Cloth Napkins Are Nicer Anyway

On average, an American uses around six napkins each day-2,200 a year! If every American

used even one less napkin per day, more than one billion pounds of napkins could be saved

from landfills each year. Using cloth napkins can be even better!

Terrific for Terra

If you are anything like me, this is the time of year you suddenly realize you don’t have enough flutes and glasses to properly toast in the New Year. Why add to the already burgeoning mounds of recycling or, God forbid, landfill? The cool company Refresh Glass (refreshglass.com) creates pretty and eco-efficient drinking glasses from rescued wine bottles.

Cheers!

Rescued Treasure

At the El Cerrito Recycling Center, they have a lively reuse center where you can donate things that are still viable for others. I have seen amazing donations like washers and dryers being hauled away by a family who could not otherwise afforded a set. My favorite moment there was the time a donated sitar’s new owner gave a free concert to all us recyclers.

Recycling Saves the Rainforest

Here are some other things you can do to save the rainforest.

    *Don’t keep tropical birds or reptiles as pets. Let them live in nature.

    *Buy items made of sustainable wood. Hardwood teak and rosewood encourage logging and                         deforestation.

    *Recycle all your cans. Bauxite is mined from the ground in tropical countries and is the source for               aluminum.

    *Buy local, organic food whenever possible. Conventional agriculture is exhausting our forest’s                    resources.

    *Support any organization that is legitimately working to protect the environment in developing                   countries and in precious rainforests.

Save Rare Earth

Cell phones and batteries are some of the largest contributors of toxic substances to our landfills. More than 13 million cell phones become obsolete in California every year, and historically only seven percent have been recycled. Over 80% of reusable batteries are composed of the hazardous heavy metals nickel and cadmium. Mobile phones contain hazardous levels of lead, nickel-cadmium, and other toxic materials. While these and other rechargeable batteries have been banned from disposal in California for several years, recycling opportunities have lagged. According to Californians Against Waste, for every million cell phones we recycle, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered. Go to epa.gov for more information on how to recycle your cell phone.

Be Plastic Free

Give up the bottled water. Please? Not only is it ridiculously priced and horrifically wasteful, but also it fails to offer any benefit over tap water. Many brands draw their water from a municipal supply-as in, the same water that comes out of your tap for free. Additionally, bottled water companies aren’t held to the same stringent standards as public waterworks. And, adding final insult to injury, plastic bottles can often leach harmful chemicals into the water and then languish in landfills for thousands of years if not properly recycled. It’s better for everyone involved if you carry a jar or reusable water bottle to fill up instead. Drinking from a Mason jar is the ultimate in chic, too! 

Reimagine and Reuse Every Chance You Get

In addition to recycling, you should also strive to reuse. When wrapping presents, use old maps or even newspapers-or open up a paper grocery bag, flip it over, and have your kids customize the paper with their artwork. You can also keep and reuse gift bags and tissue paper you were once given. This will save you money on buying gift-wrap while helping the environment save a few more trees.

Be a Good on Your Own Block

Make a list of small things you can do around your house and place of work to conserve energy and water, stop waste, and increase the recycling. Then start doing them!

Terrific for Terra

If you are anything like me, this is the time of year you suddenly realize you don’t have enough flutes and glasses to properly toast in the New Year. Why add to the already burgeoning mounds of recycling or, God forbid, landfill? The cool company Refresh Glass (refreshglass.com) creates pretty and eco-efficient drinking glasses from rescued wine bottles. Cheers!

Rescued Treasure

At the El Cerrito Recycling Center, they have a lively reuse center where you can donate things that are still viable for others. I have seen amazing donations like washers and dryers being hauled away by a family who could not otherwise afforded a set. My favorite moment there was the time a donated sitar’s new owner gave a free concert to all us recyclers.

Recycling Saves the Rainforest

Here are some other things you can do to save the rainforest.

*Don’t keep tropical birds or reptiles as pets. Let them live in nature.

*Buy items made of sustainable wood. Hardwood teak and rosewood encourage logging and deforestation.

*Recycle all your cans. Bauxite is mined from the ground in tropical countries and is the source for aluminum.

*Buy local, organic food whenever possible. Conventional agriculture is exhausting our forest’s resources.

*Support any organization that is legitimately working to protect the environment in developing countries and in precious rainforests.

National Thrift Shop Day

Donate to and shop at thrift stores. You’ll be recycling gently used items, supporting the local economy, and save money along the way. There are so many thrift stores working for charity but my favorite is this one in Denver that I discovered a couple of years ago while at a trade show: Denver-Cancer-Charity.org. What they are doing is so cool! The Cancer Cache Thrift & Gift Shoppe is operated as a not-for-profit charity that raises funds to provide free hats, wigs, scarves, and medical equipment to cancer patients. When I was undergoing treatment, I could never have afforded a wig or even a very nice hat, so these fabulous Rocky Mountaineers get my business every time.

More Ways to Avoid Plastic

• Jars. So many jars. For salads, soups, sauces, juice, opened packages of things. Justy jars. Lots of jars.
• Aluminum foil is a great stand-in for plastic wrap and can be easily recycled or saved for reuse.
• Wax paper is great for wrapping sandwiches. So are reusable sandwich pouches you can make or purchase. Many close with velcro and are easy to launder or wipe clean.
• Reuse empty yogurt, sour cream, or cream cheese containers. You’ve already got them and you have to wash them before tossing them into the recycling bin anyway, so you may as well use them again.
• Invest in reusable lunch containers like bento boxes or tiffins to avoid waste when sending off your little one (or yourself) with a bagged lunch.

Planting Trees is Good for All

In 1872, J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day, and that year over a million trees were planted in Nebraska. It’s usually celebrated on the last Friday in April (some states choose different dates depending on their weather for best tree planting times). Probably now, more than ever, we need to honor Morton’s big idea-trees hugely improve the quality of our lives. They provide shelter and food for our wildlife, clean the air, absorb carbon dioxide, and release oxygen. They mask noise, prevent soil erosion, and provide wood for fuel and buildings:all this plus the joy and wonder of such a majestic and wonderful plant.

Celebrate Arbor Day by logging onto arborday.org and finding out what you can do in your area. Save a tree by recycling paper. Plant a suitable tree in your garden or neighborhood and dedicate it to someone special.

Let’s Not Contribute to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

I don’t know about you, but photos of the big patch of plastic and garbage floating in the ocean scares me more than almost anything else. Nearly 90% of plastic bottles are not recycled, instead taking thousands of years to decompose. If you are used to toting around your green tea, juice, or iced coffee in plastic, get a cool-looking thermos instead. This is a great choice for the environment, your wallet, and possibly your health.You can guzzle as much as you want and still be green.

Terrific for Terra

https://refreshglass.com/

If you are anything like me, this is the time of year you suddenly realize you don’t have enough flutes and glasses to properly toast in the New Year. Why add to the already burgeoning mounds of recycling or, God forbid, landfill? The cool company Refresh Glass (refreshglass.com) creates pretty and eco-efficient drinking glasses from rescued wine bottles. Cheers!

America Recycles Day

According to 50 Ways to Help the Planet (50waystohelp.com), “Recycled glass reduces related air pollution by 20% and related water pollution by 50%. If it isn’t recycled it can take a million years to decompose….20 recycled aluminum cans could be made with the energy it takes to manufacture one brand new one. Every ton of glass recycled saves the equivalent of nine gallons of fuel oil needed to make glass from virgin materials.

Rescued Treasure

At the El Cerrito Recycling Center, they have a lively reuse center where you can donate things that are still viable for others. I have seen amazing donations like washers and dryers being hauled away by a family who could not otherwise afforded a set. My favorite moment there was the time a donated sitar’s new owner gave a free concert to all us recyclers.

Recycling Saves the Rainforest

Here are some other things you can do to save the rainforest.

• Don’t keep tropical birds or reptiles as pets. Let them live in nature.
• Buy items made of sustainable wood. Hardwood teak and rosewood encourage logging and deforestation.
• Recycle all your cans. Bauxite is mined from the ground in tropical countries and is the source for aluminum.
• Buy local, organic food whenever possible. Conventional agriculture is exhausting our forest’s resources.
• Support any organization that is legitimately working to protect the environment in developing countries and in precious rainforests.

Every Drop of Water Counts

We take water so for granted. We leave the faucet running when we brush our teeth, over-water our gardens, wash the car too often, take baths every evening rather than a quick shower, or don’t mend that dripping tap. Become water-wise. At this writing, my landlord has not responded to my messages about the kitchen faucet dripping. So I have a bucket capturing it all in the sink and I use that to water my backyard. I always have a bucket in the bathtub to capture shower water and haul it out to water my front and backyard. I used to get really strange looks from neighbors but they are used to me now. A couple down the block started doing the same after we met at an afternoon block party!