By Matt Wilbourn – Co-Founder www.uanditrade.com

If someone offered to send you on a vacation for a couple of days and all you had to do was save your cans and bottles for a year, would you do it?

Most of us would say yes; that sounds like a great deal. In reality, this is something that you can do today! All you have to do turn in your bottles and cans to a center that will pay you for them and then take the trip at the end of the year: your reward for your hard work.

In eleven of our states we have what they call a “bottle bill” to ensure a high rate of recycling or reuse. This bill requires us to pay $.05 or $.10 every time we buy a beverage in a can or bottle from the store. Where I live we have curbside recycling and up until now my family has thrown our cans and bottles away in the blue recycle bin. While doing so helps the environment, it also gives these items to our county who recycles them for money. If my family turned in our bottles and cans to a redemption center, however, we would recoup our money.

When do the math, the numbers start to add up:

34 clean aluminum cans make up 1 pound which would be worth $1.80**

32 plastic bottles makes up 1 pound* which would be worth $2.08**

If you drink a lot of soda or bottled water and you turn them in for money you will make extra cash that your family can use.

With this money you surely could take a trip somewhere and use the money you earned recycling to pay for a portion of the trip. Who knows; you might be able to pay for the whole thing! Other options might be to save this money for family night or start a college fund for your kids.

Not only is it important to recycle, it’s important to become an advocate of “bottle bills” in your state. “Bottle Bills” provide money to be a part of the bigger solution and get involved! Below is a website that is looking for your signature on a petition to create a National Bottle Bill.

http://www.bottlebill.org/

About the writer,

Matt Wilbourn is the Co-Founder of www.uanditrade.com (U and I Trade) where families go to trade all of the stuff they have outgrown. Much like aluminum cans and plastic bottles the used clothes you have are worth something when you are finished with them. It’s up to you to get this value out of them.

Parents using the site today save hundreds if not thousands of dollars on their clothing needs per year. The items they are receiving are all in excellent condition. Parents aren’t stopping at trading clothes, they are trading books, toys and even adult clothing as well.

*Plastic bottles vary in size and weight this was based on a 1 pt plastic bottle

**Based on the cash calculator at http://www.bottlesandcans.com

After searching the web, I have come up with 5 tips that will help you become a better recycler.

1. Know Your Plastics. Not all plastics are made the same. Even though it is sometimes hard to read, the little number that goes with the recycle symbol is really telling you something.

One of the best links I have found to explain the differences between the numbers is below. This website has great pictures and tells you what can be done with the item after it’s been recycled.

Go to:

http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/recycling-symbols-plastics-460321

1. Rinse Your Containers. This sounds simple but it really helps out the recycling world!

By rinsing your items correctly, you will be removing all impurities, including food scraps, that must be separated from the glass, plastic, tin or aluminum to ensure a high quality material that will be used in a new product.

1. Recycle your Styrofoam. Yes, it can now be recycled. I had no clue until I started doing some research on it. Styrofoam is some of the worst stuff on earth. Just think about how much space it takes in the landfills.

I found a site that has a list of recycle centers you can download.

Go to: http://www.epspackaging.org/info.html (under locations download PDF)

Don’t forget most of the neighborhood shipping centers like (UPS Stores) will take your clean shipping peanuts.

1. Get money for Computers (E-Waste). Everyone has to have the fastest, best new gadget right! I am very guilty of this and always want the new model. Until recently I would just sit on my old stuff or sell it on an auction site. But now I have started to trade it in.

The link below is for a company Costco works with, and they will pay the shipping for the old product to their warehouse. Based on the estimated value they will give you a Costco gift card for that amount.

http://costcotrades.greensight.com/Common/equiptypes.aspx?SiteXfrMsg=0

Another recycle program is at Game Stop

Game Stop will trade in your old games and systems. Just bring your old systems/games to them, and they will give you money towards a new system. My daughter just got a new Nintendo and I was surprised by how much she saved by trading in her old one.

http://www.gamestop.com/

1. Recycle your Clothes. Think of all the stuff in your closet and your kid’s closet. How much are you really wearing? What fits? What doesn’t fit? When you start to think about it most people wear about 35% of their total wardrobe.

