On a visit to the orthodontist a few months ago with my daughter, I was reminded of the thousands of tiny “disposable” toothbrushes that fly into the trash every day in dental offices across the globe.
OK, so this isn’t an oil spill. Stay with me for a minute. It’s a tip of the iceberg thing.
Tags: · disposables, faux plastic, plant plastic, Plastic, plastic vortexes, Plastic: A Toxic Love Story, recyclables, Susan Freinkl
Frito-Lay's SunChips bag, made of Ingeo, is fully compostable.
Tags: · Bioserie iPhone cover, Electrolux, ELements Naturals, greenrightnow.com, Henkel, INGEO, Natureworks plant-based plastic, Plastic, Sun Chips
The organic gardening gurus and sustainability experts at Rodale probably aren’t big plastic users.
But like all of us, they’ve acquired their share. Plastic is so ubiquitous. So this next month, the folks at Rodale, which publishes a variety of popular magazines like Prevention, Men’s Health, Women’s Heath, Organic Gardening, Runner’s World and Bicycling are calling a moratorium on plastic.
During February, they’ll avoid buying or acquiring any more plastic things.
Tags: · greenrightnow.com, Plastic, plastic replacements, reducing plastic, Rodale goes plastic free for February
The best way to save on resources is to not use them in the first place, the second best way is to recycle.
Americans recycle more than 60 percent of the food cans they use; but only about 48 percent of the beverage cans and less than 30 percent of recyclable plastic bottles and milk jugs, according to the latest government statistics. We could do more.
One way to get a grip on household recycling is to mentally divide these tasks into daily (milk jugs, aluminum cans), medium-range (batteries, ink cartridges) and long-term (carpet, electronics) categories.
First, let’s deconstruct that horrendous daily stream of disposable packaging emanating from the kitchen. This is where the major churn of goods in your household occurs.
Tags: · aluminum, Curbside Recycling, glass, greenrightnow.com, newspapers, Plastic, recycling appliances, recycling batteries, recycling cell phones, recycling denim, recycling furniture, recycling light bulbs, recycling paper, steel
From Green Right Now Reports
UL Environment, which provides environmental evaluation and certification, announced this week it will develop sustainability standards for plastic materials used in consumer and manufactured goods. The standards will establish environmental requirements for common plastics based on scientific assessment and broad stakeholder collaboration.
This year, more than 300 million tons of plastic will be produced and 10 percent of all generated waste will be plastic—much of which ends up existing in landfills for centuries. Evidence is mounting that some chemicals in plastic pose health risks when absorbed by humans through food, water, air, dust and contact with consumer products. Environmentally preferable plastics can lead to fewer harmful chemical emissions being released in our environment.
Tags: · Plastic, UL Environment
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
If you haven’t seen it, please take a look at our story about America Recycles Day. Find out just how much energy we can save by recycling, a no-brainer if ever there was one.
Last year, a Harris poll found that 91 percent of Americans reported that they recycled. But that figure seemed really high, given the low recycling rates in some cities, like Houston, Dallas, Detroit and Indianapolis. Those were some of the slackers revealed in a study of municipal recycling in 2008 that showed major US cities varied wildly in the amount of recyclables they collected, from San Francisco’s near 70 percent to Houston’s under 3 percent.
Plastie bottle spewing
Tags: · aluminum, BarbaraKesslerBlog, bottle recycling, glass, Harris poll shows 91 percent of Americans recycle, mixed-use recycling, Paper, paper recycling, Plastic, Recycle & Reuse, recycling rates of US cities, recycling slackers, US Cities
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Given the enormity of climate change, it’s not always easy to calculate how we individuals can make a contribution that matters. In honor of World Oceans Day (June 8), the Nature Conservancy has assembled a list of a few concrete ways we can help heal, or at least minimize the damage to, our marine world.
The list is a testament to our connectedness here on planet Earth — did you realize that the nitrogen fertilizer you dump on the yard could be part of the pollution overpowering streams and rivers; winding up in the ocean where it creates algal “blooms” that starve marine life of oxygen? Ah, right. That’s not what you were thinking of when you cracked open the bag of weed-and-feed. Heavy stuff, yes, but the sort of thing we humans need to think on. That lovely green turf comes with an environmental price tag — unless and until you find other ways to feed the lawn, like using lower nitrogen-content organic food.
Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, marine environment, Nature Conservancy, nitrogen fertilizer, Plastic, seafood, sustainable dining, sustainable seafood, World Oceans Day
By John DeFore
A flurry of action regarding a chemical called bisphenol-A, or BPA, broke out last week after word leaked that Canada’s chemical review board was set to deem the substance toxic. Though its name is exotic, the plastic material itself is commonplace, used to make clear polycarbonate bottles that are highly durable, perfect for baby formula or sporting gear. It also turns up in dental sealants, the liners of food cans and many other household products. Studies have suggested that under certain conditions, BPA degrades or leaches into the surrounding liquid or food. When formula is poured into a polycarbonate bottle while still hot, for instance — BPA can migrate into the liquid.
Tags: · bisphenol-A, BPA, Plastic
Barbara Kessler
Andrew Winston
Danielle Nierenberg
Anthony Swift