Green Options

A few weeks back, I was writing about CO2-friendly supply chains and saw the hefty list of U.S. companies that the Environmental Defense Fund had helped switch to recycled content in a drive to reduce paper waste across the nation.

Now, paper is back under the public eye in fuller force than ever because of its significant climate change footprint.
“Paper is a tremendously resource-intensive product to produce,” explains project manager Victoria Mills, “and the decomposition of paper in landfills generates methane, a greenhouse gas with 23 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide.”

Like this post? Subscribe to our RSS feed and stay up to date.

Craft show season is almost upon us! Rejoice! It’s finally time to gather all your supplies and get ready to spend some hot summer days at shows selling your wares. Luckily, crafter extraordinaire Jen Menkhaus just told me about Treecycle, a company dedicated to education and access to environmentally friendly products. This site is great for crafters because they carry a huge supply of recycled paper bags, shipping boxes, jewelry boxes and more! In addition to a ton of products, Treecycle also has a huge page of links to offer information on environmental issues. In case you need reason to buy recycled products from Treecycle, they share this lovely list to explain how it helps…

Warning: so, as the video and Oprah’s darling du jour and guerrilla closet warrior Peter Walsh so clearly outlines, our pack-rat habits are making us chubby. They can also be a barrier to us going green. Not surprising, did you notice that your lean and toned friends also tend to have pretty darn spotless, sustainability-forward and organized homes, while your plumper friends tend to lavish in “chaotic creative” spaces. Hmmm…

We all know that good things come in small packages, but small packages are good in their own right. Less filler, fewer layers of packaging for each product, smaller packages to increase the amount of any product can be shipped on one truck or ship are conservation best-practices.

But we consumers are used to slick packaging and cool bags, boxes and wrappers. Designers are now challenged to come up with high-concept packaging that doesn’t waste resources.

It’s like Project Runway for everyday products. And here are some of the pioneering entrants in the less-weight, recyclable, biodegradable packaging challenge.

Three Thieves sells their Bandit wine in TetraPaks.

It’s different. It’s recyclable. Although a TetraPak not so unique, given that soymilk is packaged similarly, Three Thieves is definitely going against the grain in the wine industry.

Another wine company so believes in the power of its packaging that it devotes a significant part of its website to its TetraPak packaging, diving into the various layers in the package to describe how it is made and why they like it.

In my last post, Recycling Misconceptions part 1, I touched on the uncertainties of recycling, plastics in particular, that I think perplex many of us. Well last week I attended a Green Renter lecture here in NYC and found out some more interesting things about recycling that I didn’t know. The evening’s lecturer, Samantha MacBride of NYC bureau of waste prevention, reuse and recycling was able to put many things into perspective, the most interesting being the amount of paper we consume and the amount that ends up in our landfills.

She got me thinking. Since recycling has been on my radar lately, I have been more aware of my habits and the habits of the people around me. I noticed that I am much more diligent in getting my plastic and glass bottles in the correct place for recycling than I am with all my paper products. It wasn’t until I attended the lecture that I realized how much less of a guessing game paper recycling is, just how important it really is — more important than the resin code mystery in my last post — and how much I neglect the privilege. According to Samantha Macbride, if you want to make a difference, recycle more paper. She explained to us that paper is the most under recycled material. According to the EPA, 35% of total U.S. municipal solid waste generated in 2006 was paper and paperboard (graph source: EPA report).

When we order a new piece of furniture or new piece of technology for our home, it comes delivered in a box large enough for kids to build a fort in (what I did in an old refrigerator box once). There’s so much packaging that you have to call your trash service and request a special “large load” pick-up. I am ashamed to bring home a plastic bag from the grocery store

[...]

Many residential recycling programs don’t accept yogurt containers because of the type of plastic they are made of. Many yogurt containers and margarine tubs are made with #5 plastics (polypropylene) or #2 (HDPE - High Density Polyethylene), while many clear soda and water bottles are made from #1 (PET - polyethylene terephthalate) and cloudy bottles, such as milk jugs, are made of #2 plastics. 

Why can’t the makers of yogurt switch plastics? For

[...]

Do you really need all of those napkins, straws, forks, or packets of ketchup? Probably not. At least not that many. While convenient and hygienic, these small things add up to a lot of waste. The next time you stop in for a quick bite, cut back on the take-away of your take-out.

Reduce what you grab. Instead of taking handfuls, take just a few. One

[...]

The drink tray is an obvious necessity if you've ever picked up more than your cupholders can handle at a drive-thru. The good news is drink trays, and other molded pulp products, are something you can feel good about.

Molded pulp products extend way beyond the drink trays you'll find at restaurants, cafes and sporting events and are used to ship everything from eggs to consumer electronics and are slowly replacing

[...]

Pile of Plastic Silverware

Americans alone use and dispose of enough paper and plastic cups, forks, and spoons every year to circle the equator 300 times. Lets break this down, mathematically first (then we can physically break down the paper and plastics). If the circumference of the earth at the equator is 24,901.55 miles (a bit longer than measured at the poles), and there are 365 days in the year,

[...]

Whether you're wrapping up a sandwich, covering leftovers or using it on the grill, aluminum foil can be reused over and over again. And when you're finished, it can be recycled along side those soda cans.

As a household item, aluminum foil has a multitude of uses, especially in the kitchen. When storing or cooking food, foil keeps the good stuff in and keeps out light, unwanted moisture and bacteria. Just make sure

[...]