Does Working From Home Save Companies Money?

Baruch Silvermann, Business.com, November 6, 2023

When the pandemic hit, many Americans with jobs that didn’t require face-to-face interaction were forced to work from home. This paradigm shift in how companies and employees managed operations created new norms and expectations. Many employees enjoyed ― and continue to embrace ― the freedom and flexibility of remote work plans.

Business owners have other factors to consider. If allowing your team to work from home can help you reduce operational costs or give your company other competitive advantages, you have a win-win situation. Here’s what business owners should know when evaluating the benefits of allowing remote work.

How working from home can save companies money

Along with remote work’s benefits for workers, business owners may find that remote work saves their companies money. For example, Sun Microsystems identified telecommuting-prompted savings of $68 million yearly in real estate costs while Dow Chemical and Nortel saved over 30 percent on non-real estate costs.

According to Global Workplace Analytics, nearly 60 percent of employers identify cost savings as a significant telecommuting benefit. It estimates that for all remote-work-compatible jobs, if everyone who wanted to work remotely did so just half of the time, the total money saved would be over $700 billion annually. This averages out to more than $11,000 per employee per year.

Here are some concrete ways remote work saves businesses money:

Remote work saves on rent and utilities: If most of your team works from home, your office space needs won’t be as significant, saving money on rent and utilities.
Remote work saves on relocation costs: Many companies pay for key employees to relocate. However, this isn’t necessary if the employee can remain in the same place and work remotely.

To access the full article, click here.

Eco-friendly tech tips: reducing your electronic carbon footprint

In today’s digitally driven world, electronic devices have become an integral part of our daily lives. From smartphones to laptops and tablets, our reliance on technology continues to grow. However, this rapid advancement in technology comes with a significant environmental impact in the form of electronic waste. To ensure a sustainable future, it’s essential to adopt eco-friendly practices to reduce our electronic carbon footprint.

Here are some practical tips to help you become more environmentally conscious when using and disposing of electronic devices:

Extend the Lifespan of Your Devices: One of the most effective ways to reduce electronic waste is to extend the lifespan of your gadgets. Take care of your devices by using protective cases, doing regular maintenance, and taking advantage of software updates. This helps to prolong your electronic device usefulness and reduces the frequency of replacements.

Responsibly Recycling E-Waste: When the time comes to upgrade or replace your electronic devices, opt for responsible disposal methods. ReturnCenter offers a convenient mail-in recycling program. By ordering a return envelope, you can easily recycle your used or broken cell phones, tablets, or laptops.

This ensures these you’re recycling e-waste in an environmentally friendly way while also allowing you to donate the remaining value to a charity of your choice.

Minimize Standby Power: Unplug chargers and turn off devices when they’re not in use. Even in standby mode, electronics consume power. Utilizing power strips or smart plugs can make it easier to turn off multiple devices at once.

Buy Refurbished or Pre-Owned Devices: opt for refurbished or used electronic devices when making a new purchase. This choice not only saves money but also reduces the demand for new products, thereby lowering the environmental impact associated with manufacturing new gadgets.

Use Energy-Efficient Settings: Adjust the settings on your devices to optimize energy consumption. For instance, lower screen brightness, enable power-saving modes, and reduce the auto-lock duration to save power.

Erase Data Before Disposal: Before recycling or donating your devices, ensure you’ve erased all personal data and information to protect your privacy. Some recycling programs, like ReturnCenter, also offer data wiping services for added security.

Explore Repair Options: Instead of immediately replacing a malfunctioning device, explore repair options. Sometimes, a simple repair can extend the life of your device and can cost significantly less than a new device would. A cracked cell phone, or tablet that won’t turn on may not be the end of the road.

Educate Yourself and Others: Spread awareness about the impact of electronic waste and educate others about responsible e-waste disposal. Encourage friends and family to adopt eco-friendly practices. And follow ReturnCenter on Instagram or Facebook for tips on sustainable living.

By incorporating these eco-friendly tech tips into your daily routine, you contribute significantly to reducing electronic waste and its environmental impact. Small changes can make an enormous difference, and by using services like ReturnCenter, you play a crucial role in responsible e-waste disposal while supporting charitable causes. Let’s work together to create a more sustainable future for generations to come.

