Consumerist
-
coinstar
Coinstar Calls Cashing In Change 'Recycling'
Douglas writes, "Coinstar wants you to 'recycle' your coins in their machines, and save the environment! Minus their 8.9% fee of course." They even have a little wizard on their website that estimates how many parts of the environment—water, energy consumption, and geological waste—you save by putting those coins back into circulation, instead of hoarding them like the polar bear murderer you are. They don't provide any source for these estimates, though, and we're not convinced you're doing anything "green" other than lining Coinstar's pockets. More » -
samsclub
Sam's Club Pretends Its Polystyrene Cup Is Green
Gregg saw this cheerful environmentally-friendly message on the side of his Sam's Club soda cup. Wait, what? We guess it saves Sam's Club fuel costs to ship the cups, but that sounds more like a profit-friendly quality. Gregg notes another benefit of the cup: "[it] may never biodegrade but at least it's easy on my drinkin' elbow." More » -
square milk jugs
Will New Square Milk Jugs At Wal-Mart, Costco Save The Planet? Or Spill Your Milk?
Wal-Mart and Costco have something new they'd like you to try— a square milk jug. The NYT says the new square jugs "are cheaper to ship and better for the environment, the milk is fresher when it arrives in stores, and it costs less." So what's the catch? Apparently, while the new jugs are helping cut costs, they kind of suck at pouring milk. More » -
Home Depot has started a nationwide compact flourescent light bulb recycling program. "At each The Home Depot store, customers can simply bring in any expired, unbroken CFL bulbs, and give them to the store associate behind the returns desk." CFL bulbs contain mercury and can be damaging to the environment if thrown into regular landfills. [New York Times]
MORE » -
retail
OfficeMax Calls You A Thief For Trying To Recycle
OfficeMax called Chris a thief for recycling empty printer cartridges. OfficeMax's MaxPerks program gives customers $3 for each empty cartridge they recycle, with a limit of 5 cartridges per customer per day. Chris runs a computer repair business that leaves him flush with empty cartridges. According to one cashier, this makes Chris a thief. More » -
stupid shipping gang
Canon Uses Comically Oversized Box To Send You Something They Could Have Taped To A Postcard
Earlier this week I ordered a part from Canon USA Service for one of my Canon cameras and it arrived today. I am impressed for the fast shipping but not so much by the efficiency of the packaging.
Additional photo inside. More » -
stupid shipping gang
Dell Still Ships Tiny Items In Massive Boxes
From the looks of David's package, Dell isn't close to honoring its promise to switch to alternative packaging within the next two months. This obscenely large box contained nothing more than a 2GB flash drive. David's son snapped a few pictures, which appear as an eerie slideshow after the jump.
More »
-
corporate crime
Nestle Paying $230 To Suck Millions Of Gallons Of Water From Florida Until 2018
Despite fierce opposition from the local water management district staff, and concerns that it would deplete an already scarce natural resource from the people who live there, Nestle managed to secure a deal to pump nearly 1.5 million gallons of water a day into their Deer Park bottling plant for the next ten years. Nestle pays no other fees for the water beyond the $230 license—in fact, "Nestle has received two [tax] refunds totaling $196,000 and requested a third tax refund." To make the matter even more offensive, the plant hasn't delivered on its commitment to employ 300 workers, and it so far has failed to bring in the estimated $12 million-a-year to the local economy. The St. Petersburg Times has a rich, infuriating history of the Nestle fiasco and how they've conned Floridians out of their own water with the help of state politicians. More » -
-
polls
Should American Airlines Have Flown Five Overbooked Passengers Across The Atlantic In An Empty Plane?
American Airlines managed to rebook all but five passengers after canceling one of its four daily flights from Chicago to London. The five still needed to get to London, so American rustled up an empty plane and invited everyone up to business class. Seems nice, but Friends of the Earth is outraged that American burned 22,000 gallons of fuel for five passengers. Great customer service or eco-scandal? Vote in our poll, after the jump. More » -
junk mail
"Do Not Mail" Junk Mail Registry Called For By Green Group
ForestEthics has started a petition to enact a Do Not Mail registry, similar to the one that's sort of in effect (when marketers choose to abide by it) for telemarketing. Their reasoning: junk mail is enormously wasteful and damaging to the environment. We agree, but we're in favor of the registry for the simple reason that less junk mail means fewer uninvited distractions, ID theft risks, and trash we'd have to deal with every day. More » -
milk
Save The Planet: Buy Big Bags Of Milk
Other countries cut down on the amount of plastic used to package milk by buying it in big plastic bags and storing it in a reusable milk pitcher in the fridge. More » -
stupid shipping gang
Amazon: Let's Ship The Flat Wrist Rest In A Giant Box
"I wonder if other readers have experienced the wasteful excessive packaging used by Amazon.com. I recently ordered a Gel Wrist Rest and a hardcover book (to qualify for free shipping). The two items were shipped to me separately, probably because they were coming from different warehouses. Though that itself is wasteful, I can understand why it may be necessary. But when the Wrist Rest arrived, it came in a GIANT box filled with paper stuffing (see photo). The box measured 24" x 12" x 18". The wrist rest is about 20" long, but flat. Is it possible that a company that sells all of its various products by mail doesn't have a long flat box that could have been used instead?" More » -
environment
Whole Foods Will Eliminate Plastic Bags, Says "Bring Your Own"
Whole Foods says that by Earth Day 2008 they will be eliminating plastic bags and instead offer only paper bags or reusable bags made from recycled plastic bottles for $0.99. More » -
stupid shipping gang
Dell: Let's Ship Tiny CDs In Massive Boxes!
Dell has promised to stop shipping individual CDs in 10x19x10 boxes after Christian over at Technologist for Hire posted a rant about Dell's growing love for wasteful packaging. More » -
If you live in Texas, have a car that's over 10 years old or has failed an emissions test, and you don't make much money, you could qualify for a $3,500 voucher to be used towards the purchase of a new car. [TCEQ]
-
environment
"Green" Walmart Has Decorative Moldings Made From "The Leg Holes In Disposable Diapers"
The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the first of Walmart's new "high efficiency" stores is slated to open Jan 23, in Romeoville, IL. It's part of Walmart's super awesome PR-tastic, yet characteristically stingy plan to make its stores 25 to 30 percent more energy efficient by 2009. More » -
manufacturing
Poison: The High Cost Of Cheap Batteries
Cadmium batteries are cheap and safe to use, but hazardous to manufacture. They'll save you money—about $1.50 for the average cadmium-powered toy, says the Wall Street Journal. More »
environment
New York, 10:18 PM
Sun Nov 22
7 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip Your Editors:
tips@consumerist.com
tipline: 347-42C-ON95
Co-Managing Editor:
Ben Popken
Email | AIM | Twitter
Co-Managing Editor:
Meghann Marco
Email | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Chris Walters
Email | Twitter
Weekend Editor:
Laura Northrup
Email | AIM | Twitter
Associate Editor:
Alex Chasick | Email
Associate Editor:
Phil Villarreal
Email
