Electronic waste is a big environmental issue, and we’ve covered numerous ways that both electronics companies and consumers can reduce the amount of e-waste headed for landfills. While most recent efforts focus on reuse and/or recycling (which are both important), Israeli site FixYa harnesses "crowd power" (ie, social media) to help people fix their electronics rather than disposing of them. The main motivation behind FixYa was the increasing lack of technical support provided for consumer electronics, but Yaniv Ben Saadon told us that there’s a green element to the site’s mission:

By allowing more and more consumers to successfully operate and mend their products, FixYa decreases the number of products that are discarded and eventually pollute our environment. Although globalization and competition drive the average consumption of consumer products to increase over time, the usability of these products decreases as they become more technologically advanced and challenging to operate. Moreover, since manufacturers are under growing pressure to release their products to their markets, often these products are mass produced before they are properly designed. The result is that the products we buy are cheaper than they were before, yet more challenging to operate.

From gaming systems to washing machines, FixYa’s user have already provided a wide range of "fix-it" advice. Ben Saadon shared with us some of the most popular problems, and the highest-ranked solutions, addressed on the site.

1. A Clacking Xbox with Three Flashing Red Lights

User Carl26 walks a panicked gamer through the process of fixing this problem with the GPU memory.

2. Another Flashing Light… on a Kenmore Dish Washer

Expert qqwweer shows how to reset the light.

3. Ipod Keeps Displaying "Do Not Disconnect"

User Yung offers four different approaches to this problem.

4. Sansa MP3 Player Won’t Turn On

User chrism provides a really simple solution to this really aggravating problem.

5. DVD Player’s P-SCAN Split-Screen Keeps Coming On

User spyder99 shows that sometimes a solution is as easy as flipping a switch… if you know where that switch is located.

These are just a few examples of how FixYa’s brand of social media provides solutions for users’ pocketbooks and the envionment. Ben Saadon notes

Through the collaboration of a community of consumers, FixYa encourages its users to learn from the experience of others on how to properly use and fix their products. The result is that more and more consumers are able to successfully operate their existing products rather than replace them with newer ones, and thus help to reduce the number of products that ended up polluting our environment.

And, if throwing your problem out to the community isn’t your style, FixYa also features a massive collection of manuals and troubleshooting guides.

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls… come right in for another edition of the Greenest Show on the Web: the Carnival of the Green! Fresh off of a stellar performance at Ms. Malaprop, the Carnival’s here at Green Options this week to amaze and delight you. But don’t wait around — the show has a limited engagement here, and then it’s moving on for a stint with our friends at Greener Magazine.

What’s the Carnival of the Green (or COTG, as we green bloggers like to call it)? It’s a roundup of some of the best posts on green blogs from the past week. Always moving, the COTG stops for a visit on a green blog every Monday. The Carnival was the brainchild of Al Tepper, publisher extraordinaire at City Hippy, and Nick Aster, the man behind (and often in front) of the curtain at Triplepundit. These days, our friends at Treehugger play tour manager for the Carnival.

Now that we’ve got the formalities out of the way, let’s get on with the show. And if you’re suffering from a case of the Mondays, here’s a little music to put you in that carnival mood…. wherever you are.

The Hall of Science

Come on in, and take a gander at the latest technological wonders. Won’t cost you a dime…

We’ve got a double-header from EcoGeek this week. Want some help adjusting your driving to save fuel? Hank and co. take a look at the Fuel Mizer, which can monitor your stops and starts for you. And if you’re a walker (which we hope you are!), two students at MIT are just won a prize to harvest the energy from your footsteps (yep, we covered that one, too).

The Naib, over at The Sietch, investigates the Watercone, a device that uses solar energy to desalinate water. This piece of simple technology could do a lot of good for people without easy access to fresh water.

For the Dedicated Followers of Fashion…

We’ve got some Fall previews, and some new looks.

The Natural Collection is predicting an ethical Autumn as they roll out their Fall fashions online. Keep an eye on their site, as they promise "some fantastic giveaways, competitions and freebies" are on the way.

Nature Mom Tiffany Washko takes a look at some furnishings (particularly beds) that are both green and stylish.