How to avoid wish-cycling: what can be recycled

How to avoid wish-cycling: what can and can’t be recycled

Recycling is an essential part of a sustainable lifestyle, but the concept of wish-cycling—tossing items into the recycling bin hoping they’ll be recycled—can often do more harm than good. Understanding what items can and cannot be recycled is crucial for an effective and efficient recycling process. Let’s delve into this wider realm of responsible recycling, touching not only on how to get rid of electronic devices, but also on recycling other everyday items.

Know Your Local Recycling Guidelines: Each city has its own recycling rules. Familiarize yourself with what items are accepted in your local recycling program. Materials that might be recyclable in one place might not be in another, simply because the recycling facility lacks the technology to properly recycle that material.

ReturnCenter offers a specific solution for recycling used cell phones, tablets, and laptops via our mail-in program.

Recycling E-Waste: You’ve probably wondered what to do with your old cell phone, or how to dispose of a laptop. Electronics can be complex to recycle due to the variety of materials they contain. ReturnCenter’s specialized recycling ensures these devices are handled responsibly and efficiently.

Plus, any remaining value of the device is sent to a charity of your choice. Get started.

Plastics & Packaging: Some plastics are recyclable while others are not. Check the recycling numbers on plastic items to identify if they are accepted in your local recycling program. Flatten or remove packaging where possible to reduce space in the recycling bin.

Paper & Cardboard: Clean, and dry paper and cardboard are usually recyclable. Be mindful of contaminated or wet items, as these can affect the recycling process.

Metal Items: Metals like aluminum and steel are commonly recyclable. However, items with food residue or non-recyclable coatings might not be accepted. You may need to remove the paper labels from cans, another reason to check your local recycling guidelines.

Glass Products: Glass bottles and jars are often recyclable. However, ceramics, heat-resistant glass, and other types may not be accepted. It’s vital to follow specific recycling guidelines for glass items in your area.

Textiles & Clothing: Some clothes and textiles can be recycled, but not all are suitable for recycling bins. Consider donating or repurposing clothing to extend its life cycle rather than wish-cycling it.

Understanding the specifics of what can and can’t be recycled, including items beyond just electronics, is pivotal in ensuring a smooth and effective recycling process.

By avoiding wish-cycling and utilizing ReturnCenter’s recycling services for old or broken laptops, phones, and tablets, as well as understanding the broader spectrum of recyclable items, we collectively contribute to a cleaner, more sustainable environment.

Let’s join forces to recycle responsibly and make a positive impact on our planet.

Eco-friendly plastic turns into a source of nutrition for ocean life

Mrigakshi Dixit, InterestingEngineering.com, November 6, 2023

Plastic has become an indispensable element of our everyday lives, making its way into a wide range of things such as toys, clothes, home goods, electronics, automobiles, and even our infrastructure.

However, the life cycle and disposal of plastics pose a major environmental issue.

To solve these challenges, there is a rising need for the development of alternatives that are more robust, allow for more extended strong alternative usage, and are easily reused and recyclable.

A team of scientists from the University of Tokyo developed a new plastic with several benefits over currently used materials.

As per the official release, this material is acclaimed for its superior strength and elasticity compared to the existing standard type. It has the remarkable ability to mend when exposed to heat, retains its original shape, and is partially biodegradable.

It can be used in a wide range of sectors

This novel eco-friendly plastic material is created by integrating the polyrotaxane molecule into an epoxy resin vitrimer, a relatively new type of plastic.

“Named VPR, the material can hold its form and has strong internal chemical bonds at low temperatures. However, at temperatures above 150 degrees Celsius, those bonds recombine and the material can be reformed into different shapes,” explained the release.

The researchers observed that when VPR is exposed to heat and a solvent, it disintegrates into its essential constituents.

Notably, when immersed in seawater for a month, it underwent a 25% biodegradation process, with the polyrotaxane breaking down into a source of nutrition for aquatic life.

To access the full article, click here.

At the foot of a melting glacier in Peru, llamas helped revitalize the land

Saima S. Iqbal, ScienceNews.org, October 27, 2023

When glaciers melt, they leave behind barren landscapes that can take decades to support plants and animals. But a new study found that within just three years, such exposed land was revitalized by llamas, whose activity nourished the soil and fostered plant growth.

