Six Ways Greenwood Hardware, Your Local Hardware Store, is Going Green

It feels great to do something good for the people around you in your community. Maybe you like to volunteer at the local soup kitchen or donate food to the food bank. Cleaning up trash around the block is another way to make your little corner of the world a little brighter and more beautiful. The businesses in your community are also doing what they can to make it a better place. Our team at Greenwood Hardware has been working hard to make our community a little greener as well.

How are we doing that, you wonder? It is with the help and support of our amazing community that we have managed to put up some pretty impressive recycling numbers. Check them out!

Fluorescent bulbs recycling

Pickup is now paid for through the fees collected at the time of sale of all fluorescent bulbs in Washington. This means no fee is charged to our customers when they drop off bulbs. We can take up to 10 bulbs per person per day. Some statistics on the number of bulbs recycled thus far; before 2015 – 31,114 fluorescent bulbs recycled. Since 2015 – 854 lbs. recycled. Fees for 3,358 bulbs have been charged so far. Many people don’t know this, but it is illegal to throw these bulbs into the trash. Over time, they break down and release mercury into the air, soil and water.

Solar Power

Since solar was installed at Greenwood Hardware, we have used a total of 71,298 kWh of electricity and created 24,187 kWh of electricity. This is equal to 33.9% of our electrical usage! Solar was installed during our remodel and was fully online around March of 2013. It was sized to provide 15% of our energy needs, but with other improvements and last year’s better than average sun, we have been able to double our expected projections.

Call2Recycle

Small electronic and rechargeable batteries are deposited into the Call2Recycle box located in our store and shipped back to them. This program is free to us. So far, 860 lbs of rechargeable batteries have been recycled along with 139 cell phone batteries. As part of the All Battery Sales initiative, we offer alkaline/primary cell battery recycling as well (Greenwood Hardware pays per pound of pickup). There is no charge to our customers. In total, we have recycled 1229.1 lbs. of batteries. Batteries will leak chemicals into the ground over time. They should always be properly disposed of in a recycling bin where they will be handled appropriately.

Earth Corps

We hosted an electronics recycling box at the front of the store for Earth Corps. Earth Corps provides youth programs and education in environmental stewardship and leadership.  Four large boxes worth of electronics were picked up for reuse/recycle by volunteers with Earth Corps. Electronics should never be placed into the trash. They can leak harmful toxins and chemicals into the environment, which could pollute ground water and the very air we breathe.

Northwest Center

We host a donation bin for Northwest Center. It accepts primarily clothing, but also other durable goods. Northwest Center is a “non-profit organization that expands the skills, independence and opportunities of children and adults with disabilities.” Since putting the donation bin up, we have collected over 100 bags of donations in just the past three months.

Water Heater Recycling

Greenwood Hardware installs over 700 water heaters every year. We always include both installation and tank removal with our services. So far, we have sent 700 water heaters to a metal recycling facility, which keeps them out of our landfills.

You don’t have to try and save the world, but you can make a difference by changing the way you get rid of things that are broken or no longer usable. Keeping potentially dangerous items out of the landfills is a huge step in the right direction to leaving our earth a little greener and safer for future generations. If you have old batteries, head into Greenwood Hardware and drop them off in the appropriate bin. Come on in, or contact us to learn more about our recycling programs today.