In the USA non-hazardous solid waste is a $USD 55 Billion annual business. This ever evolving industry made up of ten thousand players spans public, private, and municipal institutions. Over the past decade, large public companies and private enterprises have become more entrenched in the industry while participation by municipalities continues to decline. Read the rest of this entry »

The next time you clean out your closets make sure all no longer wanted clothes and household textiles get donated, gifted, or recycled.

Despite all of our garage sales, accessible donation drop boxes, and charity outlets such as Goodwill and Salvation Army, Americans still send 21 billion pounds of textiles to landfills and incinerators each year. That’s 70 pounds for every person! Read the rest of this entry »

Is your recycling program suffering from a bit of malaise these days? As with many well intentioned initiatives, excitement can begin to wane with time. To make sure recycling remains top of mind for everyone at home or at your place of work, here are some ideas to help reinvigorate your recycling efforts. Read the rest of this entry »

Support bottle deposit legislation and dual stream recycling in your community. Recycling glass bottles via deposit programs and dual stream systems results in 98% and 90% of the collected glass being suitable for the production of new bottles.

Just last month my municipality implemented single stream recycling. Like many other local governments, my well intentioned town succumbed to the waste hauling propaganda that single-stream collection is the recycling panacea. According to proponents, single-stream recycling increases collections rates, reduces hauling costs, and keeps more recyclables out of landfills. While this sounds like recycling at its best, in actuality, recyclables collected under the single-stream system are less likely to be recycled and more likely to be buried in landfills than those collected in source separated (deposit, dual stream, and triple stream) systems. Read the rest of this entry »

With the Presidential race taking up most of the news and the Iowa caucuses just about a month away, it seems appropriate to take as close a look as possible at how “Recycling Friendly” our 2012 Presidential candidates may be.

To keep things simple, I am focusing on the top talked about contenders: President Obama, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, and Rick Perry. Because whispers are growing that a new late entry Republican candidate may emerge from the political rubbish, I will save the complete “Presidential Recycling Analysis” for a later date. (Goodness knows I would not want to leave any viable contender out.) Read the rest of this entry »

Just as it is important for all of us to recycle plastics, it is also important for us to support companies that make plastic goods from recycled plastic. When purchasing a product made from plastic, confirm it contains recycled plastic content. Our purchases help to promote recycling too. -R.G.

Imagine a world where all plastic products were recycled. Living in a world where no plastic debris litters the roadways, nor floats in our oceans, nor sits in landfills for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. To most of us this seems almost unimaginable, but is it? Read the rest of this entry »

When doing back to school shopping make sure to purchase environmentally conscious school supplies. Make back to school shopping a green experience. -R.G.

August is the month that big box stores load up on traditional school supplies. For us environmentally conscious shoppers, there are more green choices for back to school supplies than ever before. Also, knowing how to properly recycle these scholastic tools can make them even greener. Smart teachers and PTA moms know well that establishing a recycling club, collecting items, and recycling in bulk can be great educational and fundraising opportunities too. Read the rest of this entry »