By the foot of Peru’s shrinking Uruashraju glacier, researchers partnered with local farmers to capture and herd llamas on four designated plots. For three days a month from 2019 to 2022, the llamas (Llama glama) grazed the plots, fertilizing them with dung and dispersing viable seeds from droppings and fur.

By the end of that time, the otherwise arid and easily eroded soil stabilized, grew richer in nutrients and supported 57 percent more plant cover than before, geographer Anaїs Zimmer and colleagues report September 24 in Scientific Reports.

Such a revival of the ancestral Andean practice of camelid herding could potentially cushion the crops, animals and livelihoods of local communities from the impacts of climate change, says Zimmer, of the University of Texas at Austin.

As is the case worldwide, glaciers are disappearing in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca mountains at an unprecedented rate. And as the ice shrinks, nearby ecosystems wither: They lose access to summertime supplies of freshwater and sometimes encounter harmful acidic minerals in rocks once covered by the glaciers.

To access the full article, click here.

Why recycling cell phones is a key to circularity and a sustainable future.

Cell Phones 101, why recycling cell phones is a key to circularity and a sustainable future.

In the era of smartphones, these sleek and ever-evolving devices have become an indispensable part of our lives. But have you ever wondered about the intricate components that make up your smartphone and the environmental impact associated with their production?

In this blog, we dissect the different parts of an average smartphone and shed light on the current mining practices and abuses. You’ll see why recycling cell phones and other e-waste is not only imperative but extremely urgent.

Circuit Boards:

The heart of your smartphone, circuit boards contain several precious metals such as gold, silver, and copper. Mining gold can involve practices like mercury and cyanide usage, leading to environmental contamination and ecosystem disruption. Silver and copper mining can also contribute to deforestation, water pollution, and habitat degradation.

Battery:

Smartphone batteries rely on metals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Cobalt mining, in particular, has been associated with child labor, hazardous working conditions, and ecological damage in some regions. Improper disposal can cause e-waste and further environmental damage.

Screen:

The vibrant display on your smartphone consists of components like indium and tin. Indium, mainly obtained from mining, can cause environmental harm through water pollution and waste generation.

Microchips:

Microchips, the brains of your smartphone, contain metals like gold, silver, palladium, and copper. As mentioned earlier, mining these precious metals can result in deforestation, water pollution, and habitat disruption.

Connectors and Wiring:

Connectors and wiring within your smartphone often contain gold, silver, and copper. The extraction of these metals can contribute to water pollution, soil degradation, and ecosystem destruction.

Unveiling the truth behind your smartphone’s components brings to light the complex issues surrounding mining practices and their environmental impact. The negative practices associated with precious metal extraction not only call for urgent action towards responsible sourcing and sustainable mining, but also transparency in the electronics supply chain, and a focus on limiting e-waste and reclaiming and reusing the metals we’ve already mined.

At ReturnCenter, we are committed to providing responsible electronics recycling for cell phones, laptops, and tablets. Every device you send in not only stays out of landfills but also contributes to the circular economy where these precious metals can be reused and the need for dangerous mining and its effects are diminished.

Every device really does make a difference, get started now.

Why tackling e-waste is mission critical for the data storage industry

Why tackling e-waste is mission critical for the data storage industry, Ban-Seng Teh, TechRadar.com, October 25, 2023

The manufacturing sector is rarely associated with sustainability best practices, and arguably for good reason. A recent study from IPCC found manufacturers account for 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Many still all too often make products without a plan for what happens when they reach end of life. From a technology hardware perspective, electronics no longer in use are far too often thrown away. In the UK alone, an estimated 2 million tonnes of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) items are discarded by consumers and companies every year.

According to IDC, the Global DataSphere is expected to generate 291ZB of data in 2027. Finding ways to recycle the world’s hard drive waste has therefore become a particularly pressing concern for the data storage industry. We have a critical part to play in operating more sustainably, and there are multiple ways to achieve this.

Delete, don’t destroy

When a hard drive comes to the end of its life, many believe shredding is the only way to make confidential or sensitive information completely irretrievable. According to the Circular Drive Initiative, millions of storage devices are being shredded each year, even though they could be reused. Of course, data and intellectual property must be protected and adhere to global data privacy laws. However, disposal and shredding are not the only answer, and they are certainly not the most sustainable approach.

Businesses should not preclude safe data deletion. Many hard drives now have built-in encryption and erase capabilities, which means data can be digitally wiped through data sanitization. With the right technology, this can take literally a matter of seconds, and lead to redeployment into the market for many years.

