By: Danielle Ulman

In honor of Earth Day on April 22, lots of businesses are teaming up to do good, offering giveaways and hawking Earth-friendly items or programs to attract your attention.

Sears is hoping to catch the eye of Maryland residents looking to save some green — that is, getting rebates for buying Energy Star-qualified appliances when the state’s program kicks off next week. Maryland has $5,405,000 up for grabs in rebates in its “Cash for Appliances” mail-in rebate program.

Sears will open at 6 a.m. on April 22, and have extra staffers on the floor to help people sort out appliance purchases and get rebates sent in electronically while they’re in the store, so that rebate doesn’t get forgotten in a pile of papers on the kitchen counter.

Sears is also the “2010 ENERGY STAR Retail Partner of the Year,” so it has revamped its Web site with all of the relevant information on rebates, credits, disposing of old appliances and buying new ones.

They have a handy section that shows you how much money you’d save buying a new appliance based on what you already have, the cost of electricity in Maryland and what model you plan to swap in (for refrigerators, think side-by-side fridge and freezer vs. freezer on top).

The company will also haul away your old appliance and make sure it’s disposed of in an environmentally friendly way, recycling the parts that can be reused.

In Maryland, here are the rebates available for buying Energy Star-qualified products:

– $50 for refrigerators
– $100 for clothes washers
– $300 for heat pump water heaters

Through the state’s EmPower Maryland program, residents can also get additional rebates on appliances offered by their utilities. For more info, check out the Maryland Energy Administration’s list of extra rebates.