HP Announces Environmental Milestones for Reduced Waste, Materials Reuse and Easier Recycling

Town Talk: City takes junk action; ground broken on seven-story project; Kansas economy measured; water awards announced
News and notes from around Lawrence and Douglas County.

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Waste Management acquiring Glacier Recycle
Waste Management of the Pacific Northwest has entered into an agreement to acquire Glacier Recycle. Waste Management officials said the acquisition will expand the company’s “green services” related to waste reduction, waste recovery and the processing of waste into new materials. …

Read more on South Sound Business Examiner

Southern Waste Explains New Collection Plan
Beginning Monday, Nov. 22, Meridian residents will have a new schedule for garbage collection and recycling.

Read more on WTOK-TV Meridian

‘Tell us what to cut’, council says after pool outcry
RESIDENTS in Reigate & Banstead are being asked to suggest which council services could be slashed.

Read more on Surrey Advertiser

HP Announces Environmental Milestones for Reduced Waste, Materials Reuse and Easier Recycling
HP today announced several milestones in the company’s push to deliver energy savings, decrease carbon footprint and offer products and solutions that enable customers to reduce their environmental impact.

Read more on Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance

[04/27] Reduce, Reuse, Recycle… except condoms

“How To” Week! I made this at like 1am cuz I have to work all day… yeah. Carton Wallet Template: a.familyfun.go.com —————————- www.twitter.com www.dailybooth.com www.youtube.com

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

When I was growing up a long time ago, the three “Rs” – Reading, “’Riting” and ‘Rithmatic” was the mantra. There was even a little song about it, but I don’t remember it.

While those are still important to children today, it’s also important to teach them the new “3 Rs” that several of us are now living by to help each other and the planet: “reduce, reuse and recycle”. Of course, crafters and artists have been doing this for years.

Acquiring goods to make one’s life simpler or to purchase items that one wants instead of what one needs is part of the American culture. I was taught to save up to buy special items, but have used credit cards to replace broken TVs and microwaves. Plastic (credit cards) are easy to use and the bill comes 30 days later, so it’s not like spending immediately money.

The consequences are being felt by everyone in these troubled economic times. So far this year, nine million Americans have lost their jobs. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

 Here are a few tips on how to reduce, reuse and recycle:

Reduce
Use cash (not credit) for your purchases. Only spend what you have or save up each week to purchase a luxury item, etc. defined here as something you want (for example, an expensive handmade gemstone jewelry pendant and earrings set, a new DVD collection, etc.).

Go through your home, especially your closets and cabinets and get rid of clothing, household, and other items that you are not using. This reduces the amount of clutter in your home and you can donate the items to needy families creating a sense of good will. Also, you might be able to take a small tax deduction.  

Reuse
Find a different way to use an item or give it to someone else who can use it. For example, many of us reuse the plastic bags we get from grocery and department stores to bring our lunches to work.

Go one step further and gather up the grocery plastic bags and bring them to Jewel or another store that recycles them into other products.  

I reuse the plastic inserts from cookie packages to store small bead containers and spools of wire. Also, I reuse greeting cards that I receive by cutting parts of them out and making new cards.

Thousands of artists and creative, talented individuals are repurposing items and selling them on Etsy.com. This is saving our landfills and helping create additional income for artists and allowing others to purchase unique products from individuals. See some of the plastic beads I rescued and reused at my shop - Linda B.  

Recycle:
Many of our communities and employers are already set up to recycle aluminum cans, plastic bottles and white paper products. Contribute to this effort by sorting your trash.

There’s a new effort to move away from purchasing the plastic water bottles that end up in landfills and using our own plastic water bottle. This means using water from our homes and/or workplaces and remembering to bring our own bottle. One of my water bottles has a strap and it is covered  with a bright yellow and black Batman design.

Freecycle it: The Freecycle Network™ “is made up of 4,619 groups with 6 million members across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns.”

How does it work? You’ll receive emails of what’s available from other freecyclers and be able to list and pick up items. To find out more and to sign up in your metro area, go to http://freecycle.org. I was able to pick up boxes of plastic and pearl beads, which I am upcycling into holiday gifts.

There are towns, schools and other institutions that have electronic recycling days for old computers and monitors. Check your local newspaper for details. Batteries, cellphones and printer cartridges can be turned in to benefit a specific charity or to earn credits on purchases. Staples has a recycling program and PetSmart has special envelopes to recycle printer cartridges.

Part of my system involves putting unused items in the garage. If I don’t use the item for 9 months (that’s the ideal), I donate it to Goodwill or the veteran’s organizations who call me and pick up goods.

OK, I’ll admit to being a packrat and not getting rid of all items within the 9-month-time frame. In fact, this past weekend I went through boxes in the garage. I had intended to get rid of 3 boxes of items, but I took some things back and only have 1 box ready to go. There are some things that I am not ready to part with and that’s OK. But, they are still in the garage. That’s the rule that I set. Once it goes into the garage, unless I’m going to put the item into immediate use, it has to stay into the garage.

Today is National Make a Difference Day. Start reducing, reusing or recycling today.