To access the full article, click here.

Why Should Small Businesses Adopt Sustainability As A Core Business Strategy?

Kumar Vijayendra, Forbes.com

If you own or manage a small business, one of the most strategic decisions you should consider is to realign your business strategy and objectives around sustainability. The reason extends beyond altruism and delves into the long-term survival and success of your business. Embracing sustainability in core business strategy can help bring operational efficiency, contribute to daily cost savings, enhance brand reputation, improve customer loyalty, and increase the valuation of your business.

It’s common for leaders to feel they are too busy to spend time on sustainability, that their finances run too thin, or that they are too small to cause an impact. I want to allay those perceptions by presenting a five-factor analysis of why businesses should make this strategic paradigm shift as soon as possible.

1. Customer Base

A business exists for its customers. Whether you are in a B2C or B2B business, the way your customers relate to your business can be transformed by adopting sustainability as your core strategy.

If you have been in a B2C business for some time, you’ve likely already felt the impact of a change in your customer base. Small businesses now cater to a larger share of young people (Gen Z), whose values and purchasing preferences are very focused on sustainable practices and products. If you are a B2B small business serving major corporations, you may have already witnessed your clients demanding or preferring sustainable practices and operations by building it into their supplier codes. There are also a higher number of businesses that wish to partner with more sustainable organizations.

To access the full article, click here.

Island ecosystem once destroyed by rats increases biomass by 2,000%

Lloyd Lee, YahooNews.com, October 1, 2023

Redonda, a small, uninhabited Caribbean island that is part of the commonwealth of Antigua and Barbuda, is on the path to recovering its native ecosystem after being destroyed by invasive species nearly a century ago.

The tiny island of Redonda, about a mile long, was formerly a haven for several species of seabirds.

Its attraction, particularly to birds, such as Brown Boobies and Masked Boobies, made the island a rich source of guano — or seabird excrement — which could be turned into fertilizer and gunpowder.

In the 19th century, the British government deployed more than 100 miners to begin extracting several tons of guano per year, according to Earth Island Journal.

Humans deserted the island around the 1930s, but the mining operations left behind invasive species, mainly domestic goats and stowaway black rats, that wreaked havoc on the island’s ecosystem.

Soon, the island became a barren landscape, earning the nickname “the rock” from adjacent locals, BBC reported.

“Much like they have done elsewhere in the world, the rats and goats contributed to the deforestation and desertification of Redonda and are blamed for the extinction of the endemic skink and iguana, as well as the extirpation of the Antiguan burrowing owl on the island,” according to the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG), an Antigua and Barbuda NGO. “By 2012, the ecosystem was so severely degraded that even the feral goats were starving to death.”

In 2016, environmental groups such as EAG launched restoration efforts to bring back the local plant life and animal species native to the island.

To access the full article, click here.

rStream to pilot AI-driven recycling technology with UMass Dining Services

Deanne Toto, RecyclingToday.com, October 2, 2023

A robotics company focused on waste management and recycling is rolling out a pilot program with UMass Dining Services to test the ability of its artificial intelligence (AI) to identify in real-time the material in the waste stream.

Ian Goodine and Ethan Walko, rStream founders, will present their technology, dubbed AuditPRO, Oct. 17 during an invite-only session at 4:30 in the UPub. However, members of the press and the community can join a demonstration at 5:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Campus Center.

Goodine and Walko began investigating solutions for waste in 2020 during their mechanical engineering senior design project at UMass Amherst. During their master’s studies, they formally co-founded rStream, further developed the idea through the I-Corps @ UMass program of the Institute of Applied Life Sciences, which helps students and others on campus turn their technological discoveries into real-world products and services, and sought out grant funding from the National Science Foundation to support their continued R&D.

“The big problem in recycling is people just don’t put stuff in the right bin,” Goodine says. This often leads to capture rates of only 30 percent and contamination in recycling bins.

The computer vision and robotic innovations in rStream’s technology will take the guesswork away from consumers, according to a news release from UMass Amherst.

“The world rStream wants to make is one where consumers put everything in a single bin and automation does the rest,” Goodine says. “Instead of 30 percent, this technology could ensure 90 to 100 percent of recyclables are being picked up by waste haulers and made into new products.”

To access the full article, click here.