Electrolux to begin recycling the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The following is an excerpt from a new post on my other blog site, Envirothink.Wordpress.com.
Vacumn giant Electrolux has announced plans to collect and recycle plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
The company says project Vac from the Sea makes sense since there’s not enough recycled plastic on land to fill consumer demand, so they plan to use the scooped-up plastic and recycle it into appliances like their vacuum cleaners.
For more on this intriguing idea, go to http://3.ly/vbVC.
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Chicago Cubs to fans: let’s recycle!
The dog days of summer will be a little bit greener this year, at least in Chicago at Wrigley Field.
Cubs fans have a lot to be proud of. Their team has taken on recycling in a big way.
Their new “Real Fans Recycle” campaign asks fans to help divert aaround 165,000 pounds of plastic and cardboard from landfills. This season, vendors at Wrigley Field will use compostable plates and cutlery, and plastic drink cups and napkins that are made from recycled content
Fans will see ushers nd event staff sporting cool “Real Fans Recycle” shirts made from 100% recycled material, including recycled PET plastic from which Wrigley Field beverage cups are made.
The emblazoned shirts are sponsored by Solo [...]
Dart makes recycling styrofoam easy
Everyone tosses that foam packaging that comes with our favorite electronics, right?
Not any more.
Since the 1990’s, Dart Container Corp.– a leader in the polystyrene foodservice product industry – has been collecting polystyrene (generally called StyrofoamTM, a product developed by the Dow Chemical Company) at their drop-off centers, keeping it out of landfills.
They began at their corporate headquarters in Michigan, says Michael Westerfield, Dart’s Corporate Director of Recycling Programs.
Since then, the drop-off program has grown.
In 2007, Dart collected and recycled 106 tons of foam at the Michigan location. In 2008, doing nothing different, they recycled 200 tons of foam. In 2009, they recycled 250 tons, again altering nothing.
Since the 1990’s, the [...]
Goodwill expands their recycling to include Microsoft electronics
Goodwill Industries hasannounced it will now accept Microsoft electronics.
Those 1,900 plus facilities that participate in the Reconnect recycling program - a residential computer recycling program managed by Dell Computers and Goodwill that makes it easy, convenient and responsible to recycle your used computer equipment – will now accept Microsoft entertainment products including Xbox, Zune and accompanying accessories for free recycling.
Goodwill employees have collected 96 million pounds of e-waste through the program since 2004, which are then refurbished, repaired and resold or recycled by Dell’s partners. To ensure the collected electronics don’t add to the global problem of e-waste dumping, Dell holds its partners to a strict policy of not exporting non-functioning electronics to developing countries.
To find a participating [...]
Wal-Mart teams up with TerraCycle for Earth Month
Wal-Mart has been moving to make their stores – and their suppliers – more green.
Now, for the month of April to honor the 40th anniversary of Earth Month, they’ve partnered with TerraCycle to create an “Earth Zone” in stores across the country.
TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based company, collects waste packaging from over 60,000 schools and community groups nationwide and “upcycles” them into new, useful products.
A “zone” at the front of each participating store will have displays filled with eco-friendly products. They’ll feature around 40 of TerraCycle’s repurposed products alongside the original products they were made from.
These products include:
tote bags made from Frito-Lay wrappers displayed alongside bags of Frito-Lay chips
backpacks made from Capri [...]
Target establshes in-store recycling centers in honor of Earth Day
Target has been offering quality, discount products and providing customers a positive shopping experience since the early 1960’s, Now it’s expanded their green quotient.
On Tuesday, April 6th, Target introduced in-store recycling centers in all their 1,740 stores. These recycling stations are located just inside, near the front of each store.
What’s unusual about this is it’s the first time a major retailer has made full-out recycling available to their “guests”.
Target’s been recycling since the early ‘60’s, says spokesperson Amy Reilly, but behind the scenes. They’ve recycled a lot of cardboard, shrink-wrap and construction materials and were one of the first retailers to reuse and recycle garment hangers.
So why include the public in their [...]
Starbucks’ shareholders nix added recycling
At their recent annual shareholder meeting, Starbucks shareholders voted down a measure that would have increased recycling at stores nationwide.
Proposed by one of the shareholders, the failed measure did garner 11 percent approval from the shareholder body.
Similar proposals were put before Coca Cola and PepsiCo. Though each won only 10 percent approval, both companies have since announced major recycling initiatives.
With the Starbucks proposal, the company recommended shareholders vote against the measure, saying it already had a recycling strategy. Their cups already contain 10 percent post-consumer recycled fiber and are also recyclable and compostable in some parts of the country.
That said, many of its stores do not have recycle and compost bins [...]
Green wedding dresses pt 3
Well, I’m not 100% better, but I’m in a much healthier place than where I was last week (I think I much of my recovery to due my future mom-in-law’s homemade chicken soup and Ozark pudding- thanks Eileen!)
Here, as promised, is part 3 of our wedding dress adventure: the joys of renting.
To start, feast your eyes on this wedding of Kevin and Paige, courtesy of OnceWed and Charley Star Photo:
There are so many lovely photographs of this wedding- I really encourage you to click the OnceWed link above to take a peek. Their wedding is very green- her ring bearer pillow is made of hemp and antique lace; she created [...]
DIY recycled vases
One of the challenges of vintage is whether or not you like how it looks. Perhaps you love the shape of something, or its functionality, but the color?? Maybe not.
This idea comes from Style Me Pretty and Twigs and Thistle- recycled vases! Just repaint your vase using non-toxic paint, and there you go!
Materials needed:
1 ) Empty bottels and vases in varying sizes and shapes
2) Paint
Instructions:
1) Clean and dry vases thoroughly
2) In a well ventilated area, paint items with several coats of paint to cover the entire piece. Allow each coat to dry before painting the next.
3) Arrange vases and bottles and fill with flowers and twigs!
So clever! So DIY! So [...]