Green Options

The sagging U.S. economy apparently causes people to not only tighten their belts, but to throw away less stuff.

A recent ABC news report said solid-waste managers across the country have been seeing noticeable declines in the amount of trash their communities generate … anywhere from 3 to 12 percent over the past few months to year.

Some of the managers attribute most of the decline to the struggling housing market. Fewer homes being built (or torn down to make room for newer, larger houses) mean less construction waste heading toward landfills. Others say increased recycling efforts might also be making a dent in solid waste hauls.

We got new next-door neighbors, who haven't moved in yet, but have been working on updating the house for the past few weeks. On Saturday, my husband called me over to the window.

"She's washing out her paintbrushes with paint thinner ON THE GROUND!" I looked. Sure enough, our soon-to-be neighbor was pouring paint thinner all over her paintbrush, right into her yard, along with the paint from the

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Conducting a waste audit is an excellent way for students and adults alike to realize how much “trash” is thrown away each day. My students and I, with the guidance and equipment of the lovely Katy Mike Smaistrla, Education Coordinator at the Earthways Center in St Louis, did a weeklong analysis of what is thrown away at our school, and the results provided awesome learning opportunities and project potential.