Earth Day 2011 Freebies

It’s no surprise that with our current economy, people want something for nothing. And it’s no different when it comes to Earth Day. Perhaps that’s because a few years ago companies started the tradition of giving away Earth Day freebies, such as reusable shopping bags, and now everyone expects those freebies every time Earth Day comes around. (Earth Day this year, by the way, is April 22, 2011.)

Happily, companies, retailers, and organizations have gotten the memo, and are offering up plenty of Earth Day freebies in 2011. Here are those worth noting:

Free Food

• Bring a reusable coffee cup with you when you visit Starbucks on Earth Day (April 22) and receive a free cup of Starbucks coffee.
• Get a free milkshake and/or reusable bag on Earth Day at Elevation Burger restaurants in Falls Church, VA, Potomac, MD, Austin, TX, Dallas, TX and Wennewood, NJ. Customers who arrive to the restaurants on Earth day by bicycle will get a free milkshake. Additionally, the restaurants will be giving away reusable shopping bags to guests who purchase a burger, fries and drink.

Free Stuff

• Everyone who enters the Harmony Clean “free cleaning contest” gets a free reusable shopping bag. (I just entered!) Note: you have to live within a 15-mile radius of Doylestown, PA to enter and win.
• Starting Sunday, April 17th, 2011, anyone who clicks on the orange “Post Free” button at the top of the DiggersList homepage, then follows directions, will get a free packet of wildflowers in the mail. Note: you have to post something on the Diggerslist to qualify for this freebie.
  
• Texas residents attending Earth Day events in Dallas, Houston and McAllen can get a free tree on Earth Day, courtesy of Green Mountain Energy.
• I’m having a hard time confirming this beyond the various blog posts I’ve read describing this freebie. But, if you happen to live near a Disney Store, you may want to ask about this Earth Day freebie: if you bring 5 plastic bags into the store, you’ll get a free reusable Disney Store tote bag in return.
• If you have a home energy audit scheduled April 18-23 with Pro Energy Consultants, you can get a free home energy audit for a friend or family member. (This is the company that did my home energy audit last fall.)
• In celebration of Earth Day, The James hotels in New York and Chicago are offering guests staying with them April 17-23 free public transportation. That is, The James properties are giving away complimentary MTA and CTA transportation cards for guests upon request.

Tags: Disney Store, Free coffee, Harmony Clean, reusable bag, reusable shopping bag, Starbucks