Inhabitat shows us how designer Stephan Boltz gives a second life (and new sense of style) to airplane trolleys.

And speaking of reuse, our own Victoria E. shows us how the Broken Plate Pendant Co. turns "useless" china into unique pieces of jewelry (on her own blog).

The Carnival’s Trade Show

Catch the latest trends in green business and finance.

Sox First has a podcast interview with Erik Mather, managing director of Regnan, on the growing pressure for companies "…to come clean on their contingent liabilities that include environmental, sustainability and governance risks."

Great Green Gadgets expresses some skepticism about carbon offsets, particularly those involving tree planting. Doesn’t mean they’re against planting trees, though… even guerrilla style!

And the Savvy Vegetarian shares a post from market gardener Jocelyn Engman on the importance of supporting local farmers.

Time for a Break… and a Beer

All this carnivaling can make you thirsty…

GO’s Gavin Hudson shares some tips on making your own eco-friendly brew: cheers!

And the Green Cougar points to that inevitable post-college dilemma for green grads: aluminum cans or glass bottles?

The Medicine Show

Health and safety stories with a green tint.

Allie’s Answers takes note of some of the potential dangers presented by manufactured nanoparticles in sunscreens.

The Environmental Working Group’s Enviroblog presents a video on the danger that still exist from arsenic-treated lumber used for decks and playsets.

Finally, at sustainablog (my other blog), I took a look at an editorial in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune claiming that greener development of transportation infrastructure could create less wear and tear on roads and bridges (so they’re less likely collapse!).

Get a Glimpse of Far-Away Lands…

A couple of our participants in the Carnival this week share some travel information and experiences.

Intelligent Travel spotlights several green hotels you might want to consider on your next getaway.

Sally Kneidel of Veggie Revolution recounts her visit (complete with some great photos) to the South African village of Welverdiend

The Souvenir Stand

If you must buy, make sure it’s sustainable.

The Millionaire Mommy Next Door claims that "Memories are made of the things we do, not the things we buy." We couldn’t agree more!

La Marguerite reminices on times past when we didn’t throw away so much stuff.

And Green LA Girl takes a look at some eco-friendly claims made by some companies about their products, and shows that a little digging often chips the green gilding off of these fairly ordinary items.

Finally, Take a Stroll Down the Midway…

You never know what you may find.

INNside Innkeeping in Montana highlights efforts by Xanterra Parks and Resorts, the owner of hotels and restaurants inside a number of state and national parks, to green up their own operations. That’s right… Yellowstone is going green…

Maria Energia, the blog of our own Maria Surma Manka, considers the implications of recently-announced renewable energy deals by BP.

Jetson Green takes a look at an ancient case of urban sprawl, and wonders if it provides some insight into more recent calamities such as post-Katrina flooding in New Orleans, and the bridge collapse in Minnesota.

In another post, Intelligent Travel offers its congratulations to Java Green, a D.C.-area cafe’ that recently won the title of "Best Vegetarian Restaurant" in a contest held by VegDC.

Flower-Garden-Bulbs.com provides some tips for getting flower bulbs started right… the organic way.

The Good Human muses upon the messages sent by environmentalists concerning climate change, and claims that the planet itself will survive this crisis; the human species, on the other hand, may not be so fortunate.

And, finally, our good friends at Lighter Footstep help spread the word on the October 15th Blog Action Day, when a diverse array of bloggers, ranging from Lifehacker to ProBlogger, will be writing about, and raising funds for, environmental issues.

That’s a wrap, folks — thank you for coming by and enjoying the Carnival. We’ll see you next week at Greener Magazine!

Image sources: Treehugger (COTG banner) and Wikimedia Commons (here, here, and here)

Have you ever rented a movie from a video store? Or stayed in a hotel room? Do you belong to a fitness club or gym? If you can answer "yes" to any of these questions (and you probably can), then you’ve paid money not for a product, but rather a service or benefit: enjoying a film, getting a good night’s sleep, or a killer set of abs. All of these businesses fall into the category of the "product service system," and while these examples are really common, many other companies are recognizing the earnings potential that exist for "renting" products rather than selling them outright.

