Celebrate Earth Day in Hollywood and Nearby

In honor of Earth Day, several businesses and organizations in the community are having special promotions and events. Whether it's free iced tea at Starbucks or taking in that old computer monitor to an electronic waste recycling event, there are a variety of ways you can honor mother nature on Friday and throughout the weekend.

Recycle Office Supplies

Weed out those unused pens and pencils from your desk and bring them to the Office Depot at 1240 Vine St. The store is participating in a nationwide recycling program through Saturday, April 23.

Bring in a minimum of 10 used pens, markers or mechanical pencils and receive a coupon for 50 percent off Sanford products including Sharpies, Expo and PaperMate markers or pens. The pens and pencils will be sent to TerraCycle to be recycled into new office products.

Free Coffee or Tea at Starbucks

On Friday bring in a reusable mug or tumbler to participating Starbucks and get a free brewed coffee or tea. The coffee chain aims to encourage and reward customers who use reusable cups each day. More than 1.2 million people participated in the promotion last year, according to their website.

Stores participating in Hollywood include:

6102 W. Sunset Blvd. (at Gower Gulch)

6933 Hollywood Blvd (at Orange)

5545 W. Sunset Blvd. (at St. Andrews Place)

7055 Sunset Blvd. (at La Brea)

1900 Highland Ave. (at Franklin Ave)

It was unclear whether the locations at 6745 Hollywood Blvd (at Hollywood and McCadden) and 6801 Hollywood Blvd. (at Hollywood & Highland complex) were participating in the promotion when Hollywood Patch called to verify.

Outdoor Movie Screening

On Friday pack a blanket and enjoy a free outdoor screening of the director’s cut of Avatar at the Wilshire Center Earth Day Car Free event. Other activities include face painting for kids, community booths and free tree adoption. Recycle old TVs, monitors, computers, batteries and more at the electronic waste drive. The event is at 3700 Wilshire Blvd. from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Free Reusable Bags

Stop by the Nature Conservancy booth next to the main Clock Tower at the Original Farmers Market for a free reusable shopping bag. Representative will be discussing how to eat and shop for a healthy planet. Also, show your bag to participating vendors for an Earth Day special. The market is at 6333 West Third St.

River Clean-up

On Saturday the Friends of the Los Angeles River is hosting the 22nd Annual Great L.A. River Clean-Up from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Volunteers are needed to pick up trash at 14  sites, including Sunny Nook Park in Atwater Village and Marsh Street Park and Elysian Valley Gateway (on Knox) in Elysian Valley.  For more information or to sign up to volunteer, click here.