What we are doing matters

Seth Goden often gives a reason to laugh or learn that makes you stop and smile and think that what we are doing for our life is well...... not to bad

-When you love the work you do and the people you do it with, you matter.
-When you are so gracious and generous and aware that you think of other people before yourself, you matter.
-When you leave the world a better place than you found it, you matter.
-When you continue to raise the bar on what you do and how you do it, you matter.
-When you teach and forgive and teach more before you rush to judge and demean, you matter. -When you touch the people in your life through your actions (and your words), you matter. --When kids grow up wanting to be you, you matter.
-When you see the world as it is, but insist on making it more like it could be, you matter.
-When you inspire a Nobel prize winner or a slum dweller, you matter.
-When the room brightens when you walk in, you matter.
And when the legacy you leave behind lasts for hours, days or a lifetime, you matter.

Dirty and Ugly

For years we have been recycling cell phones for hundreds of wireless carriers and non profits. We have seen everything and have a smorgasbord of funny units on our wall fame so this article recently published in PC World was a good read.

Get into gear

This is better than good advise that Seth Godin has given us. As a medium sized business owner you look for creative motivational tools everyday to grow your business and to make yourself and your employees prosper. You coach and coach every day but changing some of the elementary ways you began business and where and how you grow tomorrow is needed and the suggestions below are perfect to break it up:

-Buy a competitor
-Sell to a competitor
-Publish your best work for free online
-Close your worst-performing locations
Open a new branch in a high-traffic location
-Hire the best salesperson away from the competition
-Join the competition
-Host a conference for your competitors
-Fire the 80% of your customers that account for 20% of your sales
-Start a blog
-While looking for a job, spend 40 hours a week volunteering and freelancing for good causes
-Go on tour and visit your best customers in person
-Answer the customer service line for a day
-Let the most junior person in the organization run things for a day
-Delete your website and start over with the simplest possible site
-Call former employees and ask for advice
-Move to Thailand
-Listen to audio books in your car instead of the radio
-Sell your cash cow division to the competition and invest everything in the new thing
-Find more products for your existing customers to buy
-Become a gadfly and tell the truth about your industry
-Quit your job
-Move your operations to another city
-Have all meetings in a room with no chairs, and everyone wears a bathrobe over their clothes
-Open your offices only four hours a day
-Open your offices 24 hours a day for a week
-Find every project that is near the danger zone (in terms of p&l or deadlines) and cancel it, no -appeals
-Go for a walk during lunch
-Get an RSS reader and read a lot more blogs
-Go offline for longer than you thought possible
-Write five thank you notes every day
-Stop sending spam
-Do your work somewhere else. Set up your chiropractic table at the mall
-Have everyone at work switch offices
-Give your most valuable possessions to a stranger
-Start a company scrapbook and take daily notes
-Hire a firm to make a documentary about your organization
-Buy some art
-Make some art.
-Do the work.

Cell Phone Shipments Down 20% in 2009

With out a doubt Matt Richtel from the New York Times hit the nail on the head in his recent article "This Old Phone? Good Enough for Me." People in this challenging economic downturn, if that is what you want to call it, are pinching everywhere they can. And ultimately, a phone is a phone is a phone. If it dials out and can send a text, then it is probably good enough for today.

For cell phone recyclers and wholesalers, at least for the time-being this seems to mean that sales of used equipment are up. One thing we've noticed is that a lot of people are turning to pre-paid phones - in some cases we've seen sales from pre-paids quadruple from Q4 2008. Going month-to-month is a safe and easy change for people who have lost their job or who are insecure about committing that extra year contract.

Whether 2009 has you buying a brand-new iPhone or hanging onto that old piece with the cracked screen and duct-tape, I hope manufacturers and carriers are looking into their crystal balls to see how they can help consumers through this recession and prepare us all for a more positive outlook in 2010.

'Lets Ride' The last day of the Colorado ski season

So the last weekend of the season was upon us but I70 was closed. We were packed and ready to go Friday night but every weather and news report focused in on Colorado making the journey impossible. We are up 6am Saturday in route even though all indications were that the road wasn’t going to open. We took the US 40 frontage road as far as possible until we saw the gate on the freeway entrance. We sat with a few other snowboarding faithful and locals of Genesee planning their assault West. One hour passed then another and then a sign of hope. A big rig wrecker breezes by and shouts that we are about good to go. He hooks his rig to a long hauler just down the hill and begins to creep away.

