Recycling Business Helps Medical Research
At C.R.O.P.S. (cropsweb.com) she and her husband, Larry sign up businesses, individuals, and organizations to recycle their used printer, fax, copier cartridges, and old cell phones and donate 80 percent of all profits to medical research.
“We have been working on the project for about one and a half years but officially started the business as of May,” said Tina of Fort Worth, TX.
The company has seven account reps including Tina and her husband. C.R.O.P.S. stands for Collection of Recyclable Office Products Service.
She said one of Crops Web’s goals is to reach as many people as possible.
The company can provide drop boxes for businesses and organizations so that people in their communities can take part. They collect from the U.S. and Canada.
“Rather than establishing ourselves as a non-profit we are set up as a business that donates part of our profits,” said Tina. “We harvest a hopeful new beginning for others by taking what most consider trash and turning it into valuable research money.”
Postage paid mailer bags and boxes are sent to customers free of charge. They also offer free labels to put inside printter cartridge boxes to jog people’s memory to recycle. They service companies no matter how many employees there are.
The project started as a fundraiser for medical research near and dear to the couple’s hearts, they said. The company is looking to add new partnerships each day.
For more information, email tinaw@cropsweb.com.
In other recycling news, Maine has a Recycling Week every year in November. Keep Bangor Beautiful, a non-profit organization with the City of Maine recently produced a recycling commercial.
At the epa.gov site you can find out why recycling is important and how to do it.
Earth911.org gives “green” shopping tips such as buying cereal in a large box, juice in concentrates, and buying water in a large plastic jug. Recycled aluminum saves 95 percent energy and reduces pollution by 95 percent, according to the website.
At the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston recycling is a big part of student and faculty life. They have adopted a “leave no trash behind” attitude which they say is the result of an environmental effort to extend stewardship to all aspects of their activities. Annually the school recycles more than 800 tons of cardboard, along with hundreds of tons of metals, chemical solvents, printer cartridges, x-ray film, kitchen grease, motor oil, tires, and paint.
Energy conservation is emphasized, too.
Landscaper Philip Fox uses homemade mulch on the school’s rose garden.
According to the EPA, recycling is one of the best environmental success stories of the late 20th century, reducing the need for incineration and landfilling, preventing pollution, saving energy, decreasing emission of greenhouse gases, conserving natural resources, and sustaining the environment for future generations.
