Recycling
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Every year, the holiday season brings joy, fellowship, and an extra 1 million tons of waste per week to our landfills. Yes, you read that correctly: Americans create an additional 1 million tons of waste per week during the holiday season. No matter what your holiday season may look like, you can help tackle this…
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Visiting Sweden I discovered many interesting things, including the fact that there are many Swedish innovations. I did not know that the metal bottle cap was invented here, or that the author of Pippi Longstockings was from Sweden. Of course we all know about IKEA. But did you know that the person who created it…
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June 5 is World Environment Day. This year the focus is on what each one of us can do to reduce plastic waste. Half of all the plastic we produce is single-use or disposable. Bottles are the most common type of plastic waste. Worldwide we buy 1 million plastic bottles every minute and less than…
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Hopefully you got to experience the solar eclipse on August 21. If you missed it, the next eclipse visible in the U.S. will be on April 8, 2024. That’s only 7 years from now. So, now what happens to your glasses? The best thing to do is to donate them to Astronomers Without Borders. They…
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A garage sale is a great way to share your treasures with others. You benefit by decluttering your home, and earning a few dollars. Each year the second Saturday in August is designated as National Garage Sale Day. If that weekend doesn’t work for you, find another day or participate in a community garage or yard sale,…
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Around with world people are finding ways to turn the destruction caused by major storms into something beautiful. Hurricane Ike struck Galveston, Texas, in 2008, bringing with it a 6 to 15 foot surge of salt water the led to the death of around 35,000 trees, including some 50-100 year old live oaks. Most of the…
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Every day in the United States, about 130,000 computers are thrown away. The recyclable material that makes up a computer includes plastic, metal, and glass. Even the attachments you use with your computer can be recycled, like the keyboard, the mouse, the computer speakers, external hard drives, printers and scanners. While most electronics can be…
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It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the eco-friendly messages that seem to be everywhere. My philosophy is to start where you are right now and take a few steps forward at a time. Below are five tips to help you become a greener consumer. Reduce your consumption. This is one of the easiest ways to become…
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Managing waste is a major issue for countries around the world. When I am visiting somewhere one of the first things I look for are recycling containers. If they are easy to find, then that place is usually doing a better job encouraging people (tourists and residents) to recycle. In Malta I didn’t encounter many…
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During the holidays Americans produce excess amounts of trash, much of which comes from holiday entertaining. In 2012, Americans generated around 251 million tons of trash. That’s 4.38 pounds per person per day! According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) we are recycling 34.5 percent of what we throw away, which is much higher…
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I have always enjoyed gifts – both the giving and receiving of them. According to researchers, I am not alone. Gift giving is an important part of human interaction and psychologists say that the givers often reap the biggest psychological gains. When someone takes time to thoughtfully select a gift for me, it means so…
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In the U.S. we are increasing our recycling rate. What do we do with all those plastic bottles? We have been exporting a lot of them to China. Now China is saying “no more.” What will happen to all those “recycled bottles?” Article: US states banned from exporting their trash to China are drowning in plastic
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Recycling seems to be a part of everyday life for most Europeans. I saw large recycling bins along the roads in Spain, France, Germany and Austria. All of the containers I saw required people to separate their trash (i.e. glass, paper, cans, etc.). Interestingly the university in Spain where the conference I attended was held did…
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There are seventeen houses on the end of my street. We get together for block parties to celebrate new babies, graduations, start of summer, and when one of use moves. We have a shared yard sale and we even pet sit for each other. I would say I live in a caring neighborhood with for…