Hey, it’s Dan

In Today’s Issue:

• I tried to recycle a Brita filter and broke my brain

• Found a drop-off site that felt like a secret eco speakeasy

• Made a cheat sheet so we don’t have to Google this again

• And the daily email that makes me feel 17% smarter (👇 sponsor)

🌎 Our Mission

Eco Hustle is about helping people get paid to save the planet—one plastic project at a time.
We’re testing weird ideas in public, turning trash into something giftable, and figuring out how to make reuse actually profitable (even if the first kit flopped).

♻️ Wait… where do Brita filters go?

Last Tuesday, I stood in my kitchen holding a dead AA battery like it was cursed.

I didn’t want to toss it. I didn’t know how to recycle it. So it sat there like a tiny paperweight of guilt—next to old cords, expired chargers, and a Brita filter I swear has followed me through three apartments.

And that’s how I fell into the black hole I now call:
The Recycling Bin of Doom.

🛠 This Week’s Hustle: The Recycling Bin of Doom

You ever Google something so basic that you instantly question your grip on adulthood?

This week’s trigger: Where do Brita filters go?

What followed was a chaotic safari through blog posts from 2008, a suspiciously long PDF from the city, and a TerraCycle page that may have been written by raccoons.

Here’s what I found, the real version:

• Used Cooking Oil → Hazardous Waste centers take it (like the one in Huntington Beach). Just don’t pour it down the drain unless you like expensive plumbing and regret.

• Brita Filters → They are recyclable through TerraCycle or brand-specific return programs. But nobody tells you that until you’ve got 11 of them in a bag labeled “future me.”

• Batteries + Electronics → Best Buy, Staples, and local e-waste sites will take them. Bonus: in Huntington Beach, you can trade in e-waste for actual cash. Yes—cash. I made $3.42 and felt like I robbed RadioShack in reverse.

• Cords + Cables → These count as e-waste too. The drop-off sites take them. And yep—cash back here too. Not a lot, but enough to feel like you’re winning.

• Toothpaste Tubes → If it’s a brand like Colgate or Tom’s, they have take-back programs. Otherwise? Landfill goo.

✅ Money breadcrumb: I’m thinking of turning this list into a free printable, or including it as a cheeky bonus in scrubber kits. If it helps people recycle and buy more plarn, we’re calling that a double win.

💡Pro Tip (From a Beginner)

Don’t wait until you “figure it out.”
That bag of cords and batteries you’re ignoring? It doesn’t get more recyclable with age. Trust me.

One Last Tangle

Next week I’m cutting a new batch of ½-inch strips to make more scrubbers—got a few things I want to tweak and test.

Also mentally bracing myself to try making a plarn tote.
Pray for my forearms.

P.S. I Read Every Reply

Got something you don’t know how to recycle?
Send it my way. If it’s weird, cursed, or gooey—I definitely want to hear about it.