The gate to enter I70 is still down but the Jeep has been running for an hour. Jason Gelfand, Kiel Hebert and I have our eyes fixed firmly on the highway that was just a hundred yards away. We see a Tahoe, then a Suburban, then a Discovery. These were no state regulated vehicles. With a heavy foot I blow by the gate. By the time I am down the on-ramp I see about 50 cars ahead of me and like a rally racer I hit the gas attempt to take the lead.

I pull into the parking lot in Breckenridge, throw my boots on and scurry to the gondola. I am excited! In my years of running the I70 gauntlet has God ever put together a last weekend such as this? Gondola to the Rocky Mountain Super Chair to the t-bar to the Imperial express and a hike to the top. On April 18 we stood at 12,998 feet in elevation with the whole mountain in front of us.

The wind and snow is furious. It was cold but your focus is only on the next step. I couldn’t have been breathing heavier but Jason and I looked at each other, smiled, took a moment’s pause and said ‘Lets Ride’.

I take my hat off to the workers at cdot for clearing the roads of ice and stranded motorists Friday night. If it were not for their dedication to one of the hardest professions in Colorado and their coordination with local law enforcement we would have never had the best closing day in all my years of living in this great state.

Party for the Planet for E-Waste Recyclers

Pay attention to this event and it is two fold smart. Not only is the San Francisco Zoo holding a electronics recycling drive for for free admission, it is giving discounts for those who ride their bicycles. Events such as these give the choice in two different but equally important ways to contribute to be eco friendly while at the same time running a great promotion to sell tickets for their zoo.

The San Francisco Zoo will be having a “Party for the Planet” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow, which includes a self-guided scavenger hunt, green-themed music and puppet performances, and a sneak preview of Disneynature's Earth.

Attendees bicycling to the event will receive $2 off admission, and those who drive and recycle their electronics at the event's e-waste collection site on Herbst Road from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. will receive one free admission per car.

NBA to kick off its first "green week" Thursday

I appreciate guys like Steve Nash of the NBA who are truly trying to make an impact and set the example for others in his sport. His quotes from this USA Today story are a refreshing change from the excesses of many professional athletes. Professional sports needs an athlete to take a lead and I hope we have more to follow in the footprint he is trying to make.

Senior Center is communicating the Cause

Read up on the Pottsville Pennsylvania Senior Centers recycling and fundraising efforts in the Republican Herold

Can You Find Me Now?

For the post paid people of the world who would actually want to be found if an emergency were to hit, you will find a helpful list if tips and tricks that will help save your life.

Tips for helping police and rescue workers find you in an emergency:

-Don't hang up. When you call 911, the longer you keep the line open, the better the chance emergency personnel will find you.
-Tell operators your location as soon as possible. Be specific.
-Ask your cellular provider what method they use to locate 911 calls on your phone.
-Consider replacing phones more than 2 years old. Newer phones have GPS chips that can tell 911 operators your location.
-If you live in a rural area, pick a phone with GPS rather than triangulation as its location method. Rural areas have fewer towers, which makes it harder to fix your position.

For those of you who want to stay off the radar of law enforcement whether they are there to help save your live or not; stick to your prepaid non GPS devise.

Greening your exercise routine

Being a middle aged environmentalist entrepreneur and avid gym rat, I found Katherine Thompson's article on greening your exercise routine a really fun and informative.