Linda Blatchford
Recycler, Jewelry Designer 

What Is Reduce Reuse Recycle ?

The Environmental Protection Agency wants you to learn the three “R’s” when it comes to your trash. Those three words are very important if you want to continue living on a clean planet and one that is not overflowing with yesterday’s garbage.

Reduce reuse recycle is your mantra to repeat to yourself each time you go to throw something away. Once you learn the three “R’s” you will be able to set a better example and help your environmental services program combat the never ending supply of garbage.

The first “R” in the three refers to reducing. This means to reduce the amount of garbage you generate. Try to buy items that are going to last longer so you do not have to buy them as often. Sure, there will be some items that do not have a long shelf life but you can still try to find those items that do.

Some packaging contains harsher chemicals than others. It may cost you a dollar or two more but try to go with items that have less packaging.

In the quest for reduce reuse recycle; reusing is next on the agenda. Try to reuse as many products as possible in your own household. Plastic milk jugs make great pitchers for tea and water.

They can also be used as plant holders once you decorate them a bit. On a municipal level, reusing also occurs when recyclables are turned into different products, such as asphalt for paving roads or new notebooks.

The final “R” relates to recycling. This means utilizing a recycling program from your sanitation department or local environmental services. You can ask them what materials are accepted locally and then get the appropriate recycling containers into which you can place that material for pick-up.

Plastics go into one container. Paper goes into another container and glass goes into a separate container. Then all three, along with garbage that cannot be recycled, is picked up by your local sanitation or recycling program. As well, you can recycle your food waste products by starting a compost heap.

Just remember to “reduce reuse recycle” and you will be doing your part, not just for yourself but for future generations. It is remarkably easy to get started and once you have mastered the basics you will be a recycling guru. If you need help getting started or just want more information, then visit the Environmental Protection Agency’s website at “Epa”.

Green Print and Packaging Materials- More Than Just ?recycle, Reuse, Renew?- Dig Deeper!

What green printing really all about?  When we think ‘green printing’ the terms ‘recycled’, FSC Certified, and ‘soy inks’ come to mind, but is that all there is?  Are these things really enough?  One ton of recycled paper still consumes up to four trees, 18,000 BTU’s of energy, creates up to two tons of solid waste, and creates thousands of gallons of contaminated waste-water? Certainly FSC, SFI, and PEFC are important designations and diverting pulp production from irresponsibly managed forests is critical, but at what point will we begin to tip the balance of FSC paper production versus FSC forestry growth toward the negative? 
Many packaging designers turn to soy inks to tell their story.  Soy inks have been used by offset printers for years but are they really beneficial for use on labels, tags, and packaging? (contact me for more info on the real truth behind soy inks for labels and flexible packaging.)  The point here is that print buyers, green marketers and brand owners have gotten lazy.  It’s commonplace these days to market a package with recycled paper, and include the ‘please recycle this package’ .  Most consumers simply assume that today’s packaging IS recyclable.   Brands focus on ‘recycled’ and recycling because it’s easy, cheap and everybody understands it.  What I’d like to see is brand owners, printers, and consumers focus in on the ‘green issues’ that are going to matter most going forward- sustainability (sourcing print and packaging from more abundant, renewable resources), and carbon footprint. 
Sustainable Paper Options vs Traditional Tree-Pulp Papers   
Tree-free papers made from rotting plant waste such as banana, papaya and coconut trees, bamboo, and bagasse are an option here.  There are a few companies that focus on tree-free paper production, and though the performance of these papers as a label/packaging material is limited in some cases they have successfully replaced tree-pulp papers. 
Stone paper made from natural chalk (calcium carbonate) is made from an abundant resource and is one of the high performing options for green printing and packaging materials with a superior sustainability story.  FiberStone™ tree-free stone paper is one of the more popular, high performing papers in this category and has been used on wide variety of printing and packaging applications including labels.
Carbon Footprint- ‘What Does it Actually Take to Produce and Supply Your ‘Green’/Recycled Paper?
This is the ‘real’ issue that brand owners and marketers need to be concerned with.    By using recycled (post consumer waste) papers we certainly preserve our most significant carbon storage resources but at what point will our forests’ carbon storage capacity fail to keep up with our carbon producing activities?  Pulp production and processing of recycled fibers are the real culprits here- each requiring a significant amount of energy. This massive consumption contributes to an enormous amount of Co2 emitted into our atmosphere.  You can see how an argument can and should be made for using low carbon footprint materials (lower energy consumption) over recycled papers for printing and packaging.
Identify and Promote Your Eco-Vision Statement
The first step to creating and promoting/marketing a brand’s sustainable packaging is to create and publish a solid eco-vision.  Start by taking a look at your competitor’s websites and those of companies that have been on this path for some time.  Any eco-conscious brand will have an eco-vision and/or eco mission statement.  Your own statement should include which aspects of sustainability and environmental stewardship are important to your company.  Be specific here- it is absolutely okay to choose a specific cause such as water conservation, landfill reduction, carbon emission reduction, etc… and to leave out those that don’t fit your company or brand.
From here you’ll need to spell out your environmental/sustainability goals and how you plan to get there.  If source reduction, lean/efficient manufacturing production processes, or sourcing more eco-friendly packaging materials is part of your plan then make sure to say so.  Recent studies show that a company’s eco-vision is important to consumers.  A savvy consumer who identifies with your vision will not only purchase your product and become a loyal customer but will become an advocate for your company!
One such company that has been successful with this strategy is Patagonia.  Part of Patagonia’s eco vision involves the following statement: “We acknowledge that the wild world we love best is disappearing. That is why those of us who work here share a strong commitment to protecting undomesticated lands and waters.”  In choosing water conservation (among other issues) Patagonia has chosen a clear path and makes sure that when sourcing printing and packaging water conservation is a prime focus and part of the selection criteria.
So what’s next? You can start by educating yourself and your customers about the real threats to a cleaner planet- carbon emissions and depletion of non-renewable natural resources. Stop ‘buying into’ the oversimplified ‘recycle, reuse, renew’ mantra and dig deeper! Educate yourself and about these concerns and the options that help counteract them.  Using recycled packaging and asking consumers to ‘please recycle’ isn’t enough folks- dig deeper, learn…and focus on the right green message!

The Question is To Reuse or To Recycle?

Recycling comes with hidden costs. Sometimes those costs are higher than you think.

On nearly every level of government from the federal all the way down to local, there is usually some form of recycling law or mandate. Several states, in fact, have gone as far as to require home recycling. But, as people become more educated with our collective impact on the environment, are we continuing to put an undue emphasis on recycling at the detriment of the other two modern recycling rudiments? Are we recycling when we should instead be reducing or simply reusing?

It would be foolish to claim that recycling is not an important part of the collective good that is conservation. Without the established recycling infrastructure, millions of tons of otherwise reusable materials would end up being buried in landfills or incinerated away to ash. If that number, millions of tons, sounds a little large, here’s a smaller sample for you. In the 2005-2006 school year (the most recent available) Tufts University recycled 737 tons of cardboard and paper and 132 tons of bottles and cans. The reduction from one university is a good means to show how recycling collectively can have a dramatic reduction in the total amount of waste. Not too shabby.

Or is it? Yes, millions of tons of what would otherwise be refuse have been diverted from landfills around the nation. And judging from a quick walk down the paper isle of your local office supply store, a fair share of materials are making their way back to the market. And the use of recycled materials helps qualify somewhat for that second environmental pillar, “reuse.” Somewhat, but perhaps not enough.

Let’s take a look at the recycling process for your average aluminum can. After your can is picked up from either your curbside bin or the local disposal center, that can is handed off down a supply chain that varies in length based on bidders and geographical conditions. At some point, last night’s can is ground up or shredded into chips. Those chips and grinds are then smelted down into molten metal and then formed into either bars or ingots that can be resold. Frequently these materials come back to us in the form of new parts of larger devices or new soda cans.

As you can see, the process from old aluminum can to new aluminum can involves a great deal of transportation and processing. While the volume of materials being transported at once can reduce the overall carbon burden of the process, the sheer act of recycling can have an unforeseen negative impact on the environment like increasing the dependence on ethanol has on the price of food. This causes one to think of the environmental savings of using an item constructed with post-production content not only in the initial resources it saved, but also in the energy and carbon that were otherwise expended to save the resources.

When small, easy to break down items like cans and newspapers are recycled and the materials are reused, the energy and carbon expenditures are relatively small due to the sheer volume of the materials. But what about larger items like computers, refrigerators, or cars? The resources required in collecting, moving, and breaking these devices down into raw materials that can be smelted and then reused is both intensive and costly, so much so that it’s rarely done.

Thankfully, this is one instance where probability wins out. When an aluminum can is empty, the point of failure is obvious. When a fridge or car is considered junk, failure isn’t always so certain. Large, complex devices have a multitude of parts, any number of which could have been the reason for failure. What didn’t cause the failure, however, is likely to still be usable. As these large devices are built on the Ford concept of interchangeable parts, there is likely a built-in market for that part. What’s more, these parts are premade, so once they are cleaned up and quality inspected, they are essentially ready to be resold, all without the resource and energy expenditures required to return these items to refined materials and then remanufacture them.

The lesson seems to be that going green is not as simple as the phrase “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” makes it out to be. Recycling has its own inherent costs, and what makes sense for cans does not necessarily make sense for cars. Sometimes, it’s reuse before recycle.

1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse: Remake, Restyle, Recycle, Renew

• ISBN13: 9781592535408
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Product Description

Reuse Paper. Reduce Plastic (how to make recycle bag from newspaper)

A simple steps to convert newspaper waste into recycled bag, reducing the amount of plastic bag waste that contaminates the environment.

Jack Johnson: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – 3 R Song

“Three is a magic number.” The students of Sunset Beach Elementary School sing along with Jack Johnson in a group rendition of ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.’ Environmental education is crucial to the preservation of Hawaii – and the planet. Distributed by TubeMogul. explore™ (explore.org) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others.

Don’t Throw It Out: Recycle, Renew and Reuse to Make Things Last

• ISBN13: 9781594865770
• Condition: USED – VERY GOOD
• Notes:

Product Description

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