• Saturday 10am-7pm
• Sunday 11am-6pm

In partnership with the Parks Department, the Fort Greene Park Conservancy is proud to host the fifth annual MulchFest.  Join their volunteer team & have your holiday tree chipped for future use in your Parks!

• What: MulchFest 2012
• Where: Washington Park & Willoughby
• When: Saturday, January 7th & Sunday, January 8th, 2012
• Time: 10am – 2pm

The knife maker, Maynard Linder, makes the handles from naturally shed caribou antler & the blades from antique steel saw blades (handsaws, crosscut saws & band saw blades).  All 100% recycled.

In addition, Maynard’s been making knives in Alaska for nearly 30 years.  We’re carrying his knives  in the Japanese, French &, of course, Eskimo styles (including ulus – the curvy handled tools in the photo above). Beautiful, functional & recycled!

They’ve been at this for years & last January they collected 100 tons of e-waste.  This year’s goal?  110 tons! Help them reach this goal by disposing of your electronics at one of their many dates & locations!

E-Waste Recycling Events:

• January 7, 2012 / NYC: 10am – 4pm @ Bowling Green Park (east side, Broadway at Beaver Street)

• January 7, 2012 / STATEN ISLAND: 10am – 4pm @ Midland Beach Parking Lot 5 (Father Capodanno Blvd & Jefferson Avenue)

• January 8, 2012 / FLUSHING: 10am – 4pm @ Queens Botanical Garden (parking lot entrance on Crommelin Street)
  

• January 8, 2012 / NYC: 10am – 4pm @ Union Square Park (north plaza @ East 16th Street & Union Square West)

• January 14, 2012 / BROOKLYN: 10am – 4pm @ McCarren Park (Bedford Avenue just north of North 12th Street)
  

• January 14, 2012 / NYC: 10am – 4pm @ Carl Schurz Park (East 88th Street & East End Avenue)
  

• January 15, 2012 / BROOKLYN: 10am – 4pm @ Prospect Park West (at 3rd Street)
  

• January 21, 2012 / NYC: 10am – 4pm @ Tekserve (119 West 23rd Street)
  

• January 22, 2012 / NYC: 10am – 4pm @ Central Park (Central Park North & Lenox Avenue)

• January 22, 2012 / NYC: 10am – 4pm @ West 63rd Street (btw  Broadway & Central Park West)
  

• January 28, 2012 / NYC: 10am – 4pm @ Ring Garden Riverside Drive (btw Dyckman Street & Seaman Avenue)

• January 28, 2012 / BRONX: 10am – 4pm @ Brook Park (btw East 141st & East 140th Streets) 

The Lower East Side Ecology Center accepts electronics from households, not-for-profit organizations & small businesses (less than 50 employees, please call ahead).  A list of acceptable materials can be found here.  Remember: they do not accept home appliances such as microwaves, refrigerators or air conditioners.  All events will be held rain, snow (!) or shine.

“Close the Loop” was developed by the Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Community Food Council & is one of several projects to emerge from Get Fresh! Food Access, Food Justice & Collective Action in Fort Greene & Clinton Hill, the 2011 Fort Greene & Clinton Hill Community Food Assessment.

Stop by the shop during December to share the joy & grace of the holiday season with any donations you have… And, thank you, from your neighbors.

When you stop in the shop, we’re happy to help you make a selection or you can grab a handy “Wish List” for the ladies, fellas, tweens or wee ones in your life… We’ve reprinted a few of our favorites below.  Needless to say, you can pick them up at Green in BKLYN.  Oh, & we can gift wrap them, if you’d like!

Fellas:

• Dancing Man Knives & Ulus from Alaska
• Vers Bamboo iPod Sound Systems
• Glacier Rocks for Icing Neat Drinks
• Solar Powered Laptop Chargers by Voltaic
• Good Meat: The Complete Guide to… Sustainable Meat

Ladies:

• Locally Made Reclaimed Leather Baggu Bags
• Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
  
• Pangea Organics Skin Care Discovery Kits
• Sama All Natural Jardin de Iris Parfum
• Marbled Silk Scarves by Brooklyn Marbling

Wee Ones:

• Sweater Toys Handmade in Brooklyn
• MUNY Design Quilts
• The ABCs of Brooklyn
  
• Wooden ABC Blocks with Pull Cart
• NYC Subway G Trains, Taxis & Fire Trucks

Tweens:

• Voltaic Solar Powered iPad Charger
• Baggu Back Packs & Totes from Recycled Canvas
• Dogeared Make a Wish Necklaces
• Pin Hole Camera / Solargraphy Kit
• Letters to a Young Brother and Letters to a Young Sister

Various & Sundries:

• Mechanical Make-Your-Own Music Box Set
• Good Clean Love Organic Lube & 120-hour Candle
• Soap Rocks & Felted Soaps
• Priti Polish Nail Polish & Soy Polish Remover
• Stainless Steel Pint Glasses & Brooklyn Brew Co. Beer Making Kits
• Historic Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill & Wallabout
• SodaStream Seltzer Makers & Soda Flavors
• Sustainable Bamboo Sheets & Towels
• The Bananarchist Cookbook
• 50-Year Stainless Steel Calendar
• Brooklyn Roasting Co. Coffee & Hand Crank Coffee Grinder
• Recycled Tin Star Ornaments
• 7-Year Pens & Recycled Paper Cards
• AND Charcoal for the Naughty Ones! (made locally & from reclaimed wood)

On Saturday, November 5th from 2-4pm, Green in BKLYN hosts a book signing & recipe tasting with Jane Gish, author of the Bananarchist Cookbook.

The Bananarchist Cookbook is organized like many cookbooks but is  interspersed with anarchist trivia, jokes, useful phrases in foreign languages, games, love letter mad libs, fortunes, manifestos, surveys &, of course, recipes like:

• Red Quinoa Salad with Lime Chipotle Dressing
• Butternut Squash & Chestnut Soup
• Rosemary Buttermilk Biscuits
• Blackberry Apple Basil Crumble
• Warm & Toasty Toddy Coffee

If a typical cookbook instructs one on how to make food, this cookbook offers additional instructions on making mischief & connecting with others.  The Bananarchist motto is:

• Hug it out.
• Be truthful to your vision.
• Break bread with your compatriots.

In addition to penning this lovely, loving cookbook, Jane is the maven of Super Foxy Sweets’ vegan & gluten free truffles.  So you know it’s gonna be a tasty event…  Hope you’ll come & break bread, compatriots!