-Don't drive to work out, if you can help it. Work out at home or nearby. If you're a gymgoer, join one within walking or biking distance of your home. Added bonus: You'll be more likely to go if it's closer. Or join one near work so you can make it part of your daily routine without adding more car miles. If you're racing, try to carpool or take public transportation.
-At the gym, don't be a towel hog. Just because you aren't the one doing the laundry doesn't mean it's OK to use four towels per shower at the local Y. Better yet, bring your own, and wash it once a week.
-Be aware of your equipment. Some manufacturers are attempting to use more sustainable materials and practices; patronize them. Brooks, for example, now makes a running shoe with a midsole that decomposes in a landfill a lot faster than those in other shoes. You can also buy exercise apparel made of recycled polyester, organic cotton, or wool.
-Recycle what you can. Don't ditch old shoes and clothes; wear them as long as you can, and then donate them to charity or recycle them. (To find out how to recycle or donate old shoes, go to www.runnersworld.com/donate.) It goes without saying you should recycle plastic drink bottles; better yet, use your own refillable one as much as possible.
-Reduce your gear consumption. Ignore some of the shiny new products, and make do with what you have. As a bonus, this will save you money. (Here's a list of 5 ways your workout can weather the recession.) And when you do a race, don't take the goody bag or free T-shirt if you're just going to throw it away in a few months.
-Buy food and drink in bulk. Sports bars, gels, and drinks are sold in conveniently small packages that you can take along on your ride or hike. But instead, buy the largest sizes available, then chop up bars, put gels in a refillable flask, and use your own bottle for liquids.
-Don't pollute. While you're training or racing, do what campers do and pack out waste until you can find a place to trash, compost, or recycle it. You can go above and beyond by devoting, say, one hike or run a month to cleaning up the trash left by others on your favorite route.

Colorado needs additional recycling outlets

Please watch this clip of a Denver News program promoting an effort for Denver residents to recycle used electronics. The video is evidence that we need more stationary recycling kiosks placed around the front range. We at Cellular Recycler are making strides for the small electronics and the recovery of assets for non profits and wireless carriers but we it is evident Americans are looking for a structured way to recycle large old electronics.


KUSA - The event turnout was so big, 9NEWS collected 25 semi-trucks full of old electronics.

Some people waited in line for more than a few hours to turn in their used electronics. The turnout was so huge, some people had to be turned away. People were showing up with truckloads of old electronics and 9NEWS had to close all 5 drop-off locations early. 9NEWS, Waste Management, Comcast and LG Electronics provided this service for free. For those who did turn their electronics in, thank you. For those who were not able to participate, but tried to make the effort, we thank you too. 9NEWS is in discussions and hopes to hold another Electronics Recycling Event.

Simmons Bank Collecting Used Cell Phones-Fundraiser for Relay for Life

Being a University of Arkansas graduate, it is nice to see a cell phone recycling program we have started here in Colorado has reached back to my home college state.

Simmons Bank is collecting used cell phones as a fund raiser for the Relay for Life.
Collected phones will be sold to Cellular Recycler and proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society during the Relay.

Used cell phones may be dropped off by March 6, 2009 at Simmons Bank in Monticello, Simmons Bank, hte ATT Corporate Store, and Custom Wireless in Monticello.

Sprint’s Ambitious Recycling Goal

Sprint recently announced a new, industry-leading objective to reach a 90 percent phone collection rate for reuse and recycling by 2017.

In 2008, Sprint collected more than three million units. This was equal to 34 percent of devices sold, an increase from 22 percent in 2007. Of the handsets that Sprint collected in 2008, more than 90 percent were reused.

According to the company, the U.S. contains over 270 million cell phone users, and more than 140 million cell phones are discarded every year. Additionally, a recent Sprint survey examining consumers’ mobile phone recycling habits found that nine out of 10 surveyed own at least one, or as many as five, old, unused mobile phones.

Motorola makes "green" play with recycled phone

Motorola has come up with a phone made from recycled water bottles, the company said today, adding that it reduced the handset's carbon footprint from making, distributing and operating the phone by planting trees and investing in alternative-energy technology. T-Mobile USA will begin marketing the W233 phone this quarter.

Green IT resolutions

Harry Fuller and Heather Clancy from their blog Green Tech Pastures offer 10 Green IT Resolutions that businesses will embrace in the coming 12 months: I wrote about money saving ideas for 2009 in November but their take for the new year is definitely worth the read. These ideas are nothing new but I find that even I need to be refreshed on the basics:

-Steal some T&E budget for conferencing technology:
-Support and encourage telecommuting:
-Establish baselines to improve corporate carbon profiles:
-Adopt power management:
-Go paperless:
-Incorporate virtualization and consolidation into routine data center practices:
-Establish an audit trail for e-waste:
-Add “green” metrics to technology evaluation criteria:
-Look to the cloud:
-Insist on a seat during larger corporate green discussions: