Recycling can have a tremendous impact on our planet, as can pre-cycling, and avoiding single-use packaging and products. Of course, any product that won’t be used again will eventually end up in the trash, which impacts our environment immediately, and potentially well into the future. Here are interesting myths and facts related to recycling and trash.
Is Smaller Better When It Comes to Plastic Pollution? Small plastic pollution is no game! Teeny weeny plastics are polluting even the cleanest-looking waters—and unsuspecting aquatic wildlife are accidentally gobbling them up. Question is, if the plastic is so tiny you can’t actually see it, does it really matter? When we say microplastics are tiny, … Read more
Paper vs. Plastic Showdown There’s a new sheriff in town—and plastic shopping bags are taking the heat. With Chicago the latest city to jump on the bandwagon of 160+ other U.S. cities (and potentially the whole of California) in outlawing plastic bags, it’s simple to assume that easy-to-recycle paper bags are the greener choice. But … Read more
As we recently determined in the paper vs. plastic myth, reusable bags made with recycled plastic are an eco-win—as long as you remember to bring them! So, for those of you looking to beef up your reusable supply, here are a few go-tos made from recycled plastic for your purchasing pleasure.
In his intro to sustainable engineering classes at Northwestern University, professor Eric Masanet likes to set the tone for the semester by posing the once ubiquitous checkout question: “Paper or plastic?” For many of his eager young students, the answer seems obvious—paper breaks down fast in the environment, is easy to recycle, and comes from … Read more
People ask us all the time about recycling. One of the most frequently asked questions we hear is “Do you need to rinse all containers before tossing them into the recycling bin”? We think that’s a great question and have often wondered that ourselves. To explore this issue, today on the EcoMyths segment on Worldview, … Read more
Paper Pile-ups, Begone! — by Lauren Topor, multimedia journalist and Arizona State University grad There’s nothing quite like tax time to remind you that paper has a knack for piling up. That’s especially true when you consider that the average American receives 41 pounds of junk mail each year, nearly half of which ends up unopened … Read more
