Thoughts on Waste Reduction, Zero Waste, Sustanability and Such
In our trash talking blog, we write about trends, tips, and issues in the waste and environmental sustainability world. We hope you'll find something useful to help your company be more sustainable. If you want us to explore something or ask a question, contact us!
Let’s All Try to be A Little Greener this Holiday Season
The holiday season is upon us and retailers everywhere have started their campaigns to get us all into their stores to buy the latest and greatest toys, gadgets, clothes, you name it, they’re trying to convince you to buy it. This year we are challenging you to think about reducing and reusing when it comes to the holidays. There are so many things you can do to reduce your impact on the environment and we’re here to help you recognize those opportunities. Check out our list of Ways to Be a Little Greener this Holiday Season: DONATE! – Before your kids…
Read More
How the Way We Think Influences the Way We Recycle
It seems there exists a certain recycling bias in our collective psyche in regards to what we “think” is recyclable versus what actually is recyclable. A marketing professor from Boston University, Remi Trudel, has discovered that we make unconscious decisions when it comes to recycling based upon our “perception of usefulness”. You can read the story and listen to the interview on NPR by following this link. He observed his volunteers’ recycling habits when given a whole sheet of paper, scraps of paper and a soda can. What do you think they did with each item when it came time…
Read More
Why Plant Native?
Fall is a great time of year to get outside when it isn’t so hot out there and get to planting all of those wonderful trees, shrubs and flowers that our native to your area. Planting right now gives the roots enough time to start growing and get nice and warm and happy down in the soil before a hard freeze settles in in a month or so. And all of the leaves falling from the trees are an ideal addition to your compost pile! Choosing to plant plants that are indigenous to your area has numerous benefits as they…
Read More
Recycle Your Electronics!
Why is recycling old electronics important? In the world we live in today it seems our electronics are outdated before we have even had time to finish setting up the one we just bought. Electronics consumption is a vicious cycle. We are constantly bombarded with the newest, flashiest pieces of tech on the market driving us to exchange our gadgets more quickly than most everything else we own. The environmental and social impacts of the tech boom stretch around the globe. As our pocket-sized gadgets have rapidly become smaller and more complex, the demand for rare metals and other raw…
Read More
Compost! Everybody’s Doing It!
It seems every time you turn around these days some business or city has implemented a new plan for composting; I bet you even have a neighbor or two with a compost pile in their backyard. It is something very simple to do and the benefits are countless! Start one in your backyard today! You can even compost indoors if using your yard isn’t an option (you’ll learn more about that later). Why do it? According to the EPA, “food scraps and yard waste make up 20-30% of the waste stream. Making compost keeps these materials out of landfills, where…
Read More
Paper Recycling
Paper, specifically newspaper, can be credited with kick starting the curbside recycling industry. Forty (40) years ago when curbside recycling was just beginning to take shape it all centered around newspapers because back then newspaper was everywhere. There wasn’t social media, 24-hour coverage or news apps on cell phones. For everyone to keep up-to-date with what was happening in the world, they read the newspaper. Of the ninety-three (93) curbside programs operating in 1973 almost all of these programs only collected newspaper (Waste & Recycling News, August 5, 2013). Almost 1,800 daily newspapers had a total circulation of more than…
Read More
Stopping Junk Mail
Are you as tired as we are of seeing our mailboxes overflowing with nothing but useless and unwanted junk? Credit card offers, catalogs, advertisements, the endless stream of junk mail that fills our mailboxes on daily basis is not only ridiculous, but it is also slowly depleting our natural resources. From the trees it takes to produce it, to the resources it consumes to print it, and the fuel it takes to deliver it, slowly but surely irreversible damage is being done to our planet. And why is it that even when you jump through the hoops required to stop…
Read MoreHousehold Hazardous Waste
What makes waste hazardous? Not all hazardous waste is generated at an industrial plant. In fact, many of us generate household hazardous waste on a regular basis. According to the EPA “leftover household products that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable or reactive ingredients are considered to be household hazardous waste (HHW). Products, such as paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides that contain potentially hazardous ingredients require special care when you dispose of them.” Also considered HHW are automotive products (oil, antifreeze, batteries, etc.), medicines, cosmetics, and items such as photo-developing chemicals, adhesives, and art supplies. Improper disposal of such products can have…
Read More
Raising Recycling Awareness
Waste program managers are often tasked with raising recycling awareness at their organization because success relies on the daily actions of everyone. Increasing recycling awareness can increase the quality and quantity of recycled materials, but even the best campaign for recycling awareness won’t overcome a poorly designed recycling program. For 70+ years, Keep America Beautiful has run a recycling awareness campaign to inspire daily action that improves the beauty and health of our communities. More than four decades ago, Keep America Beautiful and the Ad Council first teamed up to bring recycling to the forefront of America’s consciousness with this…
Read More