By Ashley Phillips
Green Right Now

Photo: Nike

In just one year, 300 million pairs of shoes are thrown away. These shoes end up in landfills across the US. Not only do these shoes not easily break down, the glue that holds a shoe together is toxic. So instead of adding to the growing trash problem, give your shoes a new life. What’s old to you, could be a playground for someone else thanks to Nike.

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From Green Right Now Reports:

The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), which represents those who recycle plastic soda and food bottles has fired a criticism at the alternative corn-derivative plastic known as PLA, saying it cannot be successfully recycled with PET containers at this time.

PET containers — water, oil and drink bottles — are commonly recycled into polyester fabric, athletic wear and upholstery material. Their successful conversion requires a clean “waste stream” that is not contaminated with other types of plastics that may not meld well with PET, NAPCOR says.

NAPCOR’s current peeve with PLA (polylactide) is in response to claims by some PLA promoters that households and businesses can toss this this new plastic into their recycle bins along with the usual outgoing stream of conventional plastics, such as PET, and it will be sorted and used by recyclers.

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From Green Right Now Reports

Dell said today it will ban the export of non-working electronics to developing countries as part of its global policy on responsible electronics disposal.

The Round Rock, Texas-based company said its electronics disposition policy now exceeds the requirements of the Basel Convention, which bans the export of certain electronic waste based on its material or chemical composition. By expanding its definition of electronic waste to include all non-working parts or devices, irrespective of material composition, Dell said it hopes to prevent the unauthorized dumping of electronic waste in developing countries by requiring that equipment be tested and certified as “working” prior to export.

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Susan Casias, 47, Houston, Texas

Area Shred Manager for Houston’s Greenstar Security Destruction

What I do: I oversee the shredding operations for Greenstar Security Destruction, a division of Greenstar Recycling, North America.

How it helps:

Greenstar is a recycling plant. I handle sales and operations for the document destruction (shredding) division which is AAA certified by the National Association for Information Destruction to destroy hard drives and paper. Our certification requires us to recycle the shredded paper through mills that use a bleaching and hydro-pulping process. So, basically, we prevent crime and save the planet. (I tell my employees they’re superheroes.)

How I got here:

I’ve been in sales since I’m 17 years old. I’ve been in sales management for the last 20 years. I stumbled upon this opportunity when I was laid off from my previous job about 2 years ago. I originally applied for the Recycle Sales position. When the General Manager saw my resume and I told him how I was a victim of identity theft, we both agreed that the shredding division is where I belong.

Where I’m going:

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Stuff. It’s piling up in our garage. Stealing space in our bathroom closet. Lurking in the attic. We modern homo sapiens gather gadgets, what-nots, mementos and widgets like our forebears gathered nuts.

Except that, in winter, the ancestors ate the nuts. We’re just nuts about our stuff.

Now it’s time to get crazy about sharing that stuff, spreading the wealth, so our burnished treasures can enjoy a second life – just not in our living room!

America’s Freecycle is one way to give it away, it’s been hooking up people with junk to jettison with those who are tickled to get it for six years now, growing from a cottage industry in Tucson to 6.5 million members worldwide — despite the near certainty that your 1989 La-z-boy, your fake ficus and definitely your plaque with the fish singing the Macarena all have limited appeal (even with a price tag of zero).

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By Laura Elizabeth May
Green Right Now

The glass can be greener on the other side, if you recycle it.

Everyone knows that paper and plastic can be recycled. But sadly many people forget to recycle their glass. All glass containers or jars should be recycled.

Glass is 100% recyclable which means nothing will be wasted. When glass is recycled over and over again, there is no loss in quality and no waste or by-products. When glass manufacturers use recyclable materials to make new glass products, they are using less energy, cutting raw materials and CO2 emissions.

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

This just in from the inaugural Greenwashing Forum in Portland: Four out of five people say they’re still buying green products, even in the midst of the U.S. recession, according to a new opinion poll.

And they thought we were clinging to our guns and religion out here in the hinterlands!

The study, commissioned by Green Seal, a green certifier, and EnviroMedia Social Marketing, which founded the Greenwashing Index, looked at opinions and green behaviors.

It found that:

• About 50 percent of the 1,000 people survey say they are buying just as many green products now as before the economic downturn

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By Julie Bonnin and Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

At this time of year, when many municipalities are gearing up for holiday tree recycling programs, the city of Houston is dealing with something far more monumental – more than 5.6 million cubic tons of tree waste left behind after Hurricane Ike swept through Southeast Texas in early September.

The city turned some of the debris into mulch, but launched a contest in October, Recycle Ike, to spark ideas for keeping the remaining tree waste from simply being disposed of in landfills.

The winners, announced last week, are a Rice University team of students and scientists who will create a biomass charcoal from the tree remains. The group was among more than 200 entrants from around the world that submitted ideas.

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By John DeFore

As disheartening as it is to hear, you may not be doing anybody any good by taking broken electronics to a firm promising to recycle it. In fact, your good-faith act could be leading to disease and hellish pollution in some of the world’s most impoverished villages.

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By John DeFore

Everyone knows by now that habitually buying bottled water introduces a staggering amount of wasted plastic into the world. Even if you conscientiously recycle every bottle, that recycling process uses energy and would be unnecessary if you used a non-disposable drinking vessel instead.

For those who have ditched the bottled water habit but don’t trust what comes from their tap, water filters are an appealing solution. Filter-makers have seized upon environmental concerns, and Brita even teamed with Nalgene for an ad campaign disguised as a green awareness effort that asks readers to “take the pledge” to buy filters and reusable bottles.

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By Catherine Colbert

“It pays to be green” is one of RecycleBank’s mantras. And that’s what the cutting-edge company, based in New York City, is all about: Paying people to be green, at least when it comes to recycling.

While most people who recycle are already self-motivated to participate, RecycleBank gives them an extra incentive in the form of Reward Points redeemable through local and national partners, such as Petco, IKEA, Staples and other retailers.

Customers can take advantage of this financial pat on the back whether they’re homeowners who recycle curbside or students who recycle through a RecycleBank Kiosk.

“We believe everyone can recycle and everyone should be rewarded for it,” says Lisa Pomerantz, director of marketing. “RecycleBank is founded on the belief that environmental solutions create economic opportunities. With that in mind, our goal is to increase recycling, reduce landfill needs, cut disposal costs, and build local economies.”

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By Harriet Blake

Old computers do not have to end up in the landfill and in Texas, they won’t. Thanks to new legislation (House Bill 2714) that took effect Sept. 1, all computer makers are now responsible for recycling their products.

Texas is the fourth state to have such a law, says Jeff Jacoby, staff director with the nonprofit Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE), which was one of the bill’s main advocates. The other states are Minnesota, Maine and Washington.

Companies such as Dell, Hewlett Packard and Apple, as well as mom-and-pop operations, are required to provide free and convenient recycling to their customers, or they will not be able to sell computers to anyone in Texas, under the law.

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