Gotta love yogurt. Healthy, creamy, sweet, and chock full o' acidophilus. But there's one thing about that cup of yogurt that is not to love: the containers they come in. Most yogurt comes in polypropylene (#5) plastic containers, which is not recycled in many cities. Other common items that come in polypropylene are butter, margarine, cottage cheese, hummus, and cream cheese.
Before recycling your yogurt container, get as much use out of the little containers as you can. After all, isn't the adage "Reduce, REUSE, Recycle?" So, let's talk about how you can reuse those old Stonyfield Farm containers over and over...... read more
Each year the National Football League (NFL) spends time and energy on Green-oriented projects throughout the city where the Super Bowl is taking place. ... read more
Although most of us won’t be going to the actual game a good segment of the population will watch it from the comfort of their own homes and likely in the company of groups of others.
These gatherings, sometimes large, can be a lot of fun as Super Bowl Sunday takes on a life of its own in many communities. Nevertheless, the event has the potential to produce large amounts of waste and wasted resources across the country.
Lots of municipalities are banning plastic bags. My city, Newton, Massachusetts, has just jumped on the bandwagon and I'm really excited. I'm hoping to see less plastic bag litter and pleased that there will be less plastic bag waste coming from our city.
Here are some quick facts about WHY plastic bags are so bad for our environment.
- The US uses 100 billion plastic shopping bags each year. These bags are made from an estimated equivalent of 12 million barrels of oil.
- Plastic bags will take an estimated 300 to 1000 years to biodegrade.
- Anually, tens of thousands of whales, birds, seals, and turtles die from contact with plastic bags that enter the ocean.
- Recycling one ton of plastic bags costs a whopping $4,000. The recycled product will then be sold for $32.
- The production of 1 pound of plastic for shopping bags produces about 6 pounds of CO2. ... read more
Every holiday season, you're bound to end up with a few gift cards. The gift card market is a multi-billion dollar industry, with sales expected to climb to $52.2 billion by 2012! That's a lot of gift cards that need to be disposed of properly.
Unfortunately, gift cards are often made of PVC. PVC is toxic to produce and seldom accepted through curbside recycling plans. Because of this, I was surprised to see gift cards listed as the greenest gift choice in Country Homes Magazine. ... read more
It's not Christmas in New York City without the famous Rockefeller Christmas Tree. The 2014 tree will be lit for the first time on Wednesday, December 3. It's free and open to the public or you can watch on TV. This is a tradition that's been going on for over 80 years!
But here's a fun fact for your Friday - Afterwards, the 20-foot-high tree is upcycled for an awesome cause: Habitat for Humanity. This will be the eight consecutive year that the tree is donated to Habitat for Humanity. ... read more
Today's Fun Fact Friday is perfect for Halloween. Tonight we'll be trick or treating, like lots of other families, and probably accumulating a lot of CANDY! However, it creates a lot of waste and some people make the mistake of recycling candy wrappers. Keen For Green's resident recycling expert Rob explained that he sees a lot of candy wrappers mixed in with recyclables on a regular basis. He wrote: "One, candy wrappers cannot be recycled in regular recycling programs and two, there is an amazing amount of waste created from enjoying candy bars, especially around Halloween."... read more
Happy Friday, everybody! Today's Fun Fact Friday is going to be discussing glass recycling.
Whenever you have the option to buy glass vs. plastic, glass is always the more eco-friendly option. While plastic is technically recyclable, it's actually "downcycled," meaning it's turned into lower quality plastic. On the other hand, glass is 100% recyclable. It can be recycled endlessly without it declining in quality, which no other food or beverage containers can do. ... read more
Food waste is a chronic issue; nearly one-third of our landfills are piled up with scraps of leftover grub from home kitchens and larger producers like restaurants. While not all of this refuse is actually recyclable, diverting the portions that can be transformed into nutrient-rich fertilizer for gardens and lawns, makes a significant difference. And there’s no better time to get the ball rolling than during the early years of a child’s schooling.
When it comes to saving the planet, today’s younger generation is most definitely our future. Schools are the perfect forum for teaching young people the importance of composting organic waste Lessons on composting allow them to see how their lunch scraps can have on the landscape. Let’s walk through the ways composting programs can enhance school education, especially in elementary grades.
Recycle your cans! Today I have some trivia for you about aluminum beverage can recycling. ... read more
Did you know that it only takes approximately 6 weeks total to manufacture, fill, sell, recycle, and then remanufacture an aluminum beverage can.
Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run your television for three hours. On the other hand, throwing away an aluminum can will waste as much energy as pouring out half of that can’s volume of gasoline.
The recycling rate for aluminum beverage cans in the United States reached 58.1% in 2010. That is more than double that of any other beverage container!
The budget for a wedding celebration is based on priorities. The wedding venue is always at the top spot along with the food and drinks, photographer, videographer and decorations. Where is the budget for the bridal dress? It is often down the list of priorities.... read more
g about that cup of yogurt that is not to love: the containers they come in. Most yogurt comes in polypropylene (#5) plastic containers, which is not recycled in many cities. Other common items that come in polypropylene are butter, margarine, cottage cheese, hummus, and cream cheese.
Lots of municipalities are banning plastic bags. My city, Newton, Massachusetts, has just jumped on the bandwagon and I'm really excited. I'm hoping to see less plastic bag litter and pleased that there will be less plastic bag waste coming from our city. 
t's not Christmas in New York City without the famous 
Happy Halloween!
Happy Friday, everybody! Today's Fun Fact Friday is going to be discussing glass recycling. 
Recycle your cans! Today I have some trivia for you about aluminum beverage can recycling. 