Tag: rubber

Why Windshield Wipers Should Be Recyclable

Let's start a Recycling Revolution!

The other day I replaced the Windshield Wipers on my Honda Accord and our Toyota Camry.  After I was done I took all the packaging, and put it in the recycling bin.  I usually try to recycle as much as I can, as I feel this is being a responsible and respectful citizen.

Something occurred to me while I was about to throwout the old Windshield Wipers, Why aren't they recyclable?  Think about this for a moment, there have to be millions upon millions of Windshield Wipers that are replaced every year on all the cars and trucks on our roads.  Then there must be millions and millions of old ones being tossed in the garbage.  All those Windshield Wipers and Wiper Blades are crowding our landfills.  I think they are going there unnecessarily.

Wipers are made of plastic and rubber, meaning they should be able to be recycled easily.  I bet it wouldn't be to hard to reconstitute the plastic and rubber in them.  TV's and old electronics are broken everyday and are given new life in form or new metals, glass, plastic etc..  So why not Windshield Wipers and Wiper Blades?

There might even be savings involved if manufacturers didn't have to spend as much money on buying new materials to make Windshield Wipers and Wiper Blades.  They could be collecting old ones, and breaking them down to be recycle and reused for maker new Wipers.  This would save money and precious resources.  (They would also get extra brownie points from environmentalists!)

To start what I think could be a revolution of recycling Windshield Wipers, I put the old ones in the recycling bin.  I don't know if they will be recycled, but it would be cool if they were!

Please share your thoughts on this.  Do you think Windshield Wipers and Wiper Blades should be recyclable too?

Floormats for my Honda

About 2 weeks ago I bought a set of floormats at Costco for my Accord.  I had been looking and searching for a good set of floormats but had not been able to find anything.  Every set I looked was thin rubber, or a good set with durable thick rubber was $40 or more.  Even the sets I would bought for $40 had odd designs.  It seemed for keeping dirt on the mat they would have been inadequate.  Also lots of floormats have carpeting.  Why do you need carpeting on a floormat?  Doesn't make sense to me.  I checked Sears, Target, Wal-Mart, auto parts stores…everywhere!  All had floormats that would have worked, but not thick ones like I wanted for a reasonable price.

Costco's set of floormats are great!  Thick, durable, and the brown-tan color blends in well with my Honda's interior.  I expect to get a great use out of these mats especially with the bad and wet weather in Baltimore recently.

It was $15 for the set of 4 FloorMats, 2 for the front and 2 for the back.  If you want or need a set of floormats, I would recommend these from Costco.  They have been great for keeping my Honda's carpeting from grime and dirt.  They will prove to be a good invest for a long time.

Going into the cold winter months, floormats are something that would be a wise item to get for your car.  Since a lot of people want to get more mileage out of their cars in this economy.  Obviously floormats won't help your car run better, but will keep it looking fresh and cleaner for longer.

Notice I like to leave as much rubber material on the mats as possible, even for my small 96 Honda Accord.  That way they catch as much dirt and grime as possible, the whole point of the floormats.

Bumper Guard

Would you put this on your car?

I was walking my dogs the other day, and noticed something interesting on a Mini Cooper. As I looked closer I noticed it was a Bumper Guard. Basically it does what you think it does….Protects your bumper!

I thought it was an interesting product.  I think it looks bit funny though, and for suburban drivers I'm not sure if it makes sense.  For city driving though, it's a great idea!

Do you think the Bumper Guard would work well?  How would it work parallel parking it in downtown Baltimore or another city?  The really important question… would you put this on your car?

http://www.bumperguard.org/