Technologies

Earth Day Challenge: Test Your Recycling IQ

How good is your recycling knowledge? Participate in Earth Day and make our world greener by identifying which items are actually recyclable.

Thanks to today’s Google Doodle, I was reminded that it is Earth Day. The day was commemorated in 1970 to bring awareness to the damage being done to our environment. To further this message, notable companies like Apple and Microsoft have implemented plans to reduce their carbon footprint and use more renewable energy.

If you’re looking to get involved and do your part today, look no further than your home, school, office and the many other places you visit daily to help out our environment. The possibilities are endless, but one of the most common options is to recycle.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, recycling can help conserve natural resources and energy, generating over $37 billion in wages. So in honor of Earth Day, let’s have a bit of fun and put your recycling knowledge to the test.

Read more: Go Green and Save Green With Top Earth Day Deals on Eco-Friendly Products

Note: Recyclable items may vary by location, so check with your local recycling center or government agency if you have questions.

To recycle or not to recycle? Let’s put your knowledge to the test

Pizza boxes?

Yes, according to the EPA, even grease-laden boxes can be recycled. However, food scraps like uneaten crusts must be removed, and boxes must be flattened.

Hardcover books?

No, hardcover books can’t be recycled. The covers are usually made of different materials, including plastic and leather, which aren’t recyclable. The glue that binds the books together can be hard to separate from the pages as well. Instead of recycling a hardcover book, try donating it to a school, library or nonprofit organization. Donating books can help people increase their vocabulary and improve their communication skills. Plus, it’s a good way of making more room on your bookshelves.

Paperback books?

Yes, you can recycle paperback books, even if they’re beyond repair. Like hardcover books, you might want to consider donating the books if you want to get rid of them.

Batteries?

Yes. According to the EPA, lead-acid batteries are among the most recycled items, including car batteries. However, batteries require special handling, so they must be recycled at separate locations and can’t be recycled in your home recycling bin. This tool can help you find a location to recycle your batteries.

Receipts?

No, you can’t recycle receipts. Most receipts are coated with Bisphenol A, a plastic compound more commonly known as BPA. This compound makes the receipts unrecyclable, and it could be bad for your health, according to the Mayo Clinic. The best way to dispose of receipts is in the trash, but you might want to shred the receipt before throwing it away for financial security.

Stickers?

Stickers can be fun, but unfortunately you can’t recycle them. The glue that holds stickers in place can gunk up recycling machinery, and some stickers, like vinyl stickers, can be harmful to the environment.

Carpet?

Yes, carpet can be recycled. Nearly all kinds of carpet can be broken down and used to make new products, and the complex fibers of carpet make it nearly impossible to break down in landfills. However, the infrastructure required to recycle carpet isn’t widely available, and you can’t put carpet in your home recycle bin. The nonprofit Carpet America Recovery Effort is one group working to put the necessary infrastructure in place to recycle carpet everywhere. For now, use this tool to find a location that will recycle your carpet.

Motor oil?

Yes. Many garages and auto shops recycle your old oil when you take your car in for an oil change. If you perform your own oil change, these same shops will usually accept oil for recycling. Like batteries, motor oil should not be put in a household recycling bin. The used material from one oil change is enough to contaminate one million gallons of fresh water according to the EPA. Use this tool to find a location that will recycle your used motor oil.

Compostable plastics?

No, even though they’re made from renewable materials, like corn, cellulose and soy protein, compostable plastics can’t be recycled. «Compostable plastics aren’t meant to be recycled and can contaminate and disrupt the recycling stream if mixed with non-compostable plastics,» according to the EPA.

Wrapping paper?

Trick question — yes and no. Shiny and laminated wrapping paper can’t be recycled, but there are recyclable wrapping papers available. The EPA says a recyclable wrapping paper alternative is newspaper. Plus, using newspaper as wrapping paper gives the gift recipient something to read while they wait to open their gift.

Bonus round: Aluminum cans?

Yes, empty aluminum cans can be recycled, but the cans can’t be crushed. The EPA says that crushed cans are harder to detect when being sorted within recycling facilities. All those TV shows and movies that show people crushing cans to take to the recycling center lied to us.

Read more: You’re Recycling Wrong. Stop Crushing Aluminum Cans

For more, here’s how to recycle old tech and gadgets for free, why you don’t want to hoard your old tech and how plastics recycling misses the point.

Technologies

FTC Sues Over Uber One, Saying It ‘Deceived Consumers’

The agency accuses the ridesharing company of charging customers without consent and of making it difficult to cancel the service.

The Federal Trade Commission is suing the rideshare company Uber for what it’s calling deceptive business practices involving its Uber One subscription service. In a complaint filed in a San Francisco district court, the FTC cites instances where customers say they were charged for the service when they believed their subscriptions were canceled, or were not allowed to cancel their accounts easily.

Uber One costs $10 a month and allows users to get discounts, free delivery on Uber Eats and cash back, in addition to other perks.

However, the FTC says that customers who sign up for free trials have had difficulty canceling and have ended up with unexpected charges.

«Today, we’re alleging that Uber not only deceived consumers about their subscriptions, but also made it unreasonably difficult for customers to cancel,» FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in a press release.

The complaint cites instances where it would take 23 screens and 32 actions to cancel an Uber One subscription.

An Uber spokesperson said that the company doesn’t sign up or charge consumers without their consent and that «cancellations can now be done anytime in-app and take most people 20 seconds or less.»

«We are disappointed that the FTC chose to move forward with this action,» the spokesperson told CNET, «but are confident that the courts will agree with what we already know: Uber One’s sign-up and cancellation processes are clear, simple, and follow the letter and spirit of the law.»

In an email, Uber contested points in the FTC’s complaint, saying that it discloses information about what customers will be charged. «Consumers who canceled were never charged additional fees,» it said.

Subscription services in the crosshairs

Subscription services have been a target for the FTC recently, as it has implemented rules requiring companies to make them simpler and easier to cancel. Last year, California passed a law requiring it to be as easy as a single click for consumers. The changes were, in large part, enacted to combat increasingly sophisticated ways that companies were keeping customers on the hook for paid services.

Expect to see more FTC action against companies that fail to follow the rules on subscriptions, says Syracuse University law professor Shubha Ghosh, who focuses on business, antitrust and intellectual property law.

«Very likely there will be more suits as the FTC, across administrations, seeks to address anticompetitive practices that harm consumers, especially practices that raise prices and limit consumer choices,» Ghosh told CNET. «Ticketmaster is one example. We may see actions against crypto and payday loans online.»

But don’t expect rewards from these FTC lawsuits if you feel you were taken advantage of by a subscription-based service. For customers, it’s not the same as a class action suit in which plaintiffs may get money from court-designated damages, Ghosh said.

«The FTC cannot recover restitution for consumers after the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in [a 2021 case involving] AMG Management,» he said. «The FTC can change business practices, however, through injunctive relief under the Federal Trade Commission Act. The FTC can also obtain refunds for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the (Better Online Ticket Sales) Act.»

Technologies

Trump Administration Delays Rural Broadband Program By 90 Days

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 23, #212

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 212, for April 23.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition offers a mix today. Even if you don’t know the category names at first, you might recognize four team names and four surnames, and that’ll get you halfway there. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Strong.

Green group hint: Free throw time.

Blue group hint: College teams.

Purple group hint: They sure could throw.