So, why would we care about this on a green lifestyle site? Product service systems (PSS for short) can not only make businesses a lot of money; they can also force them to adopt greener business practices. If you own a video store, constantly having to replace DVDs isn’t in your financial interest: you get paid for a customer’s use of that product, so it’s to your benefit to make those discs last as long as possible. Similarly, a gym that constantly has to replace stationary bikes and treadmills isn’t going to be very profitable. The PSS makes reuse and recycling not just nice ideas for the environment; rather, they become critical to a company’s financial success.

A couple of weeks ago, Rodger Vistacion, the founder and CEO of iLetYou, wrote a post on the company’s blog about the PSS concept:

…most everyday activity involves a Product Service System. You don’t
own the roads you drive on, you don’t own the restaurant or parks you
eat in, and you don’t own the health club that you work out in. When
you take a vacation, luckily you don’t need your own airplane and you
can conveniently get all the comforts of home, transplanted into a new,
relaxing (maybe) environment. If you rent your home, apartment or car,
you’re even more ensconced in Product Service Systems.

A Product Service System also very accurately describes what rental
is. Generally, rental is defined as when you physically pay a fee to
generally own an item for a set period of time. The only really
difference is the fee (it’s simply lending and borrowing otherwise) and
some Product Service Systems use shared, aggregated renting when
appropriate. The two concepts are basicly identical - in many ways, the
exact same thing.

New companies are emerging to fully embrace this trend. Zipcar is a leader in cars, BagBorrowOrSteal in handbags and designer goods, and there are many more emerging examples.

He’s right — there are some very exciting applications of this concept that have significant environmental benefits in terms of reducing, reusing and recycling:

• Interface, Inc.’s "Evergreen Carpet Leasing System" was revolutionary for the commercial floor covering industry: in this program, a customer pays for "floor covering service" rather than buying carpet or other coverings outright. The system has allowed Interface to focus on methods of reusing and recycling old floor covering, as well as maintaining it for as long as possible. If you haven’t reade Interface founder Ray Anderson’s Mid-Course Correction, it’s very inspiring! I can’t say for certain that this program still exists (having trouble finding anything on the Interface web sites).
• SunEdison has brought this concept to solar power: rather than buying solar panels, commercial clients can enter intro a contract with the company and just buy the electricity produced at a set rate. SunEdison owns and maintains the equipment. CitizenRE wants to implement such a system for the residential market… we’re not sure that it will work, though.

These are just two examples — there are plenty more. Companies that keep ownership of their products have a real incentive to "keep it green"… and that’s a model we’d love to see more.

WorldChanging:Product-Service Scenarios for the Bright Green City

Treehugger: Eco-Tip: Product Service Systems

sustainablog: GM, Whole Foods Using ‘Solar Service System’ (please note: sustainablog is my personal sustainability blog.)

Amazon Link: Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution

Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas yesterday, Dell founder and chairman Michael Dell issued a challenge to the personal computer industry: make free recycling of used computers a standard part of doing business. According to the New York Post, Dell said,

"Today, I challenge every PC maker to join us in providing free recycling for every customer in every country you do business, all the time - no exceptions. … It's the right thing to do for our customers. It's the right thing to do for our earth."

Additionally, Dell announced that the company would also would begin a program called "Plant a Tree for Me," in which customers could elect to have a small portion of their purchase price ($2 for notebooks, $6 for desktops) donated to The Conservation Fund and CarbonFund.org to fund tree-planting efforts. Dell would cover the administrative costs of the program.

This is a smart move by Dell. E-waste recycling isn't mandatory nationwide in the US, but it's likely coming: already some states and local governments have implemented requirements for disposing of used electronics. Carbon regulation is also on the way. Dell not only prepares itself for these requirements, but gets green credibility for making this voluntary move — Greenpeace, for instance, has praised the company's efforts thus far. More and more, these kinds of moves are going to put companies on top not just in terms of eco-consciousness, but also in terms of profitability.

New York Post: Dell: PC Industry Need to Go Green

New York Times: Dell Founder Wants to Offset Energy Consumption

Dell Earth