There are many different ways to recycle clothes:

Trade them on sites like www.uanditrade.com. This site is the best site for parents to trade their families’ used items. I say this because I am the Co-Founder of the site. Trading items with other people online is great because your network of available items is that much greater. The site is free for members to use, and no money is ever exchanged between members.

Another option is to donate your clothes to a woman’s shelter. They are always in need of clothes for moms and children. Most moms come to the shelters with only the clothes they are wearing.

Other options include putting them on consignment, donating them to a thrift store, or giving them to a friend. Whatever you do, just make sure they go to someone who will use them.

I hope you find this information helpful and useful for your day to day recycling habits. If you have any comments or suggestions, please send them my way!

When I was little I could remember driving down the freeway in Northern California and seeing people throw their fast food trash out the window. I remember it didn’t happen once it happened all the time. Somewhere along the way as I was growing up we as a community started to become aware of all of the damage we were doing to the community by “trashing” it and condemned this activity making it socially unacceptable.

No longer do we see this on a regular basis but you do see it on occasion, but it’s the exception not the rule. When I do see it, 90% of the time it’s a younger person who just hasn’t been given the correct guidance.

One of these times I was with my daughters and we observed a young man probably 9^th grade throwing his Styrofoam cup into the bushes. I turned around and told him to pick it up, he was with his girlfriend so he felt the need to say no. But I persisted and told him I would follow him home if he didn’t and that it was wrong to litter. He finally did and his girlfriend helped him see his wrong ways.

The reason for my story is what if more people turned around, what if more people said something when they see people litter on our streets, parks, or anywhere else. Maybe this young man would think twice about littering again, maybe he would say something to his friends.

As parents by openly condemning this we send our children a strong message, we tell them it’s unacceptable and to hold their friends accountable. When I am out with my daughters at a restraint who uses Styrofoam, I ask why? Why do you use something that wont breakdown?

I guess the bottom line is we all have choices about the products we use and the how we recycle them. Just remember your children are watching and will follow your example. Give them the best gift a parent can give….the gift of being a responsible eco-friendly person.

Matt the author of this is the Co-Founder of www.uanditrade.com. Uanditrade is a place where parents trade families used clothing, used books, used toys and so much more. It’s completely free for parents to trade on the site. Trading items is a unique solution to today’s economy and solves many issues with pulling too many of the earths natural resources. For more information go to www.uanditrade.com.

Instead of using money to make trades happen, Uanditrade uses a point system to conduct transactions. Uanditrade is a completely free site, the only money someone would use is to ship an item to another member.

The biggest challenge with trading items is for parent to get rid of the stigma of “My kid has to have new stuff”. Somewhere in the last 70 years, accepting used clothing, used books or used toys became socially unacceptable.

As a young man myself I remember getting a pair of jeans from the boy across the street and I didn’t want to wear them because I went to school with him and people might recognize the jeans as his, embarrassing me (I was in 4th grade). Now as an adult I have several items that have been gently used that I wear. One of them is my favorite Sport Coat that I get complements on all the time.

That is the best part about UandITrade, you can trade with people across the nation and now your item is NEW TO YOU and nobody needs to know how you got it if you don’t want to tell them.

One other stigma about used clothing I hear about is, “oh, used clothing it’s going to be stained and torn up”. When I hear that, I wonder how that person takes care of their stuff. My family takes great pride in caring for their items and so do the members on UandItrade . I have personally received beautiful dresses and clothes that I feel great sending my daughter to school in. Just remember used doesn’t mean damaged.

Next time your son or daughter grows out of something, ask yourself if it still fit would you let them wear it. If the answer is yes, trade it online at UandITrade.com

Fresno Ca- Moms across the nation are taking control of their family’s finances by finding ways to save money while helping the environment at the same time. A new website, www.uanditrade.com, has emerged at this perfect time to aid parents in their quest. The concept of UandItrade.com is simple: trade the stuff families have.

Leslie a user from Winchester, CA says, “The site has helped me save money by trading the clothes my kids have outgrown for new clothes. I no longer need to buy “new” at the retail stores; I can recycle my items and do something good for our environment. Since joining the site, I have saved hundreds of dollars on clothing for my daughter. I have received Gymboree dresses, Gap outfits and many other name brand items.”

UandItrade is the brainchild of Matt Wilbourn, a Medical Supply Salesman and father of three. Born from frustration and financial burden, Wilbourn sought a viable solution to recycle barely used items and afford the new items his children so badly needed.

“Families are looking for ways to save every dollar due to the mortgage crisis and increasing gas prices,” Matt says. “Why do we feel the need to buy clothes and other family items BRAND NEW? We buy used cars and we buy used houses. Why not trade perfectly good clothes?” Matt questions.

According to several studies the U.S. accounts for 5% of the total population; however, we use 25% of the earth’s resources. We need to make changes now to make this world a viable place for our children and their children. UandItrade helps do this by giving people a place to basically recycle their clothes and other items by trading them. With over 4,000 members and almost 4,000 items, everyone will find something they will like for their child or themselves.

Cheri from Rochelle, IL says “I can afford new clothes for my child, and trading clothes is the prudent thing to do given the fact that the textile manufacturing process is so toxic. By trading we will be able to reduce the demand for clothes which will reduce the environmental impact by the manufacturers.”

Along with trading clothes, UandItrade moms find support from other moms in the forum. Lori Levine, says “I can’t believe how our membership has grown in the forum. We have a caring and supportive group of members who come together to laugh, trade information, and support each other. Currently we are hosting a Weight Loss Challenge which will certainly inspire everyone to lead healthier lives. This site is about more than trading; it’s about a community which continues to grow!”

UandItrade.com formally announced today the official launch of their national e-trading site geared towards parents with growing families. The purpose of the site is to trade anything and everything relating to children including clothing, toys, nursery items etc. Though UandItrade.com can be likened to the powerhouse eBay, gone are the excessive fees and expenses to both buyers and sellers. UandItrade.com is solely based on a point system with no money exchanging hands. There is no cost to list and the site is economically responsible by supporting itself solely through advertising. The current demographics of UandItrade.com users come from states all over the country and every economic strata.

“Just because you have all the money in the world doesn’t mean you can’t be prudent in what you buy” says Deborah Moore, a California UandItrade.com member.

UandItrade is the brainchild of Matt Wilbourn, a Medical Supply Salesman of Fresno and father of three. Born from the frustration and financial burden of constantly replacing barely used items, Matt sought to find a viable solution for people just like him. In the face of global warming, national environmental concerns and a recession, UandItrade.com couldn’t come at a better time. No group is harder hit financially than Parents since children outgrow things at an exponential rate. From an environmental perspective, this same group is churning out the largest amount of waste. UandItrade.com is a concrete and palatable solution to both reduce environmental waste and lighten the financial load of Parents in any economic bracket. However, some parents still carry the antiquated belief that “used” is inferior and socially undesirable.

Says Denyse, a UandItrade member from Massachusetts, “It’s time to make a cultural shift from the days of excess. Even if you are financially able, it’s irresponsible to demand everything be ‘new’ and ‘improved’. There is so much out there in perfectly good condition! So what if someone else wore it or used it first.”

The fact remains that UandItrade.com is re-opening an old venue which deserves wholehearted support in light of current environmental conditions. It is well documented that textile manufacturing is in fact one of the top toxic industries. Some of the bigger environmental organizations, like Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund, have been very vocal about the chemicals used in clothing manufacturing. Among the dossier of chemical agents used are formaldehyde, sulfuric acid and the like. By reducing just the demand for new clothing, a family can drastically reduce the environmental load. All in all it’s a win-win situation.

For more information, please visit the website www.uanditrade.com.